Exercises You Can Do at Home to Jumpstart a Healthier Life

We all know that exercise is good for our bodies, minds and overall health. Studies show that regular exercise can reduce stress, help us sleep better, and even reduce the risk for several chronic medical conditions. However, if you are new to exercise, jumping into a new routine can be overwhelming and quickly lead to burn out or even injury. It is important to talk to your physician before you begin any new exercise routine. Your doctor will be able to tell you what’s safe for you, help you set exercise goals, and keep you motivated. Once you have been cleared by your doctor here are a few exercises you can do in your own home that are effective and can jumpstart your new, healthier life.

 

Beginner Yoga Online

Yoga is one of the best low impact exercises to jumpstart your exercises journey. The benefits of yoga are numerous, and luckily there is no shortage of free videos you can follow online. Yoga is great for relieving muscle aches or soreness, reducing stress, and strengthening weak muscles.  The versatility of yoga makes it extremely easy to fit into any routine or busy lifestyle. You can easily incorporate yoga into your morning routine because you can choose the length of time you would like to practice and you do not have to get out of breath or sweaty to benefit from yoga. It is also a great way to warm up or cool down before and after a more strenuous workout Or, you can even choose a short and relaxing yoga routine to practice before bed to help you sleep better. There is no limit to how yoga can benefit your life, and getting started is easy! There is a yoga practice for every stage in your fitness journey, and almost every yoga pose can be modified to accommodate your level. Start small with a short beginner video, and slowly work your way up. 

 

Beginner Cardio Exercises

 

Cardiovascular exercise describes a type of workout that is designed to increase your heart rate, causing you to breathe faster and more deeply, which in turn increases the amount of oxygen in your blood. Over time, this provides your body with several major health benefits including increased heart health and easier management of chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Regularly performing cardiovascular exercises can even improve your mental capacity as well. After talking with your doctor to ensure it is safe for you to begin cardio workouts, consider some of the following exercises:

• Jumping jacks
• Jogging in place
• Mountain climbers

Make it a full routine by performing 5-10 minutes of warm-up stretches and completing each exercise 3 times for 10-30 seconds each time with plenty of rest in between exercises. Start very slow, and do not overwork your body. If you are new to cardio exercises, you may feel burning in your lungs or notice that you become out of breath very quickly, if these things happen, take a break, drink some water, and start again. Over time, you will be able to increase the amount of time you can perform each exercise and lessen how much rest time you need. Consider, also, incorporating any of these exercises into your daily life when it works for you. Take a break from work every hour to do 30 seconds of jumping jacks, or try jogging in place as you watch your favorite television shows. 

 

Beginner Bodyweight Exercises

Bodyweight fitness is a great way to introduce your body to low impact strength training. Strength training can improve muscle strength, improve your balance and stability, and even contribute to lower abdominal fat. Strengthening your muscles using your body’s own weight is typically a safe and healthy way to incorporate strength training into your routine. After confirming with your physician that you are able to complete bodyweight workouts, try out some of these versatile exercises:

• Planks
• Squats
• Lunges 

Each of the above exercises can be modified to be easier on your body or made to be more difficult once you build up more strength. You can combine these exercises to create a full routine. Be sure to warm up and cool down before and after each workout, then complete each exercise for 10-30 seconds 3 times with about a minute’s rest between each round. It is also important that you hold the proper form when completing these exercises. If you are unable to hold the proper form, you will need to modify the exercise to work for your body.  You do not have to do a full workout routine to see benefits from bodyweight exercises— they can easily be worked into your daily life whenever it is convenient for you. For example, you can start each day by holding a plank for as long as possible while maintaining proper form, and increase your hold time every other week. Or consider performing walking lunges as you move about your house completing chores. 

 

Regardless of age or ability, exercise is extremely beneficial to your overall physical and mental health. Incorporating these workouts into your current schedule can be easy, and you will likely begin to notice changes in your body very soon after starting a new routine. It is important to remember that working out can cause your muscles to be sore until your body is used to exercising. Talking to your doctor before beginning a new workout routine is extremely important, as he or she will know what type of workout regime will benefit you most based on your current health status, and will inform of what is to be expected regarding muscle soreness and discomfort during and after exercise. If you have questions about starting a new home workout, please visit our website or schedule an appointment with a physician today.