Things are starting to get back to normal, schools are back after the summer holidays, people are getting back into the office more often – which means more time spent commuting and running around and the first thing to always be sacrificed is exercise!
If you don’t have the time to make it to the gym there is always a spare 20-30 mins for a home workout. One of my favourite pieces of equipment to use at home is the mini bad, nice and affordable and small enough to store easily.
Try this little workout to get those muscles working and get you moving and easy to squeeze into your day!
The Exercises
Glute bridges
Lying on your back with the soles of your feet on the floor and knees up. Tuck your pelvis under, then squeeze the glutes (bum) and lift the hips until your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Then keep control as you lower down, rolling down the spine, and repeat.
Squat with pulse
This can be done either as a body weight squat or holding a weight to your chest like a goblet (goblet squat). Firstly step into the band and pull it up so it is around your thighs just above the knee. Standing with the feet just over hip-width apart, bend at both the hips and the knees. Draw the hips back as if going to sit on a little stool behind you while keeping the core engaged. Once there you will begin to come back up to standing but then go back down to the bottom of your squat- like a pulse at the bottom of the movement (low double contraction if your nerdy or technical) then you can come all the way back up to standing squeezing those glutes all the way up.
3 point tap
Step into the mini band and pull up so it is around your ankles. Stand with your feet slightly apart and bend a little at the knees. Take your right foot forward and tap it on the floor, then return to centre, then tap the same foot out to the side and return to centre, then tap the same foot to the back and return to centre- that is 1 rep. Repeat all reps on one side before swapping to the other foot.
Row
For this you will either be sitting on the floor (resistance band) or on a bench (gym pulley/ machine) take the band/ handles in your hands with our arms straight keeping a good posture. Then you are going to pull your elbows backwards aiming to bring your hands into the sides of your lower ribs. Then slowly return the arms to a long position and repeat.
Overhead Press
Loop the mini band around your wrists with your palms facing forward. Bring your hands a little wider than your shoulders at chest height- squeezing outwards to create tension in the band. While maintaining that tension, raise the hands bringing the arms up overhead. Then lower (still keeping that tension) and repeat.
Try this as a circuit, completing 12 repetitions of each exercise or 40 seconds if you want a bit more of a challenge. Complete either 3 or 4 rounds depending on your current fitness levels.
