Working out at home 101

[The Devils Arse]

Does anyone have advice for starting to work out at home safely? I'm interested in bodyweight exercises, cardio and balance/flexibility. I'd like advice from normal people who aren't fitness experts. I'm sorry if there's another thread like this, I couldn't find one but I'd be more than happy to post there if you could point it out. Thanks in advance!

Some questions I have are:
How did you start as a beginner?
How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level? It's so overwhelming with all the options out there
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form
How did you perfect your form?
What advice would you have loved when you started?
Any other advice you have is welcome

I can't recommend fitness blender enough. All home workouts that do a mix of everything you are after.

Loads of free workouts or you csn pay a few quid for a programme.

Background:

I started off as in the obese category 2 so I didn't want to do any jumping around. So I used the fb low impact workout. At the time they only had 1 4 week programme, so I repeated that 4 times. I didnt get any dumbells until the second month as I wanted to get my body used to doing something. When they did strength exercises I either did body weight or used tins. I now have power-block dumbells and adore strength training.

I then picked another programme, this time a 8 week one and just gradually increased my cardio. Ie when they did jumping jacks, I did 3 non jumping, then 2 jumping.

Now I do all their high impact stuff as I am so much fitter. All I would say is take your time and don't jump into mad HIIT workouts!

They have loads of workouts which you can filter on low impact, strength, pilates etc. There are also lots of articles about health, form, recipes etc. Their ethos is about being kind to yourself and even doing a 15 min stretching/pilates workout is better then doing nothing if you are just not feeling it.

They started off as a husband and wife team, and they just get on with the exercise. They huff and sweat as well. None of this annoying woohooing and being over excited that some online trainers (americans) tend to be.

Good luck!

Fitness Blender

Professional full length at home workout videos and progressive exercise programs for free, day pass, and by subscription.

www.fitnessblender.com

 

[TheGreatOne]

Does anyone have advice for starting to work out at home safely? I'm interested in bodyweight exercises, cardio and balance/flexibility. I'd like advice from normal people who aren't fitness experts. I'm sorry if there's another thread like this, I couldn't find one but I'd be more than happy to post there if you could point it out. Thanks in advance!

Some questions I have are:
How did you start as a beginner?
How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level? It's so overwhelming with all the options out there
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form
How did you perfect your form?
What advice would you have loved when you started?
Any other advice you have is welcome

Hey, i know you said no fitness experts but rules are there to be broken…. Right? I‘m a personal trainer and I’ll give you some very simple, tips.
Starting as a beginner. Just start! Don’t over complicate it. Don’t worry about doing things wrong just start. Achieving that first work out is something a lot of people never do. ‘Next week’ never comes. regardless of what exercises or length just get your journey started and you’ll definitely be proud of yourself.
2) planning a routine. Biggest mistake people make is putting too much pressure on themselves, they plan to work out 5 times a week (with all intention of doing so) and when they realise it’s too much they beat themselves up, feel bad then quit.
Start off with twice a week. In terms of exercise YouTube on the TV is a great source. searching key terms like “15 min cardio” “25 minute abs“ etc. Starting off with a smaller number of exercise a week leave you two options. 1) increase workout length 2) increase number of workouts per week. Building up slowly as you improve.

3) Preventing injuries. if you’ve been out of exercise a long time warm up. Again you can literally YouTube “5 min warm up” get your muscles, joins and central nervous system firing before a workout. then cool down, again YouTube is your friend.
Refering to point 2 don’t plan too many workouts straight off the bat. If you’ve been out of exercise a long time or you’re a larger build, when you first start it might be wise to avoid HIIT training and high impact. (running, jumping) NOTE: you can always search for ‘low impact’ or ‘no jump‘ exercises.
this could be a goal to work towards if its something you want to do

4) form. Form doesn’t come naturally and his something you’ll learn and modify over time. The only time id reccomend to stop doing an exercise is if there is pain when doing so.
Again the internet is your friend. “How to do a pressup” “how to squat” if you want to make an exercise easier you can search “how to REGRESS a pressup” however must online workout videos will usually have regressions and progressions so it’s suitable for all levels.
If you want any advice, whether that be exercise, nutrition let me know I’m happy to help!

 

[GreenEyedStorm]

Does anyone have advice for starting to work out at home safely? I'm interested in bodyweight exercises, cardio and balance/flexibility. I'd like advice from normal people who aren't fitness experts. I'm sorry if there's another thread like this, I couldn't find one but I'd be more than happy to post there if you could point it out. Thanks in advance!

Some questions I have are:
How did you start as a beginner?
How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level? It's so overwhelming with all the options out there
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form
How did you perfect your form?
What advice would you have loved when you started?
Any other advice you have is welcome

If you go on YouTube there’s a girl called Emi Wong her workouts are amazing. Really easy to follow, she even does ones that have no jumping (if you live in a flat)
I’ve done her HIIT workouts and the calories and swear that comes off you is crazy! They rang between like 10minutes and 40!

 

[Welshgal]

Hiya, so during the first lockdown in 2020 I had to switch from going (sparsely) to the gym to at home workouts. Therefore I had little bit of experience but really not that much.

I used Pamela Reifs‘ videos on youtube and her workout plans. If you search for her on instagram you will find story highlights with a 30 minute beginner, 30 minute and 45 minute „sweaty“ plan. She has more (like a slow 45 minute one or a „busy“ plan that only has three days) but those are behind a paywall in her app. I‘m completely fine with the free ones though!

I used to do the 45 minute sweaty one but since I‘ve took a very long break from any exercise I am currently doing the 30 minute beginner plan and love it. I see results much faster than I ever have in the gym - but be aware that even some of her „beginner“ videos can be quite intense and I do occasionally have to switch out moves.

