Boost Energy & Trim Waist with Simple Home Workouts

Less than five percent of adults meet the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity a day, and more than 80 percent of youth don’t meet the physical activity guidelines, according to President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Oftentimes people don’t want to pay for expensive gym memberships, but they also don’t realize they can perform simple exercise routines at home.

A good place to start is Pinterest. Search “home workouts” and you’ll find a wide range of exercise routines to fit your comfort and interests. Here are a few of our favorites.

Morning Workout

If you don’t have much time in the day for working out, carve out 20 minutes in the morning to stretch and do the following six moves to tone your waist, and boost energy and confidence.

• 80 jumping jacks
• 20 pushups
• 40 sit ups
• 20 lunges (per leg)
• 60 seconds wall sit

If you’re a beginner or haven’t worked out in awhile, cut reps by half. Also, allow 90 seconds between each set of exercises if you decide to do several sets.

Daily Yoga Poses

Relax your mind, build core strength and find your center with an easy seven-pose yoga routine. Yoga lengthens and strengthens your body giving you flat abs and toned muscles. If you’re new to yoga, visit allwomenstalk.com for complete instructions and images for the following poses.

First, find a quiet place in your home that is disturbance-free to roll out your mat and find your breath. Perform the routine three times.

• Boat Pose
• Downward Facing Dog with knee to nose
• Plank Pose
• Side Plank (each side)
• Scale Pose
• Crow Pose
• Handstand

These poses require strong abs so you might have to work your way up to Crow Pose and handstand.

If you prefer easier poses, try these:

• Table Pose
• Downward Dog
• Crescent Pose
• Chair Pose
• Upward Dog
• Happy Baby
• Child’s Pose

Water Routine

Water provides continuous gentle resistance for people who must avoid high impact exercise. Try these moves recommended by Livestrong.com for better flexibility, increased strength and fat loss.

• Jog or march for 3 minutes
• 10-15 jumping jacks
• 10 reps of wall lunges (each side)
• 10-15 reps wall leg to arm raises
• 5-15 reps wall knee lifts and abdominal twists

Don’t forget to warm up by stretching before you begin your water routine. When you get comfortable working out in the water, incorporate Aquajogger kits to enhance strength training.

Kettlebell Workout

Working out with a kettlebell offers more fat fighting and body toning benefits than you might think. A 20-minute kettlebell routine can beat 30 minutes on the treadmill due to the cardio and strength training benefits, according to The American Council on Exercise (ACE). Do this workout routine three times a week with 8-15 pound weights (women) or 15-25 pound weights (men).

• Kettlebell deadlifts
• Kettlebell single-arm swings
• Turkish half get-ups
• Kettlebell push-ups
• Kettlebell single arm rows
• Kettlebell walking lunges
• Kettlebell shoulder presses
• Kettlebell halos

For complete instructions, check out this guide from ACE.

A mix of cardio and strength training will have you looking swimsuit ready in no time. Pair a daily workout with healthy eating to maximize results. Be true to yourself and set a good example for your kids by getting active today.