The rainy season's back with a vengeance and for many, it means surrendering to the call of lazy bones and comfortable beds. The wet streets and cool weather shouldn’t stop us from working up a sweat though. When it comes to maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, there is no room for excuses. The unpredictable weather could bring hazard to an outdoor workout, but exercising doesn’t have to be spent outside or cooped up in a gym. There are several effective (and free) alternatives to exercising at home. All you have to do is be creative.
Here are some of those workouts you can easily do in the comforts of your own homes.
Dancing
Two left feet? No problem! Dancing is moving your body to the beat of the music. The beauty of doing this in your home is no one’s there to watch (or judge) you. Street dancing, hip hop, ballroom, or just making random moves to a playlist of songs will do wonders for your heart and your spirit. An hour of dancing could burn up to 200 calories. That’s better than just lying in bed, right? So turn on your music players and start shaking those hips!
Yoga
If the yoga center’s too far and the rain is getting in the way of your yoga fix, then do it in your house. Look for a quiet room and place your yoga mat or towel in the middle of the floor, then begin the workout composed of stretches and core exercises. A usual yoga workout could take 1 hour or an hour and a half and could burn up to 300 calorie, depending on the intensity of the workout. If you are just beginning, there are loads of YouTube videos to help you get started. Breathe in, breathe out. You can do it. Ommmm.
High-Intensity Interval Training
It sounds scary, but it’s basically doing a series of different exercises with your best effort, and with alternating sets of rest in between. The beauty of this workout is you can exercise your whole body for a minimum of 12 minutes! A sample workout would be: 30 squats, 30 high knees, 30 burpees, and 30 mountain climbers with 10 seconds rest in between, repeat for 4 sets. It may seem easy at first, but as you go on to your second and third set, buckets of sweat might already be pouring out of you. What’s important is you finish doing the workout and with your best effort as possible. Don’t underestimate the power of the 12-minute workout!
Just Move
When it seems you have no workouts available, fear not. Choosing to move than lying on your bed is already the better choice. Do chores like mopping the floor, ironing clothes, or wiping windows will keep you in shape without realizing it. Another option is to run up and down the stairs for 20 minutes. Anything that would entail getting your heart pumped is a good enough workout. Just be creative and active with your exercises. Most people think working up a sweat needs to happen in a gym or in the great outdoors, but that is becoming more and more of a myth each day. We have always had the option and privilege to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle within the four walls of our homes, so let’s not waste that opportunity. And now with tools like DVDs and YouTube readily available, we have access videos and routines to the best home workouts. Remember, it’s not where you work up a sweat, but how you do. So the next time the rain comes in town again, don’t give in to the call of your bed and blankets. Get up and move!
