Life in your 20s is often busy, whether working full-time, throwing yourself into further education, trying to balance your social life, or focusing on your career. Juggling so many plates can make squeezing fitness into your daily routine overwhelming. Throw into the mix the expense of forking out for a gym membership and other equipment, and you can easily see why many 20-somethings decide exercising isn’t for them at this point in their lives.
The good news is that you don’t need tons of free time or pockets full of cash to stay active and healthy. There are simple yet effective exercises that require minimal equipment and are not too time-consuming; you can probably do most of them in your living room!
Bodyweight workouts could be what you are looking for if you want to build strength but don’t want to spend money on expensive weights or a gym membership. These exercises use your body weight for resistance, meaning you can do them anywhere. Those at the start of their fitness journey, right up to the athletes competing for teams you see on online sports betting sites, incorporate bodyweight workouts into their routines. Some of the most effective bodyweight exercises include:
Push-ups: Push-ups are an excellent all-around exercise that works your arms, chest, shoulders, and core. Beginners can start on their knees or do wall push-ups while they get used to them. Once your strength increases, you can try more advanced variations like diamond, inclined, or wide-grip push-ups.
Planks: Planks help build core strength and stability. They look like they’d be a walk in the park, but holding a plank position, even a basic forearm plank, gives your abs a serious workout. Try holding a plank for 20-30 seconds and working your way up.
Squats: Squats are fantastic for building strength in your leg muscles, particularly hamstrings, glutes, and quads. Bodyweight squats require no equipment, but you can hold something heavy, like some books in a backpack, as you progress.
Lunges: You wouldn’t think so, but lunges are excellent for lower-body strength and balance. Kick things off with basic forward and reverse lunges before trying jumping or walking lunges as your fitness and strength improve.
Walking or jogging are excellent for improving cardiovascular health; you only need a pair of comfortable shoes and a space to run in. While it’s unlikely you’ll be up to the standard of the Boston Marathon runners anytime soon, you may surprise yourself with how quickly your fitness improves.
If you don’t feel up to jogging, a brisk walk works wonders for people of all fitness levels. It is a low-impact activity, so it shouldn’t hurt your knees, hips, and back. You should aim for around 30 minutes of brisk walking daily, but you can break this up into shorter bursts. Increase your walking speed when walking to work, doing errands, or during a break if you find yourself short of time.
Jogging gives you a more intense cardio workout. It improves endurance, burns more calories than walking, and significantly boosts cardiovascular health. Remember to start slow and gradually increase your distance and speed as your stamina improves. You don’t want to injure yourself in the early days by pushing your body too hard, too quickly.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is perfect for anyone wishing to maximize their workout’s effectiveness when they are short on time. As the name suggests, HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercises punctuated by short rest periods. The idea is that you perform an activity as hard as you can, enjoy a well-deserved rest, and then dive straight into the next exercise. Your workout is complete once you complete an entire circuit.
A typical HIIT workout can last 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your fitness levels and available time. It tends to include exercises like jumping jacks, burpees, high knees, tricep dips, push-ups, and squats.
Someone using these exercises in a HIIT workout may do 45 seconds of intense jumping jacks, have a 30-second rest, and immediately perform burpees as hard as they can for 45 seconds before resting for 30 seconds again, and so on.
Yoga is often misunderstood by those who do not participate in the practice. These people wrongly think that yoga is only about flexibility. Although yoga is excellent for your flexibility, it also builds physical strength, improves balance, and is an incredible way to reduce stress.
You don’t have to join a yoga class to reap the benefits because hundreds of free resources online, including YouTube videos, can guide you through sessions from beginners right up to super-bendy advanced levels. If you have some floor space and a mat, you can try your arm at yoga.
An often unseen benefit of yoga is that it combines physical exercise with mindfulness, which helps increase mental clarity and reduce tension and stress. This isn’t just me telling you that; scientific studies have proven that yoga is excellent for the body and mind.
Ask your parents if they remember the step aerobics boom of the 1990s, and many of them will admit to buying a step, donning a neon-colored shellsuit, and stomping away to high-intensity music in front of the television! Although step aerobics isn’t on TV much these days, stair climbing remains a surprisingly effective way to work your leg muscles and build cardiovascular endurance.
The best thing about climbing stairs is you can do it almost anywhere. Instead of taking the elevator to your floor at work, take the stairs. Shopping at the mall? Take the stairs instead of the escalator. Increase the intensity by upping your pace walking up and down the stairs or by skipping steps. You don’t even have to climb a flight of stairs; you can perform step-ups on the bottom step!
Stair climbing costs nothing yet burns calories at an alarming rate. It also strengthens your lower body and improves your cardiovascular health while improving agility and balance.
The most important thing to do, regardless of your chosen activities or exercises, is to be consistent. While the five activities in this article are low-cost or free, you must invest some time into them because you’ll only reap the rewards if you consistently perform them. Thankfully, as you’ve learned, they don’t require much time at all.
Fitness is about finding what works for you and your lifestyle, and making the most of your time and resources is what counts. Stay active, stay healhty, and enjoy the journey to a fitter you.
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