If all you have is a pair of trainers, a desire to get fit and severe dislike for having to spend money to do so then look no further than this article. Well, you’ll have to add a good training bra to that list if you’re a girl.
Anyway, there are numerous ways to get fitter and stronger but some moves are ideal if lack of equipment and time mean that you don’t get around to it.
Exercise Before Breakfast
If you want to make the most of any exercise you do then simply get up early and get sweaty before you eat your breakfast. It’s said that this alone can allow you to burn 20% more fat than usual. The study also looked into whether there was an effect on the amount consumed later in the day.
Thankfully the results were favourable and those tested did not choose to consume more calories later on, just make sure that you do fuel yourself after your workout to allow your body the nutrients for recovery.
Divide exercise sessions during the day
Only got short periods of time during the day, this could actually be of benefit to you. Each and every time we exercise there is a certain amount of time afterwards that we continue to burn calories even though we are resting.
It has been shown that you can benefit from dividing your hour training session into two, one in the morning and one in the evening. These shorter sessions are easier to stick to and fit into your day but also double up for stationary calorie burning time.
Box Jumps
Usually done on a box of 12, 18 and 24 inches high but you can in fact jump on to anything. Perhaps you’ve got a hard standing at the side of your house, a raised area of garden that has a retaining wall. As long as the height challenges you then this exercise can fatigue you quickly but in doing so there are eight muscle groups that will be engaged.
Box jumps are a plyometric exercise (requiring muscles to exert the maximum force in a short amount of time) that will enable you to develop explosive power.
Stand shoulder width apart in an athletic position, face on to the box/ jump area. To perform the jump you will need to drop into a quarter squat quickly and controlled, now extend your hips and swing your arms to give you power. Push through your feet to propel yourself on to the box.
No doubt my explanation sounds harder than the actual exercise. The thing is to be mindful of your body and concentrate, use your body evenly to get the best results, think to land lightly and quietly.
Now once you’re on the box you want to jump back off in just as controlled way. Do this 10 times and repeat for three sets of ten and you will be on your way to a strong powerful body.
Interval Training
Running, some people love it , many hate it but running is the most effective way of losing weight and with only the need for a good pair of trainers and a good running bra for women. Most people would assume that running for a long time and distance would be the most effective way of making this exercise work for you. But much new research shows that short bursts at high intensity are the way to shift the belly fat and improve fitness and heart health.
Now obviously don’t go from being a person that has never done a day’s exercise in their life to suddenly sprinting around the park but if you would like to charge up your regime then adding in sprints, hill sprints and intervals will give you outstanding results.
If you’ve only got 20 minutes it’s fine, get your kit on walk out the house, and choose a way of marking your efforts. Perhaps street lamps or trees, you want to sprint for approximately one minute, and then you walk back to the start which should give you roughly four minutes rest. And repeat. It’s not exactly the most taxing of work outs on paper but those one minute sprints can be hell to your legs.
If you want to see more improvement and faster then do the same but on hills, sprint up and walk down. This kind of training will see your VO2 max increasing and will help in your general runs.