Suffering on a student budget, but still want to keep fit? Skip the gym with all the fancy equipment as home work outs are just as effective and ensures that you won’t be bumping into that Zac Efron lookalike whilst looking and smelling a little bit sweaty!
The 2 best body parts to concentrate on when equipment is limited are your glutes (bum) and abdominals. By following this workout plan every other day you will see real results within 2 weeks, other people will start to notice within a month and I found that I felt significantly fitter and even upped my exercises to double the amount after about 2 months. I also found that the results didn’t go, even when I took a whole month off exercise during exam season. Another benefit of these exercises was that even thought they were not specifically aimed at working out my legs, they toned up massively and in fact, this was probably the biggest improvement!
GLUTES
Tone up your tushy with these simple steps!
1. 20 squats
2. 20 donkey kicks RIGHT, 20 donkey kicks LEFT
- Start on all fours (hands under shoulders, knees under hips), keeping right knee bent, flex right foot and lift knee to hip level. Lower right knee to outside of left knee, then diagonally lift it back to hip level. Repeat on other leg.
3. 20 laying lateral leg kicks RIGHT, 20 laying lateral leg kicks LEFT
- Lie on your side. Your underneath hand supports the side of your head, and your uppermost hand is planted firmly on the mat in front of your chest. Kick smoothly to the sky pause and slowly lower.
4. 10 CLOCKWISE lunges, 10 ANTI-CLOCKWISE lunges
- Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up. Engage your core, step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position. Complete them in a clockwise sequence, stepping forward first, then to the side and finally backward. Do the same in an anti-clockwise direction.
5. 20 squats
1&5 2 3 4
ABDOMINALS
Sculpt those abs using only 4 straightforward exercises!
1. 40 sit ups
2. 40 bicycle crunches
- Place your hands behind your ears, lift your legs in the air and bend your knees so that your legs form a 90 degree angle. Move your legs in a bicycle motion. When your left knee is closer to your body, reach your right elbow to it. When your right knee is closer to your body, reach your left elbow to it.
3. 20 Russian twists
- Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot from your bum. Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. Place your arms straight out in front of you with your hands one on top of the other. Your hands should be level with the bottom of your ribcage. Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the left, inhale through to centre and rotate to the right.
4. Side Plank RIGHT 30 seconds, LEFT 30 seconds
- Lie on your left side with your knees straight. Prop your upper body up on your left elbow and forearm. Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Turn around so that you’re lying on your right side and repeat.