The 5 Best Workouts You Don’t Need A Gym Membership For

With Gym memberships becoming more and more expensive, it isn’t financially viable for everyone to have one. Therefore, working out at home is becoming increasingly popular. In recent years, people have become extra health conscious and they seem to be ditching the gym’s fancy equipment for exercising at home/ outside. Due to this trend, it seems home exercises have developed to accommodate the masses. Below are the best workouts that you don’t need a gym membership for.

H.I.I.T

H.I.I.T otherwise known as High Intensity Interval Training is when you work as hard as possible for short bursts of time then you have a short rest break. Normally done in periods of working out for 40 seconds then resting for 20 seconds. This is done for around 5 circuits of 5 activities. The intensity of these workouts means your heart rate is continually up for a long period of time which means you burn more calories quicker. The popularity of this regime has risen in the last few years. As a result; more people are talking about this technique. Which means more people are dabbling in it themselves to try to recreate people’s results. A further benefit of a HIIT workout is even after you have stopped the workout your increased heart rate is still burning calories. Lastly, HIIT can be tried by novices or religious gym goers as you can tailor the workout to your skill level which makes it an all-rounder. Making this one of the best workouts on the market.

Squats

Squats should be a prerequisite for anyone wishing to tone their quads and glutes. As everyone knows time is precious so people are often looking for exercises that tone multiple areas. By performing squats, you get exactly that. When squats are performed properly they can stabilise your core and improve your range of motion. As well as working your legs and bum they also work your abs. Its a complete workout in one move. The squat can be executed anywhere as there is no need for equipment. Therefore, it’s the perfect exercise to implement in your routine at home. You don’t need to worry about making a fool of yourself in front of strangers when you’re in your front room. So instead of lazing on the sofa watching TV get up and perform some squats. You’ll feel better for it and the more you do it the better you’ll get at them.

To achieve the perfect squat, make sure you have your feet are further than your hips with your toes pointing forward.  Look forward, tighten your core and squat down.

Plank

A plank is the ultimate test of upper body strength as you have to hold your body weight for as long as possible whilst tightening your stomach muscles. The plank will not only improve your core it has also been proven to improve flexibility, balance and tends to stop back pain. Although a plank seems like an incredibly simple movement it is actually more complex than it comes across. You may only view it as holding yourself up by your arms but this calls for endurance in your abs and back. As you are holding your complete weight it only becomes heavier as the time wears on. So if you struggle with balance or simply want to tone up your abs then this could be the move for you. Perfect for home workouts as all you need is the floor to lean on.

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Donkey Kicks

Another floor exercise that can be performed at home is donkey kicks. This is an underutilised exercise in the gym and by people who choose to work out at home. No one knows why as it is a simple exercise that boosts huge results. If you aspire to have a Kim K booty, then Donkey Kicks is for you. The simple movement tackles your glutes to lift, tighten and strengthen the muscles in your buttocks. To perform this move you need to get onto all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees below your hips. Then kick back one leg whilst squeezing your glutes. Then bend the knee, lower the leg and repeat ten times before moving onto the other leg. You may feel you look stupid doing this move as it isn’t the most graceful of positions. But when your lying in the sun looking marvellous in your bikini you won’t be regretting a single one.

Crunches

Last but in no means least. If you are looking to tone your stomach and have perfect abs like the ladies, you see in the magazines then crunches are for you. Crunches have never been as popular as their sister exercise the sit up. Until now. As many have found out that the crunch actually wields more results than the sit up. Your ab muscles activate at 30-45 degrees of movement, therefore, doing a sit-up for a longer degree actually gives zero benefits. In fact, it actually puts more pressure on the spine to perform the movement for a longer time. A round of crunches can also be achieved in less time making them more valuable. The crunch is also an exercise that is based on endurance, therefore, the more times a person does this the more strength they will feel in their core. Ultimately, if tighter abs are the goal then this move should be firmly in your arsenal.

Whether your goal is to exercise your glutes, stomach, legs or arms these are what I consider to be the best exercises to improve these areas. Clearly, you can workout at home successfully without having to have a gym membership. Let us know what you think.

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