Things to do at home

r3negade

New member
I go to the gym everyday (may take a 1 day break if my muscles need a rest), at 7pm and come back at 9pm, but before that at home at times I have nothing to do, so are there any "at-home" exercises I can do, to aid my weight loss?

Thanks!
 
Certainly there are many exercises you can do at home. But first, I think you should evaluate your workout and decide if you might be overtraining. In the past, I have worked out 2 hours a day, every day, but that was not a sustainable lifestyle change for the rest of my life. Recently, I've learned with a proper balanced diet, all thats needed to lose fat (not just weight) is 3 days a week for an hour at the gym - 40 minutes with free weights, and 20 minutes cardio. And in fact, if you're lifting weights (you should so you don't lose muscle mass), you need the rest in between workouts to let your muscles repair, even moreso when you're in a calorie deficit, which you are if you're losing weight.
 
I agree with Mar. Even if 30 mins of those 2hours each day is driving time, there's no need to work out for 90 minutes at the gym and then supplement that with stuff at home.

Now .. that said, I work out every day for about 45 minutes - alternating weight training and cardio - and I do add a few things to my daily routine at work. But that's as much about getting up and moving and takinga break from my desk as it is about adding another workout. I do squats and desk pushups at my desk. I used to have a straightbacked chair in my office where I did stepups, but someone stole it. :) I do lunges down the hall when I go to the bathroom. I do isometric exercises while I'm sitting - raising and flexing my legs, tensing my abs, etc. And I do yoga stretches to help relax my neck and shoulders.

All of those things you can add in to your day as you think about them.,
 
One thing I did that had a noticeable effect on my weight wasn't really exercise per se - it was the 'you must be standing' rule. Am I watching TV? Maybe, but I'm watching it standing up. Do the dishes need doing? Hey, I can do that. Need to prep dinner? Fold laundry? Do a little dance to burn some energy while I'm hanging around? Calories burned.

There's a concept of NEAT - Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. In extreme cases it can add up to an extra 1000 calories a day. In my case, I was probably only adding an extra 200 to 300 burned, but it still helps. Here's an article from the mayoclinic - it's a little wordy and acronym prone, but the Mayo clinic is a more reliable source than some random internet page ;)
 
Back
Top