[n-er-gise]

I have had a request from one of my lovely friends Emma back in London! She recently had a baby and requested some exercise ideas that can be done at home! So for all you mums out there, here is a simple ‘no excuses allowed’ home program…no equipment is needed!

Ideally you would combine this program with a short cardio warm up and some stretches.

Work through each section of the program by doing one set of a) followed by one set of b) then repeat, to do a total of two sets in each section.

Core

a) Plank – (2/3 sets of 60 seconds)

Start on your hands and knees. Reach out and place your elbows and forearms on to the floor and grasp your hands together.Raise your body onto your arms and toes. Hold this position, keeping your hips and body as straight as possible.

a) Bridge – (2 sets of 12 repetitions)

Lay down on the floor with your knees bent. Press down into the feet to lift your hips up off the ground squeezing the bottom.  Hold for 5 seconds, lower back to the ground and repeat.  Breathe out as you raise the hips up and in as you bring them down.

Superset 1

1 a) One Leg Squats – (2 sets of 12 – 15 reps)

Stand with your back to the chair and extend one leg straight out in front of you. Slowly lower yourself as if to sit in the chair, reaching back to hold the arms of the chair for stability as needed.

Just before your rear touches the chair, dig the heel into the ground and squeeze the bum standing back up and returning to starting position. Repeat for the desired number of reps and switch legs.

OR 

1 a) Simple Squats (easier option) (2 sets of 12 – 15 reps)

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbel (optional) in each hand at your sides. Bend your knees to lower your hips down and back as if you were going to sit in a chair. As you reach the lowest point of your squat, push through your heels and squeeze the bottom to power your rise back to starting position and repeat. Breathe in on the way down and out on the way up.

1 b) Diamond Press Ups  (either on feet or knees) – (2 sets of 10-15 repitions)

Place hands under your chest in the press up position with fingers facing  towards each other so that they are forming a diamond shape. You can either do this exercise on the feet or drop down on to the knees to make it easier.  Slowly lower yourself down to the floor by bending your elbows whilst breathing in.  Straighten the arms and breathe out to come up.

Superset 2

2 a) Tricep Dips – (2 sets of 12-15 reps)

Sit on a sturdy bench or chair. Place hands on the edge of the chair on either side of the hips with fingers placing forwards.  Position feet away from chair. Straighten arms, slide bottom off the bench and position heels on the floor with the legs straight. Whilst breathing in lower body by bending arms until slight stretch is felt in chest or shoulder, or rear end touches floor. Breathe out as you raise body and repeat.

2 b) Bulgarian Lunges – (2 sets of 12-15 reps)

Place your right leg behind you, resting the top of your foot on the seat. Do not go past the point at which your left thigh is parallel with the floor. Push through your left heel to straighten your left leg, keeping your back straight, and repeat.

OR

2 b) Static Lunges  (easier option) – (2 sets of 12-15 reps)

Squat down by flexing knee and hip of front leg. Allow heel of rear foot to rise up while knee of rear leg bends slightly until it almost makes contact with floor. Return to original standing position by pushing the front heel into the ground, extending hip and knee of forward leg. Repeat for desired number of reps then continue with opposite leg.

Superset 3

3 a) One Arm Row – (2 sets of 12-15 reps)

Step forward with your inner leg and back with your outer leg, bending forward at the waist and letting your outside arm hang straight down. Hold onto either a dumbell (if you have one) or another heavy object of the desired weight that you have lying around the house. Pull the weight towards your waist, keeping your elbow close to your side. Keep your back straight and your head level.

3 b) Big Arm Circles – (3 sets of 60 seconds)

Stand up straight and stretch out both arms to make a 90 degree angle to your body. Open your palms and face them towards the floor. Keeping your arms as straight as possible, begin making big circles in a clockwise motion. Do 10 circles and then reverse to anti-clockwise direction. Keep repeating for 60 sections.

Finish with some stretching

CONGRATULATIONS FOR COMPLETING YOUR HOME WORKOUT!!

If you want to burn off  additional calories then try weight training!

For every 1lb of lean muscle mass gained you can burn off an additional 50-100 calories per day at REST. To put it into context 100 calories equates to a bread roll, a cookie or a glass of white wine.

Ok, I am not talking about turning your body into Arnold Schwarzenegger but just doing your squats, lunges, shoulder presses etc will help you to build muscle and turn that flab into fab!

Make sure you also get in a sufficient amount of protein as this will help to repair and grow those muscles. Research has shown it is most beneficial to get additional protein at breakfast, so include a hard boiled egg with your toast or natural yogurt with your cereal.