I’m away on vacation as I write this and don’t have access to the internet (at least not streaming) and don’t have access to a gym or all my home equipment. But I did do an epic workout this morning and got inspired to share with you how you can build your own home workout (or vacation workout lol).
I’ve never been one to really take time off of exercise. I love it and I always find it so much harder to get started again if you do take a big break. I enjoy working out on vacation since it keeps my energy levels up (counter-intuitive I know), improves my mood and keeps me feeling strong and connected to my body.
Today I did a much needed strength training workout. See the thing is… cardio workouts are great for vacations as they usually require minimal equipment. If you have a good pair of sneaks, you can run or walk. If you’re by the beach you can swim etc… Over the past week I’ve enjoyed road biking, a long distance run, a hill sprint workout, going to yoga classes and lots of swimming. All good things:)
But I know that to maintain my figure and keep my strength, I need to strength train. You see muscles are what give us our shape! And they keep the metabolism burning at full force. After a good strength training session you burn calories for up to 12 hours afterwards. During a run, you’re burning calories only during the run. And you could also be burning muscle so losing the ability to burn more calories… See where I’m going with this?
YOU NEED TO STRENGTH TRAIN!
Sure there are a ton of excuses not to workout… I get it. You forgot your sneakers, there isn’t any weights or dedicated space, your kids are running around, you don’t know where to start or it’s too hot. I’m here to help you realize that none of that matters! You can still build a killer workout and make it happen.
Here’s How:
- Download the TABATA timer app to your phone- TABATA TIMER APP. Set the timer to whatever interval times you’d like. I suggest 1 minutes of exercise with 15-30 seconds of rest for at least 10 sets (although you might as well do 20…lol)
- Write out you workout choosing from the list of exercises below. Make sure you choose a variety of moves that will ensure you’ve worked your entire body. Sometimes we play safe and choose the exercises we like doing and neglect the ones that may seem hard for us. Down the road this can lead to injury and an unbalanced body so make sure to include exercises from each: warm-up, upper body, core, legs, booty, cardio and cool down.
- Clear some space and start! Anything is better than nothing.
EXERCISES: CHOOSE 1-2 FROM EACH CATEGORY TO BUILD YOUR HOME WORKOUT.
WARM UP
- Squats
- High Knees
- Hamstring curls
- 1-2 minute light jog
LEGS
- Squats (add weight if you have any)
- Lunges
- Step ups
- Side Lunges
- Barre Plié pulses
UPPER BODY
- Push-ups
- Tricep dips
- Plank Marchs
- Strong air punches (double time if you can)
CORE
- Plank (side planks as well!)
- Bicycle
- Sit-ups
- Mountain Climbers
BOOTY
- Hip Thrusters (or bridge)
- Flat back donkey kicks (or any extended leg lift from on all 4’s)
- Squat pulses
CARDIO
- Burpees
- Squat jumps
- Lunge jumps
- Box jump (us a stair, ledge, park bench…)
- Side shuffles
- Running high knees
- Double time mountain climbers
STRETCH AND COOL DOWN
- butterfly stretch
- low lunge on each leg
- wide left straddle (or second splits)
- touch toes in forward fold
- child’s pose
AND BAM! That’s literally all you need to do. The key is to go as hard as you can while the timer is on, and then rest in between each set. You want to be sweaty, breathless and feel a burning in your muscles when you are done:)
Now it’s time for you to go and build your own home workout, no excuses. With consistency, you will find you start to tone and tighten in all the right places and will feel empowered by your new routine!
If you’re interested in more home workouts, check out my online training program FIT CLUB🙂
