Challenging Exercises you can do at Home

Now that the sun is finally out and the weather is looking more and more like summer, you might want to think about including more exercise in your routine. For some this might be a regular thing already, but others may need a push in the right direction, especially when trying to fit in exercise around a busy lifestyle.

The best way to include exercise, is to perform a few key exercises that you can easily do at home indoors, or even out in the garden if it isn’t too hot. This means you don’t need to make the trip to the gym and can easily spend 30 minutes to an hour a few times per week sweating it out. Have a look below at the exercises that will get you fit for summer!

*Warning* - these exercises aren’t for the faint hearted! If you're finding them tough, try the beginner versions listed before moving up to the full exercise

Things you will need:

• Sports Water Bottle
• Cotton Gym Towel
• Fitness clothes
• Gym Mat
• Sports shoes (if outside)
• Stopwatch (to time each exercise)
• A clear, well-ventilated space

1. Spider-Man Press ups

There have been several alternatives to press ups created over the years, but by far the most gruelling is the Spider-Man press up.

Technique: This involves raising an alternate knee every time you lower your chest to the ground, imitating the famous crawling of our favourite web-slinging superhero. Perform for 30-60 seconds and increase time accordingly as your technique improves.

Benefits: This is a great exercise to work more than just your arms and shoulders, as the lateral movement of your legs will put more emphasis on your core muscles, along with helping improve your overall balance and coordination.

For Beginners: There are so many iterations of press up it means there are plenty of options to make the exercise easier or more difficult. The easiest is by far performing the press up while using your knees to support your lower body. From here, improve your technique by performing regular press ups and upping the amount you do in one session.

2. Bicycle Sit-ups

This exercise has been tried and tested in many workouts, given that it allows you to concentrate on your core and also improve flexibility at the same time. Ideally, it’s an exercise you can do at home without requiring any gym equipment either.

Technique: Simply lie on your back, put your hands behind your head and slightly raise your head so you are looking down at your feet. One after the other, bring your knees to your chest and touch your opposite elbow to your knee. For example, when bringing your left knee up, touch it with your right elbow and repeat.

Benefits: Regular bicycle sit ups will improve your core strength as well as work on your upper abdominals and overall flexibility.

For Beginners: There are many iterations of sit ups to try out to see which one suits you the best. Regular sit ups can be made slightly easier and efficient by hooking your feet under a low surface (such as a sofa), or you could get a training partner to hold your feet for you. Start off on a small number of sit ups before increasing the number

3. Climbing Plank

The plank is a fantastic exercise for working core muscles and stability, but can be greatly improved by incorporating arm movements, allowing you to work more muscles while helping increase stability and strength.

Technique: Start off in a regular press up position with arms extended. One after the other, bend your arms so you are resting on your forearms, then reverse the movement by extending one arm at a time back up to your starting position. Try not to go too fast and keep it up for 30-60 seconds.

Benefits: Alongside the regular benefits of strengthening your core muscles through the plank position, you will also work on your arms, shoulders and chest.

For Beginners: The plank position is a variable exercise that can be easily adapted to suit your own fitness level. Try a regular plank (resting on your forearms) for 20 seconds, or even adopt a press up position while resting on your knees and forearms. As your technique improves, move up to regular plank and increase your time to 30-60 seconds.

4. Squat Thrust & Jump

Another classic exercise here - the squat thrust (or burpee to some) is a great explosive movement that will really work your overall fitness when done on a regular basis. Including a jump or star jump will allow you to use your own bodyweight to work your legs.

Technique: Starting from a standing position, crouch down into a squat, before extending both of your legs out behind you at the same time. Bring them back into a squat and stand up straight, before incorporating a vertical jump or star jump before repeating the exercise. Between 30-60 seconds is good, but 90 seconds is better.

Benefits: The benefits to squat thrusts are countless given that the movement is working your core, legs and arms, whilst increasing your heart rate due to the explosive nature of the exercise.

For Beginners: Slow the movement down by squatting, then extending your legs one after the other and bringing them back in. Over time the movement should become second nature and your can start to increase the speed.

5. Mountain Climbers

Some of the best exercises can be difficult, but their benefits are clear when included in a regular exercise routine. Many find mountain climbers just as gruelling, if not more so than spiderman push ups. Don’t give up and climb those mountains!

Technique: Starting in a squat position, extend your legs one after the other behind you as if you are running a race. Continue at a high pace for up to 60 seconds.

Benefits: Since it is a high-intensity exercise it will have immediate benefits for overall fitness and increase your heart rate, while working the legs and improving core strength.

For Beginners: Slow the pace as much as you need to and do shorter bursts of between 10-20 seconds before increasing as the movement becomes easier.

Lastly, if you are thinking of trying whey protein to boost your recovery, try out our SCI-MX Nutrition Ultra Whey Protein. You will also need a bottle such as our Goodmans Hurricane Protein Shaker or Multi-Purpose Shaker Bottle to mix the shake. Try and do this prior to your workout so you have it ready for when you have finished.

Completed another great workout using any of the exercises listed above? Upload your post-workout selfies (if your dare) on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for everyone to see!