During this crazy lockdown period it can seem hard to exercise at home, especially when you’re at home with a baby. You might only get small windows of time when the baby is happy, or sleeping where you can squeeze in a short workout session.
Exercise boosts your immune system, helping you to stay healthy. Exercise also helps improve mood, reducing anxiety and depression, reduces stress and can even improve your sleep quality. Of course all this is in addition to the benefits of increased strength, cardiovascular fitness, bone density, balance and weight management.
Did you know you can accumulate smaller increments of exercise to add up to your daily total? No need to do a full hour all at once. To help you make the most of your time, and get the most bang for your buck, try to train your biggest muscle groups and use combination movements so you’re getting as many muscles and burning as many calories as you can with each move rather than isolating each little muscle. Here’s a few suggestions.
Reverse lunge with a bicep curl to overhead press press
Squat with a side kick, complete 10 reps on one side then 10 reps on the other side
Reverse plank with a tricep dip then alternating hand and toe touch
1 leg deadlift with bent over row
Lumberjack twist reach
You can also visit our “how to workout with a baby” article for some other ideas.