The No-Nonsense Indoor Workout Plan for Women

Are you a stay-at-home mom, it's too cold, or you don't want to pay for a gym membership? Echoes
from afar have it that you are an indoor workout mama.

Who needs a gym membership anyway? You can meet your physical fitness needs from the comfort of
your home and on your most convenient time. There aren't humongous body gods to intimidate you.
Plus, you don't have to worry about your hygiene.

These are some of the reasons why many women prefer indoor workouts to sweating profusely in the
gym. While indoor workouts may seem like a royalty, pouncing on it head-on without a clear plan may
see your efforts go into a wasteland sooner than expected.

Your head shouldn't explode when creating an indoor workout plan. And this doesn't mention that it's a
walk in the park. It all begins with your goals, strategies and adding in the right component to make a
great workout recipe.

Do you feel stuck? You are in the right place. We will give you a detailed guideline on how to craft a
dependable, workable and complete indoor workout routine.

To start us off,

The Perfect Spot

It's not like you will exercise in the kitchen or bedroom. Where do you spend most of your time? Which
room is quiet and spacious? These questions will put the puzzles together to get the ideal place. The
above requirements automatically disqualify the garage (If you can remove all the junk and make clean,
go ahead)

When you put these considerations together, the best place would be the living room or basement. You
spend more time in the living room, and the basement is large enough to cater for the equipment. In
addition, if your house has many rooms, you can set one aside for exercise. A TV is vital for any of your
choice. Exercising while following a TV program gives you a sense of company and motivation.

Getting Your Equipment Ready

Some guys are creative and can create "DIY" training equipment. You are not in exception; your hubby
can build you one (if he can). Here are a few steps. If you are not into the intricate gym equipment like a
stretching machine, maxi climber, and cable pulley machine, you can get great substitutes.

Here are some of the machines that will turn your home gym into a workout haven.

Resistant Loop Bands

Do you want to have a complete workout arsenal? A resistant band shouldn't miss from your top list.
One set is perfect for giving you muscle activation while strengthening your weak spots. The smallest
storage room they take is the same as their costs. With as little as $15, you can get yourself one.
Jump Rope

Jumping rope isn't for school girls only, neither is it for Sylvester Stallone in Rocky (How does he do
those numerous jumps?) For a woman that desires the perfect beach body, rope jumping should be your
jam. Whether you are on a business trip abroad, or you've visited your in-laws, the rope must be
compact in your luggage.

The rope does more than making you sweat. It melts the excess calories, improves your body balance
coordination and increases your level of stamina to withstand extensive exercises.

It doesn't require specialized training. It's the simplest to use while warming up before you dive into
other exercises.

Pull Up Bar

A pull bar compares your body weight (up to 300 pounds) with your arm strength. It activates your
muscles while having hard knocks on your arm joints. You can do exercises like pull-ups, burpee pull-ups,
knees to elbows and hanging leg raises.

90 % of the people that have used pull up bar recommend it. As a first-timer, you may find it difficult
even to lift your whole body by a few inches. But as you keep training and strengthening your muscles,
you will get the hang of it.

Indoor Rowing Machine

Rowing machines are the epitome of a successful home training plan. The aerobic fitness machine will
give you hardcore workouts with heavy blows on your belly. It skillfully scalps your back while taking a
keen eye on the gluts

The device is a suitable replacement if you are tired of using the treadmills and elliptical. It's an overall
body work out machine as every muscle of the trunk, and lower body is subjected to high pressure.

The downside comes in when you want to get your preference. They are many in the market, and the
prices are not so friendly. However, as the mama in the house, you need not think twice. The machine is
worth breaking the bank. The benefits you'll get from it are immeasurable.

Stationary Bikes

Do you want a fully-fledged home gym? Cycling in the confine of your home is the best type of exercise
you will ever do.

Indoor bikes are a replacement for a rowing machine since both belong to the cardio family. A mix of the
two gives you a kick in the butt to keep training. Yes, they will wear you out, but you will have melted a
significant number of calories. Since it heats your lungs, you need a strategic place with free circulation
of air like. The balcony or gazebo will do.

Kettle Balls
Whether it's a rep fitness kettle ball, ironmaster adjustable kettle ball or the kettle grip, all these are a
go for strength-building exercises. The balls come in a wide range of weight options so that you can pick
the type you are compatible with.

The good thing about the balls is that they are cheap and you can always create DIY kettle balls. There is
tons of information online on how to go about the process.

Exercise Ball

Exercise balls are neither meant for the gym nor toning the abs alone. It is fun to use and will sculpt your
body without your knowledge. You will be engrossed in the fun part and forget the hard part. It deflates
slowly and doesn't get punctured easily.

Plate Carrier

Have you visited an army barrack? If you have, you probably noticed the soldiers training with weighted
vests. It doesn't mean that your arms should be the size of Ronnie Coleman to give them a shot. A plate
carrier is perfect for building stamina

Bonus Point: The carriers are best when on the treadmill or when doing squats. Your body has to
generate more power to keep you moving. If you can't keep up with the extra weight, there is room to
customize it according to your ability.

Getting Started

Now that you've already assembled your weapons, it's time ambush. But before you do that, there are
few things you need to get right. These include;

The Right Temperature

You don't want to have the same experience you'd have when running outside during summer. You get
sweaty; your clothes become watery and stick to your body. The training session is turned into a mess.
On the other hand, you'll not love the experience of training in a cold environment that shuts down your
body.

According to experts, the right temperature for working out is between 64 and 72 degrees. The rule of
the game is to adjust the thermostat when the room temperatures are below the threshold. On the
other hand, you'll have to open windows or use a fern to cool down the temperatures in a hot room.

