7 great bodyweight exercises you can do at home, straight from a trainer
- Move your body to keep up your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic
- You don’t need any equipment to get a good workout, says Hong Kong-based trainer Daniel Williams
You can do these exercises at home, without any exercise.It’s easy to get cabin fever, especially in Hong Kong’s tiny flats. One important thing to do is to keep moving, because it really does wonders for your mental health, which might be suffering during this weird and challenging time.
“It’s not easy working out at home; equipment limitations, space limitations and lack of anyone watching your technique can be frustrating and demotivating,” said Daniel Williams, Director of Performance at Precision Fitness gym in Central.
Thankfully, Williams gave Young Post some simple bodyweight exercises you can do at home, without any equipment. We’ve also included demonstrations of the movements (starring Williams) so you can make sure your technique is correct.
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Bodyweight squat
“The squat is super-duper important for many awesome reasons,” said Williams. “It uses lots of different muscles, it’s super ‘functional’ and it will give your lower body (and if you’re lucky, your upper body as well) some awesome shape.”
Push ups
Maybe you groaned and rolled your eyes when you saw “push ups” – we get it, they’re tough, and it takes a lot of practice to get good at them. But when they’re done correctly, they can be a great full-body exercise.
Lunges
“Lunging is potentially one of the most functional exercises,” Williams said, adding that lunges can help you get improve at almost any physical activity. If you want to get stronger and better at carrying your shopping bags, start lunging. Want to hike better? Start lunging. Want to be an expert on the guitar? Well, this won’t help – we did say almost anything, after all!
If you’re looking for more of a challenge (and have the space for it), you can try walking lunges.
Plank
Planks are another exercise you’ve probably heard of. For this one, we challenge you to have some deep belly breaths while you’re holding the position.
Glute Bridge
Your glutes (aka your bum) are the biggest muscles on your body and should theoretically be doing most of the work when it comes to keeping good posture. This exercise is super simple and will help you strengthen your butt (which is good for your back!)
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Plank walkouts
“This may seem like a strange one, but it’s a simple exercise that replicates an ab rollout and is very effective,” said Williams, adding that you might not see it on many people’s exercise lists.
Curtsy lunge
Don’t let the name fool you; you’re not actually doing a curtsy! This move is also called a rotational lunge or even a clock lunge and gets you moving in a different direction, rather than just forward and backward.
Now that you know the moves, how should you put them together for a workout?
“It’s super simple,” said Williams. “Start a stopwatch, and do each exercise for 30 seconds, with 30 seconds of rest in between. Do this for as many rounds as you’d like!”