Stormy Workout Blues: Training Indoors

With the recent reports of hurricanes and storms on the East coast of the U.S., I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about indoor workouts and training from home. Clearly we can’t train in the middle of a hurricane, but we still want the benefits from a workout. Here are some workouts to try while you wait for the storm to pass, or if the gym just doesn’t sound as appealing today.

Drilling

Drills are the easiest workouts to do without equipment, and if you normally use the gym as your go to workout place or don’t have the equipment, these are perfect for you.

Mountain Climbers

For the original mountain climber, start on the ground almost as if you were trying to do a push up. Then take your right leg and hike it up to your chest and extend it back to its original position. Switch legs. This is not a slow exercise, so pretend that you are trying to climb a mountain, your legs should be switching pretty fast.

Modified Mountain Climbers 

Some people also call these high knees. If you do not want to go onto the floor, or don’t have the space for it, then try these as a replacement. Instead of going on the floor, stand and do the mountain climber exercise, your back should be straight while doing this exercise and it will burn in your thighs. Try doing these for a minute at a time and take a break in between sets.

Lunge into Squats

For this exercise, start by doing a standing lunge, so as not to move around your whole living area. Then switch legs and lunge on the other leg, again try to remain in the same area. After you lunge on both legs return to a standing position and get ready to hold a squat. Squatting after lunging will help build strength and muscles in your thighs and gluteus maximus. This will give you more power on your runs, without even leaving your house.

Glute Bridge

My sister and I used to do these in dance everyday, but they also work for strengthening exercises at home. Word of caution, these will look funny if anyone walks in, but they are worth it.  Lie on your back with your palms face down at your sides. Your feet should be planted flat on the ground comfortably, not too close to you but not too far; you shouldn’t feel any stretch yet. Thrust your pelvis towards the sky. Your body should be straight and aligned, do not over stretch. Staying in the air, go back down (only with your pelvis) and then up. Your butt should not touch the ground. After a few of these, you should feel it in your outer thighs.

Star Jumps

To do a star jump, start out with your feet on the ground and your torso touching your knees, with your arms almost touching your feet. I like to pretend to be a frog to get the accurate position. Then jump up in the air and stretch out all your limbs, so your arms should look like a V and your legs should look like and upside V. Then get back into the frog position. After a couple reps of these, you will feel it through your entire body.

Treadmills

A benefit of treadmill training is being able to know exactly what speed and incline you are on and tweaking it to what best suites you. If you can’t make it outside and have a treadmill at home, consider this the best time to find your marathon pace. As always, start with a quick, easy warm-up run and then find your groove. Your pace shouldn’t be too slow or too fast, just find what works best for you. This will also help you time yourself to see how long it takes for you to run a mile at your comfortable race pace, so you can keep track of your running goals.

picture courtesy of the running blog

  

Final Notes

Staying at home is also another great time to take out your weights and lift. If you do not have weights, then push-ups and planks are another option. There are also the dreaded burpees. If you want to focus more on cardio, but do not have a treadmill, jumping rope can help get your heart rate up.

Whether you are staying home because of bad weather, or just simply don’t want to leave the house, these workouts can help you maintain your training goals.

Stay Safe and Happy Training!

Sebastian Linke

Owner SLS3