Home fitness methods

For the vast majority of ordinary people who have no exercise foundation, less than 20 square meters of living space at home, and no professional equipment, the most effective home fitness method is not to follow the trend of Internet celebrity HIIT, nor to just get a complete set of dumbbells and barbells. The core is to choose Adapt to your home space, fit your daily habits, and the startup threshold is less than 1 minute If you follow the plan, you can stick to it for a long time and achieve practical results.

There have always been two factions in the fitness circle who are quarreling fiercely. One faction says that home training lacks weights and atmosphere, and it is better to go to the gym for three months to train for a year. The other faction says that body weight + gadgets are enough for ordinary enthusiasts to train to the point where they can look slimmer when dressed and stripped off. In fact, both sides are right. It depends on what your needs are.

When I rented a 15-square-meter single room a few years ago, there was only an 80-centimeter aisle between the bed and the closet. The yoga mats I bought were unpacked and stuffed under the bed to gather dust. I always felt like "how to practice without a place." Later, when I walked around the doorway, I discovered that many movements did not require spreading out the mat at all. For example, when I often stand and watch short videos, I put my back against the wall like an angel on the wall, and slowly raise my arms along the wall to the top of my head and then put them down again. I do 3 sets of 15 times each time. If my shoulders are so stiff that I can’t lift them after sitting for a long time, I can loosen most of them on the spot, which is much more useful than wearing a heating pad. When you are fishing at work, tuck your chin twice and hold it for 3 seconds each time. Do it eight times ten times. This will also have a visible effect on improving your neck protrusion. Your colleagues sitting next to you will not be able to tell that you are exercising.

If you need some body shaping, you don’t need to spend money on dumbbells if you want to build some lines. When I was at home during the lockdown last year, I used two buckets filled with 5L mineral water as weights. I could do deadlifts, bent over rows, and behind-the-neck presses. In 3 months, my arm circumference actually increased by 1.5 centimeters, and my arm lines looked much better when I wore short sleeves. Of course, if you are pursuing professional-level muscle latitude, then the weights at home are indeed not enough. It is more efficient to go to the gym to hit heavy weights, so there is no need to be stubborn.

The aerobic option is more flexible. Before, I was afraid that aerobics would disturb the neighbors downstairs, and I didn’t want to go out for a run in the winter, so I wore soft-soled slippers and did leg raises in the aisle. I raised my thighs to the same height as my hips and moved my arms normally. I could burn more than 300 calories in 40 minutes. The aunt who lives downstairs never came up to knock on the door. If your home is well soundproofed and you love the excitement, just find a Korean group dance you like and follow it, or choose Pamela’s happy dance. You don’t have to worry about whether the movements are standard or not. The novice stage will make you willing to move, which is more important than anything else. If you have bad knees, don't jump around. Find a higher chair to do seated leg kicks, or buy a mini elliptical machine and place it next to the sofa. You can step on it while watching TV shows without delaying anything.

I’ve seen people arguing before about “Does home fitness require wearing sportswear and laying out a yoga mat to have a sense of ritual?” My experience after trying it myself is that it really depends on the person. If you are someone who needs to be driven by a sense of ritual, change into quick-drying clothes and spread out your yoga mat to get into the state, then do that. ； If you are one of those people who finds it troublesome just to think of changing clothes and tidying up your mat, you can do a few squats while standing in your pajamas. There is no need to impose so many prerequisites on yourself. Fitness is meant to be comfortable, not to make yourself suffer.

I have been stupid before. I set myself the goal of "practice for 1 hour a day" when I first started. As a result, I just lay flat after sticking to it for 3 days. Later, I changed the goal to "just do 10 squats every day to complete the task." Instead, I persisted intermittently for almost a year. Sometimes I didn't feel tired after doing 10 squats, and I could do dozens more. I added two sets of planks by the way, but the completion rate was much higher than the high-intensity plan at the beginning.

In fact, to put it bluntly, home fitness is not that particular at all, and you don’t need to follow the speed and weight of the online experts. Only you know best how much space you have in your home, whether you have old injuries, and whether you are lazy or not. Choose a method that you think “it’s not strenuous anyway, why not do it twice” is more effective than any fancy paid tutorial. Oh, by the way, don’t panic if your muscles are sore the next day after training. It’s delayed-onset muscle soreness. Just rest for two days. Don’t just lie down as soon as it hurts and never move again.