Its January again! And with the new year comes all of the resolutions and fresh-start feelings and you may want to either get yourself into exercise, or get yourself back into exercise after the holidays.
One of the best ways to get yourself into, or back into, exercise is to strip it all back to the basics.
Try this workout using basic movement patterns that you can either perform as body weight exercises or add some weight to them to get your heart rate going and activating those muscles.
Exercises
Stiff leg Deadlift
Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and your weight (dumbbells, barbell, resistance band etc.) in your hands resting in front of you. Keeping the knees soft, bend at the hips and think about running the weight down the front of the legs, go as far as possible while maintaining a flat back (dependent on flexibility). Then return, brining the weight up the legs, squeezing the hamstrings and the glutes and maintaining that supported back.
Squat
Start with your feet just over hip width apart with toes pointing forward. Bend at the knees and the hips, moving the hips backwards as if going to sit on a seat. Keep the back straight and the core engaged. Squeeze the glutes (bum) as you drive back up to standing. This can be performed as a body weight exercise or if you want to add some more resistance- you can hold one dumbbell (goblet squat) at your chest with both hands, or hold one dumbbell in each hand.
Incline press up
For this you will need a surface like a chair, a bench or if you are in a gym- a barbell in the rack is perfect. Place your hands on the edge of the surface (or on the bar bell) wider than shoulder width apart. Then step your feet backwards until you are in a plank-like position and rise up onto your toes so that you are leaning on the surface and have a straight line from your heels to your shoulders. Once you have got the position, bend the elbows and lower your chest towards the surface, keeping it nice and controlled, then breath out ad push yourself back up- like a normal press up.
Bent over row
Stand with your feet slightly apart with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend at the hips, lowering your chest while keeping your back straight and your core engaged. Draw the elbows backward, keeping them close to the body, moving the weights along the upper leg to just above the hips (think pockets) then control back down and repeat.
Walking lunge
Just as it sounds! Start by taking a big step forward. Bend both knees and lower the torso straight down the middle until both your knees are at 90 degree angles (try not to bang your back knee on the floor)- this is a basic lunge. From here, push off the back foot and step it forward straight into another lunge on the other side (you can place your foot down at the point of standing first if you need to balance yourself). Keep repeating!
Dead bugs
Start lying on your back, lift the feet off the floor so there is a 90-degree angle at your hips and knees (see video) and raise your arms so they are pointing towards the ceiling. Brace the core by thinking about flattening the curve in your lower back. Extend one leg so it almost touches the floor, at the same time move the opposite arm over the head towards the floor. Then replace both the arm and the leg and repeat on the opposite side. If you are struggling with the core engagement, place your finger-tips (only!) under the natural curve in your lower back and think about squeezing down on your fingers- and keep that squeeze throughout the whole movement.
Perform each exercise for 12 repetitions and complete 3 sets with a short rest in between each set before moving onto the next exercise.
Enjoy!