So I guess that answers your first two questions. I‘d try her beginner plan and see if it works for you. Preventing an injury for me really comes down to listening to my body and also I‘ve made sure to workout in front of a mirror for the first few weeks to check my form is the same as hers. Be mindful of what you do and if a certain exercise doesn’t feel right or hurts then stop and do something else (my knees hurt a lot during jump squats so I will do normal squats a bit quicker than usually). She also has some videos were she talks through the exercises and points out what‘s important to do or don‘t. Those might be helpful at first.

My advise would be to ease yourself into it. I know her plans have 5 workout days but if you only manage 3 at the start that‘s totally fine as well as not being able to do every exercise. I used to get so frustrated and stop the video but now I just do a regular crunch when I can‘t do a jackknife with correct form for example.

 

[no-no]

How did you start as a beginner?
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form

I joined a gym but it was getting tedious just using the cardio equipment. The weights area terrified me so I attended some of the body toning classes to build leg strength (kept getting running injuries) and get to grips with my coordination. I only did them for a month before I felt confident setting up my own workout plans.

Have you got a PureGym nearby? It’s very cheap and their classes are all free.

How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level?

Gymshark and Fitbod apps are great and have beginners workouts for various times. I did upper/lower body splits 2-3 times a week initially now I do push/pull/legs. I have a decent home gym so can do most things at home but still need the gym for the larger machines.

How did you perfect your form?

Using low weights and working on form first by following good quality Instagram content. Check out @anakaticfitness and @lisafiitworkouts on Instagram, Lisa has an app @strngofficial__ Their posts are so easy to follow.

What advice would you have loved when you started?

He’s another good account to follow!

 

[SpaceshipEarth]

I absolutely agree with the recommendation for Fitness Blender. We also love them, especially their approach to working out. Good form and showing up for yourself is better than throwing yourself around with no regard for good form and potential injury. They have tons of free workouts on their website and the suggestion to start with their low impact or bodyweight only routines is a really good one. You can do all the exercises without weights to perfect form first. We also love the way the workouts are structured, we love their "bored easily" format and also like the timer and next exercise preview which really help you keep on track and see what's coming so you can get ready. We also love all their trainers, and especially how they are motivating without being annoying! It's so refreshing to find home workouts by people who are real and don't look like perfect models! We have brought several of their programmes and just became paid FB Plus members, all amazing value for money but start with the free workouts and see if you like them, hope you do!!

 

[Snippysnips]

I did youtube an found a channel called body project, I just did one of their beginning low impact ones, was 30 mins an by doing that every day (plus a good food plan) I lost around 8lbs in a month, I was super unfit so the first week was really hard but it got easier as it went on an it really helped with giving me more energy as well, there's always two people in the backround one that's low impact an one that's high so you can pick an also they include things that's easy to find round the house like water bottles as weights

 

[krillernew]

Does anyone have advice for starting to work out at home safely? I'm interested in bodyweight exercises, cardio and balance/flexibility. I'd like advice from normal people who aren't fitness experts. I'm sorry if there's another thread like this, I couldn't find one but I'd be more than happy to post there if you could point it out. Thanks in advance!

Some questions I have are:
How did you start as a beginner?
How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level? It's so overwhelming with all the options out there
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form
How did you perfect your form?
What advice would you have loved when you started?
Any other advice you have is welcome

 

[BettyCrockerr]

Does anyone have advice for starting to work out at home safely? I'm interested in bodyweight exercises, cardio and balance/flexibility. I'd like advice from normal people who aren't fitness experts. I'm sorry if there's another thread like this, I couldn't find one but I'd be more than happy to post there if you could point it out. Thanks in advance!

Some questions I have are:
How did you start as a beginner?
How did you plan a routine? How did you know it was suitable for your fitness level? It's so overwhelming with all the options out there
How did you prevent injuries? I'm worried about damaging something because of poor form
How did you perfect your form?
What advice would you have loved when you started?
Any other advice you have is welcome

Honestly I’d probably go to a gym a few times to get to grips with the above and get advice from a PT. You don’t need to tell them you plan to work out at home but you should like you would be better off getting started in a gym environment and then you can start replicating that at home.

 

[strawb]

i highly recommend pamela reif

 

[Lola UK]

her programs are super easy & fun to follow, and she just seems amazing in general!

very motivating as well haha

Thank you for this rec, her workouts are so fun! She has soooo many to choose from too. I wish my arse looked like hers though.

 

[prozacprincess]

I highly recommend Les Mills on Demand. There is a great variety of workouts and beginners plans. I’m fitter than I’ve ever been since signing up last year.

 

[Lola UK]

Ooh I’ve just looked up Pamela Reif and she looks so fun!! Im going to start doing some of those!

 

[strawb]

Thank you for this rec, her workouts are so fun! She has soooo many to choose from too. I wish my arse looked like hers though.

i adore her and hate her at the same time

 

[Ovidiumark]

I would recommend paying attention to the exercises you can do at home without involving any objects from the exterior. This usually causes most traumas because you cannot know that your chair is solid enough to bear your weight.
I would also suggest getting some peloton weights. They will make your cardio training much more effective. They are also useful for the whole body, and you will see the results sooner than without any weights. You can purchase these weights from amazon or a local sports shop; it does not matter. Just use them extensively, making the training process much more effective.

 

[strawb]

Ooh I’ve just looked up Pamela Reif and she looks so fun!! Im going to start doing some of those!

her programs are super easy & fun to follow, and she just seems amazing in general!

very motivating as well haha