11 Great Tips for Exercising Indoors | Get Better Results
Do you want to stay in shape, but don’t have enough time for outdoor exercise? There are plenty of ways to get your fitness on without ever leaving the house. Here are 11 great tips that will help you maintain your health and wellness goals while still staying warm and cozy inside.
1. Warm-up with a Stretch
Before you get started, make sure that you take some time to warm up your muscles. A good five-minute stretch is great for this and can help prevent injuries during more strenuous exercise routines. Don’t forget about the benefits of yoga either! Many find it helpful with both physical fitness and mental wellness. Yoga poses will work your muscles and the breathing required will help you stay focused throughout your workout.
2. Listen to Some Music
You can burn 400 calories if you dance for an hour at home! You don’t even need any special equipment or gear. Just put on some of your favorite songs and dance around the house. If you don’t have a stereo, try using a portable speaker or docking station for an even better workout experience.
3. Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts are all over the place these days! You can find them on nearly any topic that interests you from business advice to sports news. Why not try listening to them while you exercise? It will add a productive element to your workout and help motivate you. You can burn an extra 500 calories if you switch from music to podcasts for the last twenty minutes of your routine!
4. Take Advantage of Technology
There are plenty of modern inventions that have been created specifically with fitness in mind. For example, there are now devices that can track your heart rate and the number of steps you take each day. The best part about these is that they sync up with all sorts of technology including smartphones and laptops. You don’t have to work out alone either! Many fitness apps allow you to connect directly with friends who are working toward similar indoor fitness goals or have similar home gyms so you can motivate each other.
5. Work Out With a Friend
Whether you know someone who lives nearby or have an online connection, working out with others is helpful in two ways: it gives you more motivation and helps keep boredom at bay. Not only that but exercising with another person can be fun! Take turns leading the workout and see how many exercises each of you can come up with. If you have the space indoors, invest in a rowing machine or spin bike that syncs online and allows you to share stats with your buddy.
6. Take Advantage of Your Home Environment
Your home is full of potential exercise tools that are just waiting for your attention. Make use of the kitchen by doing squats while stirring a pot or pushups on top of the countertops while chopping vegetables. You can also do sit-ups, lunges, and crunches while brushing your teeth. If you have stairs in your house, make sure to use them when possible! Climbing up and down the steps will work out all of the muscles in your legs without making much impact on your knees or joints.
7. Do Yoga at Home
There are plenty of resources available for learning how to do yoga right from home including books, magazines, and online tutorials. Yoga is a great workout that can be done by nearly anyone anywhere! You don’t need any special equipment or gear to do it either which makes it perfect for those who are new to exercise and want to work out indoors. Yoga poses help you improve balance and flexibility while strengthening your muscles at the same time. The breathing techniques involved with yoga will help you stay focused and motivated to keep exercising.
8. Keep Clean
Make sure to keep your indoor workout area clean and tidy. This will help motivate you when you’re tempted to skip a workout because it’s just too messy in there! It also makes the space more inviting which can be helpful if this is where you plan on exercising most often or spend much time working out. If possible, try organizing things into drawers or cabinets so you can easily find what they need when it’s time for a workout.
9. Prepare Food and Water Ahead of Time
One thing that can make indoor exercising more difficult is forgetting to prepare ahead of time. For example, if you want a glass of water or bottle of sports drink during your workout then it’s best to keep one in the fridge and fill up another extra such as this. You should also think about prepping any food items for snacks ahead of time. This will help you avoid stopping your workout to run around and prepare something or spending extra time doing it later on because there’s no food in the house.
10. Take Advantage of Your Schedule
Everyone has busy days where they feel like they barely have two seconds to themselves, let alone enough spare time for exercise! The good news is that it’s possible to work out even on days where the schedule is packed. For example, you can do a ten-minute workout before going to bed or sneak in some exercise while waiting for water to boil by doing squats and lunges nearby.
11. Find Ways to Add Fun
The best exercises are those that don’t feel like a chore! If you’re able to find ways to make indoor exercising more enjoyable then you’ll be much more likely to stick with it. One way is by using your favorite music as the soundtrack for each workout session whether that means plugging in some headphones or streaming songs online. You can also keep an eye out for novelty items like exercise balls, stretch bands, and other items that can help make your workouts more interesting. You could also experiment with different forms of exercise such as pilates, yoga, and the Zumba dance fitness program to find something you like!
Conclusion
There are plenty of ways for people who live an active lifestyle indoors while staying healthy and fit so they don’t have to worry about harsh weather, the number of daylight hours in their area, Covid-19, or any other factors that can make it difficult to exercise outdoors. Also, if you are going to use machines, always aim for quiet exercise equipment. For instance, magnetic spin bikes instead friction spin bikes so you have peace of mind. By following these tips for indoor exercising you’ll be able to stay active even when stuck inside!
Hi, my name is Sayed Hamed Hosseiny. I am a professional health and fitness trainer with nearly 20 years of experience using ellipticals, rowing machines, and spin bikes. I also have my own EU-based Rock Fitness Pro fitness brand where I design, import and sell exercise equipment such as rowing machines and spin bikes. I and writers on my team also often receive fitness equipment to review and evaluate their functionalities and performance from tens of different exercise machines manufacturers. Fitness equipment tips, guides, reviews, and comparisons on this website are my opinion (and opinions of my fitness expert colleagues) based on tens of criteria. I never accept payment to write reviews of products or say positive things about fitness equipment products. If brands are interested to have me review their rowers, ellipticals, or spin bikes, they can get in touch with me via email provided on the contact page and send a sample of their product.
