6 ways to keep fit at home

Are you looking for easy ways to increase your fitness without committing too much time or money? Home advice expert and co-founder of comparemymove.com, Marc Benger, has collated six of the most effective ways to exercise in the comfort of your own home.

February is typically the month in which we are most likely to give up on our New Year’s resolutions. If, like many others, your bid to get fitter in 2016 is struggling against the pressures and demands of everyday life, don’t admit defeat just yet. There are many ways to achieve your fitness goals in the privacy of your home.

Exercise is a fantastic way to reduce stress and keep your mind alert, but not everyone can dedicate large amounts of time and money to it. Luckily, all you need is your body, some everyday household objects and just 20 minutes set aside each day to achieve results.

Here are six suggestions for implementing a new home fitness regime…

1. Free fitness sessions on YouTube

If you’re looking to try something new without committing any money to it, YouTube is the perfect place to test out trending fitness techniques. There are hundreds of workout channels for you to try, many of which require no special kit and take little time to complete.

One of the most popular channels at the moment is Blogilates, run by social media fitness entrepreneur, Cassey Ho. Her videos promote healthy living and fitness, and are suitable for beginner and advanced levels with a variety of different exercises and goals on offer to keep you motivated.

2. Clean the house

If household chores are among your long list of reasons for not having the time to exercise, now is your chance to change your attitude and start embracing cleaning as a rewarding physical activity. Studies suggest regular household chores can burn up to 2,000 calories a week!

The back-and-forth pulling motion of vacuuming and sweeping the floors is a great workout for your abdominals, thighs and upper arms. Instead of bending over to access those hard-to-reach corners, hold a squat position to burn more calories and work your leg muscles.

3. Interactive games consoles

The Nintendo Wii Fit and Microsoft Kinect both provide fun and interactive ways to get the whole household involved in a workout. Both consoles offer a huge variety of competitive fitness games using motion sensors to create a virtual reality for players. The technology is being constantly developed to build a more realistic and impressive experience, and the latest consoles can now track up to six people at once.

Whether you’re into team sports or dancing, games consoles have something for everyone. And the best thing about turning exercise into a competitive game is that you forget you’re doing exercise altogether.

4. TV exercises

Giving up your favourite show to exercise is a struggle for any TV addict. But if you start incorporating a few simple moves throughout the duration of your favourite programme, you can turn watching TV into an effective physical challenge.

Start out with some floor-based interval work, such as leg raises or abdominal crunches, and aim to complete a set every 10 minutes. If you start including some exercises into your usual rest time, you don’t have to feel so guilty about those weekend Netflix binges.

5. Store cupboard equipment

If you are truly committed to not spending any money on your fitness regime, look no further than your kitchen cupboards for some completely free and ideal kit for resistance training.

Large bottles of water, squash or even wine all make fantastic substitutes for expensive dumbbells, and cans of baked beans or bags of rice can add extra resistance to your living room cardio routine.

6. Gardening

Activities such as weeding, raking soil and painting fences involve considerable physical effort, and should be included in your monthly fitness routine wherever possible.

As little as 30 minutes of gardening can burn up to 300 calories, and unless your garden is exceptionally pristine, most sessions tend to take considerably longer. Next time your lawn or flowerbeds need a bit of love, don’t put it off until summer. Instead, get outside and enjoy the satisfaction of a really productive workout.