You can accomplish a lot using your own body weight, but you can also use simple exercise tools to work out at home. These tools give you a few more options and allow you to intensify your exercise, if you wish. Below we highlight several tools, most of which are also available on the Basic-Fit webshop:
Fitness mat
Very basic, but quite important: a fitness mat provides support when you're doing abdominal exercises and is also useful for yoga and Pilates. Make sure the mat is placed securely on the floor and doesn't slip and slide, as this could result in injury when doing fast movements.
Dumbbells and/or barbell with plates
With free weights you can do specific exercise such as bicep curls and shoulder presses, and you can also up the intensity of other exercises. Squats and lunges, for example, become a lot more challenging when you have a barbell on your back or plates in your hands. If your budget allows, get both dumbbells and a barbell. This will give you the freedom to introduce variation into your exercise. Slowly increase the total weight so you can continue to exercise safely and with proper technique.
Medicine ball
This tool is always useful for core exercises but also for stretching. A medicine ball is great to use if you work from home. It will keep your lower back limber and activate your core muscles. This exercise tool does take up a bit of room, so see if you can find a smaller balance training tool as an alternative if you don't have room for such a large ball.
Kettlebell
A kettlebell doesn't take up much room and allows you to easily do a full body workout with a lot of different exercises. Take the kettlebell swing, for example, which works out the entire body and helps create a strong and limber body. With the kettlebell you can always squeeze in a quick workout if you work or study from home.
Resistance bands set - 5 pieces
Lunges, side lunges or side leg raises with resistance bands? Your legs are sure to feel that! You can even do some exercises when seated, like when watching Netflix! What's more, workouts with resistance bands are great if you're recuperating from an injury. Thanks to the various strengths of the mini-bands, you can slowly reacquaint your body with bearing weight post-injury through resistance. With these exercises you can easily design your own workout with resistance bands so you can continue to train every muscle, even when the gym is closed.
Ab wheel
This is a real golden oldie that's being rediscovered by more and more people. The ab wheel is highly recommended if you truly want to work on your abs. Be sure to keep your back straight and don't let it droop. For the best results, do the following exercise. Sit on your knees while holding the ab wheel in your hands. Tense your core and roll forward as much as you can on the floor while keeping your back straight. Go as far as you can and then slowly roll back towards your starting position. Check out some videos on the Internet to see the correct way to do this exercise.
With these tools you can exercise at home – without disturbing your downstairs neighbors. Do you have a lot of space at home and no downstairs neighbors? Then get a jump rope, an adjustable bench and a medicine ball.
Have fun working out!
This blog is written by one of our Personal Trainers, Angelina Hammond.