A Closed Space

Let's face it – the only downside of training at home is disturbance. As a mother, you will be treated to
the occasional mummy-time when you have to attend to the baby. Or maybe your dog may show those
eyes signifying they want to play catch when you've just changed to your training regalia. Let's not
forget the dishes, the laundry or any house chores. Such destruction has a sizeable bite of your precious
training time.

What's the escape then?

There is always that room in the house that you seldom use or not used at all. Maybe it's the basement
or even the closet (if it's large enough). Get inside, lock the door and crank up your music to begin the
warm-ups. Before you know it, that one hour or thirty minutes will be over.

Mirror! Mirror!

Have you ever asked yourself why the gym is surrounded by glasses everywhere? I bet that you'll be
uncomfortable to work out in a gym with walls of plywood. That's why you need to incorporate some in
your training room.

Why?

A recent study found out that when working out, your mind is engrossed to the part you working on,
which is the work of the mirror. For instance, let's say the chest, the activity in your pectoral increases
by 10%. What does this mean? You will concentrate more and hit your goals faster. Plus, the mirrors
help you avoid injuries as you don't have anyone around to watch your form.

The Workouts

An abs Routine

If getting toned abs is your goal, you shouldn't shy from starting with a beginner workout abs routine.
Picture yourself driving on a free highway. You can't reach to gear four without passing thorough gear
one. It's the same way when working out on an abs routine. The abs exercises must be done
progressively. Most of the exercises you will do won't require the equipment above.

A research done by the American Council for exercise divided abdominal workouts into three categories.
All the three have one mission – reviving your stomach muscles and making it rigid.

The categories include;

Bicycle crunches: Targets the front abs muscles, rectus abdominis. The exercise contributes a more
significant percentage when you want to get six-pack abs.

The captain chair: The exercise helps to inline the sides of your abs. It also makes the abdominal rigid
hence, paving a way to other types of exercise.

Crunches on the Exercise ball: Many people use the exercise ball for the wrong reasons. They play
around with it hence undermining the exercise power it can do to the abs. If you want to get the best
out of it, doing crunches on the ball may be a huge deal. Since crunches are the first things people think
of when doing abs exercises, starting with exercise ball changes the game.

Regular crunches don't take into account the core very much; the ball exerts as much pressure on the
core. Yes, the exercise doesn't have a lot of activities but trust me in this, it targets the location
precisely, and between three to 12 months, you'll have killed that mommy's tummy.
Some of the other exercises you can include in an abs routine include toe touches, leg raises and toe-to-
hand oblique crunch.

Indoor HIIT

Recently, high-intensity interval training hit the headlines to be an ideal way to curve your body. These
exercises need motivation as you can quickly burn out. That's why they involve numerous rest times to
keep you going at maximum capacity. The workouts are challenging, and it's advisable to get someone
to part you on the back when you are just about to throw in the towel.

Check in with a timer watch (or interval timer apps), a mat and a water bottle to keep you hydrated.
Each exercise should take 1 minute with resting intervals of 30 seconds. You must also have known the
number of sets for each exercise. One full session shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. You can do
this daily or at least five times a week.

To get a feel of how a complete HIIT is like, you can download a free15 minute routine here

Butt and Legs Work out

Sofia Lopez developed this type of workout intending to keep your heartbeat running while
strengthening your core quads and hamstrings. A fully-fledged and compact exercise includes;

20 sumo squats

30 leg lifts

50 calf raises

30 Russian Twists

10 reverse lungs with front kicks

30 mountain Climbers

10 squat jumps

The exercises are done in quick successions to give your body minimal time to relax. It's, therefore, a
great substitution to cardio work out and the no.1 arch-nemesis to HIIT. The exercises shouldn't take
more than one minute. You can make a schedule to do two of them per day, either in the morning
before attacking the day or before you retire to bed.

Hatha Yoga

Yoga takes a slice of the fitness pie chart. As much as it's used for mental health, some types of yoga also
take the cake when you want to shade off some fats. Yoga benefits women that want to have a peaceful
time at home without having to go to yoga classes.
Hatha yoga is all about stretching, and you can burn 149 calories after 30 minutes of the exercise. The
heavier you are the many calories you'll burn. The training is lower in pace hence a great if you dread
intense workouts.

Dancing

Who said that dancing is for Friday nights only? You can dance at any time, as long as you love music,
anyway. If you are weighing 56kg, be sure to lose 180 calories after 30 minutes of dancing.

Whether you are a hip-hop guy, reggae maestro, Zumba or Lingala fanatic, you have to let yourself free.
However, you have to do this while keeping in mind that you are doing it for exercise.

Choose the right time when the toddler is asleep, or when the kids are playing outside. You can either
use your phone with earphones or if that isn't enough, crank up your home theatre and dance your
heart out.

Boxing (Free Sparring)

Boxing hits two birds with one stone. It's good for both your physical and mental strength. Why mental
health? Sometimes your boss might be giving you a hard time at work or you a just stressed, boxing your
imaginary enemy lets the issue slowly fade away relieving your mental calmness. And it's fun anyway.

Plus, boxing burns calories in a short time in women. It's not limited to one part of your body. It keeps
into account the legs trunk, back and the muscles. Not to forget that you learn to throw a few punches
like an uppercut and lower cut to defend yourself on the streets.

Final Thought

In comparison with the gym, the masses are turning to work out at home. A study conducted by
statistica found that a record of 24.5 million people in the US did not pay for a gym membership but
opted to work out at home in 2012. Since then the numbers have been rising gradually over the years.

So which side are you on? The choice is yours. Whatever the case, working out at home, more so as a
mother is vital. It gives you the freedom to juggle your home chores, job and still stay in good shape.