How to Build Up Your Fitness Levels at Home

The new year has started the same way 2020 ended; with COVID-19 running rampant across the majority of the world. The result? Non-essential retail and hospitality being forced to close, and that includes gyms. For many people, a new year brings with it renewed hope of getting fit and increasing health levels, but with gyms remaining closed in many parts of the world, enthusiasm to get started may wane.

Although gyms have closed, there’s no reason why you need to shelf your exercise kick. There are many ways you can build up your fitness levels at home – both with and without the use of equipment, so there’s really no excuse to put off getting fit. Doing so will not only make you feel better mentally because exercise releases endorphins, but it will put you in better stead health-wise which can reduce your risk of heart problems, strokes and extend your life expectancy.

COVID-19 is a deadly disease that can be exasperated by underlying health conditions (such as heart and lung problems), of which regular exercise can reduce the risk. If not for appearance reasons, building up your fitness levels can benefit your long-term health, and for that alone, it’s worth it.

So, how do you improve your fitness levels at home? Let’s start without equipment.

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Build Up Your Fitness Levels Without Equipment

There are a number of home workouts that benefit your whole body without the need for equipment, the most obvious being cardio in the form of jogging. Going for a run is highly effective for getting you out the house, opening up your lungs and increasing your endorphins. This is great for your mental health, and in terms of physical health, running works the core and legs. These are essential for stability and spinal alignment, so giving them a good workout is paramount to keeping you upright and with good posture.

If you’re new to running, you probably won’t be able to do a 5k jog off the bat, and that means you’ll need to slowly work up to it. There are several apps you can download to help you, but a good programme to follow is:

1. Do a brisk warm up walk for five minutes – fast enough to get your heart beating but not too fast that you can’t hold a conversation.
2. Jog for 40 seconds – don’t sprint, a gentle jog just faster than your brisk warm up walk is a good pace.
3. Do a brisk recovery walk for 60 seconds – a similar pace to the warm up walk you did is ideal.
4. Repeat steps two and three six more times.
5. Do a brisk warm down walk for five minutes – the same pace as your warm up walk.

Do this routine around three or four times in one week until you’re comfortable with it, taking care to leave a rest day in between each run. When you’ve done the above routine a few times and you feel it getting easier, on your second week extend your jogs by 10 seconds and reduce your recovery walks by 10 seconds. Again, do the routine three or four more times in a week with rest days in between. Continue increasing the jogs and reducing the walks by 10 seconds every week until you end up running for 25-30 minutes with no break.

It will take a few months to achieve, but building up your cardio fitness isn’t a quick fix, so sticking with it is key. Get a running buddy to help motivate you, and if you don’t like the idea of road running, do the routine on a treadmill and watch TV to keep your mind from focusing on the running too much.

Once your cardio fitness is at a decent level, you may find it easier to boost other areas of your fitness such as strength and stamina. When it comes to boosting these at home, your own body weight is the only equipment you need. Doing planks, press ups, lunges, squats and side planks are all great for increasing your overall body strength and toning you. It’s best to do them in reps or times rounds; for example:

1. 45 seconds of squats
2. 30 second rest
3. 45 second plank
4. 30 second rest
5. 45 seconds of lunges
6. 30 second rest
7. 45 seconds of press ups
8. 30 second rest
9. 45 seconds of side planks (per side)
10. 30 second rest

Repeat this routine five times and add in other moves if you want to bulk out your routine. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it and the longer you exercise for and the lesser you will need to rest.

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Build Up Your Fitness Levels With Equipment

If you have equipment at home, there are plenty of targeted home workouts for men and women alike that you can undertake. The risk of injury with equipment is slightly higher, so when trying to increase your fitness levels at home, it’s essential that you understand how to use the equipment first.

Common equipment many people choose to weave into their home fitness routines include:

• Dumbbells
• Kettlebells
• Resistance bands
• Weighted bags (sandbags)
• Exercise bikes
• Treadmills/CrossFit machines

In the same way exercising without equipment is a timely process, it will take a few months with equipment, too. The best way to increase endurance and overall fitness is by doing a routine and repeating it, and once you feel it getting easier, increasing the difficulty. A good example of a home workout with equipment is:

1. Do a five-minute warm up on an exercise bike – at a gentle pace enough to increase your heart rate but so much that you can’t hold a conversation
2. 45 seconds of kettlebell swings
3. 30 second rest
4. 45 seconds of weighted lunges with kettlebells
5. 30 second rest
6. 45 seconds of squats with a weighted bag across your shoulders
7. 30 second rest
8. Repeat steps 2-7 four times
9. Do a five-minute warm down on an exercise bike at a similar pace to the warm up

Repeat the workout three or four times a week with a rest day in-between each session, and on your second week increase the length of the exercises by 10 seconds and decrease the amount of rest between each exercise by 10 seconds.

You might choose to supplement your equipment-based workout with a jog, a brisk walk or other exercises that don’t require equipment.

Overall

Regardless of whether you choose to use equipment or not, increasing your fitness levels at home isn’t an overnight process and it’s essential that you take rest days and take the time to gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise you’re doing. Listen to your body and stop if you injure yourself. If it takes you a bit longer to adjust to your new routine until you feel it getting easier, that’s fine. The biggest part of increasing your fitness is to take your time – it’s not a race.

Of course, supplement your new fitness regimen with a balanced diet to really maximise results and loo after your body in the most comprehensive way possible.