With the sun shining, or at least trying, it’s a good time to kickstart your summer exercise at home. While summer can be a great time to begin a workout routine, you can perform physical exercise all year round to help you stay fit and healthy. Whether you have a regular fitness routine or need a little inspiration, there are plenty of exercises and activities you can do over summer and autumn to enjoy the great outdoors, feel good, and soak up the sunshine.
In this article:
- The Benefits of Exercising in the Summer
- Summer Exercises to Try at Home
- 6 Ways to Create a Fitness Space
The Benefits of Exercising in the Summer
You can benefit from outdoor fitness this summer by going for a hike, a bike ride, or by doing a quick HIIT session in your garden. Often, the summer is a great time to figure out your exercise routine. The sunshine entices us outdoors and encourages us to move more.
What’s great about exercising in summer is that you can enjoy some fresh air and get some vitamin D from the sunshine at the same time. When the weather is warmer, and the days longer, it’s natural for many people to be more active in the summer. The hard part is keeping that motivation strong throughout the year. Benefits of exercising in the summer include:
- Seeing others exercise motivates you
- Vitamin D can enhance your mood
- Stress relief from exercise and nature
- Your body warms up quicker
- Less prone to injuries in warmer weather
Summer Exercises to Try at Home
You can try plenty of summer exercises at home to make the most of the sunshine and move your body. You can adjust exercises to your abilities and fitness level to challenge yourself, but not overdo it. Here are four different types of workouts to try at home.
Bootcamp Style Outdoor Workout
If you love a bootcamp style workout where you do different exercises in one session, a bootcamp style outdoor workout is ideal. For this, you may need to buy some essential pieces of equipment like a skipping rope, agility ladder, and some free weights. Fortunately, you don’t have to come up with a workout by yourself. There are plenty of fitness apps you can download so you can follow a workout designed by an expert. FitOn and Peloton Digital are great places to start.
Bodyweight Exercise Circuit
Although gym equipment is useful for a workout, if you have a tight budget or don’t have the space, you can perform a workout without any equipment. A bodyweight exercise circuit involves exercises that only use your body’s weight as a form of resistance. Exercises to include in a bodyweight exercise circuit include:
- Push-ups
- Lunges
- Glute bridge
- Squats
- Leg raisers
- Mountain climbers
HIIT Training
HIIT training stands for high-intensity interval training. It’s an effective form of exercise that delivers results in a short amount of time. If you’re strapped for time, this is the workout for you. HIIT training can help to lower body fat, blood pressure, and heart rate. Great apps for HIIT workouts at home are Aaptiv and Daily Burn.
Upper Body Workout
If you want to work your upper body and build muscle mass, then an upper body workout is a no-brainer. For an upper-body exercise, invest in a barbell, weight plates, and dumbbells. A utility bench is also an excellent addition for training the upper body. You can start with lighter weights and gradually build your strength.
6 Ways to Create a Fitness Space
Creating a personal workout space can give you the motivation you need to work out. Fitness offers several benefits to your physical and mental wellbeing. There’s nothing quite like that mood-boosting feeling you get after completing a tough workout session. You can create your own fitness space with the space you have available. It doesn’t need to cost thousands, and anyone can craft an at-home fitness space they love. Here are six ways to create a fitness space to kickstart your exercise routine and develop healthy habits for the whole year.
1. Weatherproof Gym Flooring
If you’re exercising outdoors, the first place to start is weatherproof gym flooring. You don’t want to invest in a product that falls apart after one rainfall. Our Sprung Antishock Outdoor Flooring Tiles in 40mm and 60mm are weighty enough for outdoor gyms. They are super robust and a great combination of quality, durability, and affordability.
2. Add Some Storage
Don’t forget to add some storage to your home gym. This could be vertical shelving, a squat rack, or a bookshelf you have converted into a weights storage area. Try to keep the area clutter-free and put away all your equipment after use. Showing up to a clean workout area is essential to starting your workout on the right foot.
3. Create a Workout Schedule
Creating a fitness space is the first step to working out more consistently at home. But, other things can help you stay committed to fitness, like a workout schedule. If you create a workout schedule and share it with a friend, it helps keep you accountable. Perhaps you can craft your workout schedule with your partner and work out together.
4. Stock Up on Gym Equipment Staples
Think about your goals and what you’re looking to achieve. If you want to increase strength and muscle mass, it makes sense to build a free weights training area at home. But, if you’re going to improve flexibility and cardio fitness, you may want a space you can do both yoga and HIIT workouts.
5. Transform a Spare Room
Although many spare rooms have now become the home office, if you do have a spare room available, this is a great spot for a home gym. Simply invest in some home gym rubber flooring, buy some critical pieces of gym equipment, and get your lighting right. With a home gym, you can start small and gradually invest in more equipment over time.
6. Use the Bedroom Corner
If you’re struggling to think of where you can create your fitness space, you can put it in the corner of a room. Use the bedroom corner or a living room nook. Invest in a set of home gym flooring tiles and create a separate area for fitness. You don’t need a whole room or garage to craft your personal workout space.
There are several ways you can create a fitness space at home and kickstart your summer exercises. The bottom line is that it’s never a better time than the present to incorporate physical activity into your day. Whether you want to start walking more each day or add HIIT training to your workout regime, you can get creative and find ways to stay motivated and accountable.
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