Because it is not always possible to go running outdoors or to have access to a gym, it is important to find equally effective alternatives at home, at home. How? 'Or' What ? With targeted exercises, practical accessories and effective sessions, the results will be there. Even locked up at home, it is possible to stay fit!
If, outside, the circumstances (or at other times the weather) do not invite you to go running or go for a great bike ride, then stay warm and … put on your sports gear! Eh yes ! What do you think? What were you going to be told to stay prostrate on the sofa in front of your favorite series?
Because yes, you can do sport at home.
You have different options for your home sports session: do short and intense exercises or work on your endurance, train without any equipment, or use small fitness accessories such as weights or elastics, install a fitness machine. bodybuilding or an elliptical trainer, follow a Youtube channel, videos on social networks or inexpensive or even free streaming lessons. In short, impossible not to build muscle, as everyone is sure to find the solution that suits him best. Doing nothing is not an option!
Find our file on the essential sports accessories to have at home
The space you have for your exercises
> You live in a small studio : in this case, no need to invest in equipment for professional bodybuilding for your sports program. The ideal is to have a little space in order to deploy a floor mat, to be able to deploy the arms and stretch the legs without any problem. In short to be able to practice each exercise without hindrance to the body.
> You have a large room and can install a fitness corner for your almost daily training: a yoga mat, perhaps a few small accessories, a gymball (or Swissball) and no need to tidy up everything at each sports session.
> You build a gym in your home, in the cellar, or, luxury, in a dedicated room. Lucky! You can therefore recover the exercise bike that Mamie never uses and install it opposite the old TV to pedal at full speed in front of an RPM class. Unless you prefer the sobriety of calisthenics, this gym practice which uses only the weight of its own body to strengthen itself. The most classic exercises (which are among the favorites to test at home): squats, push-ups, sheathing.
Our selection :
– A floor mat for strengthening exercises
– A swiss ball to work on the cladding
– An exercise bike to work on your cardio
Perfect sports activities for training at home
The most common sport that can be practiced at home is often associated with weight machines. But not everyone is lucky enough to have an elliptical trainer or a treadmill at home. We then train on the basis of muscle strengthening exercises, fitness, stretching as long as abs, back, arms and legs benefit!
> The equipment with the best price / occupied space / efficiency ratio? Jumping rope. Super cardio and very invigorating, the exercises with a jump rope transform body and heart quite quickly. In our jump rope article, you will find exercises to do several times a week to quickly recoup your efforts!
Our selection :
– Adjustable and non-slip skipping rope
> Another sport to practice at home, the rower. Of course, there must be a minimum of space, however, the benefits on the thighs, the abdominal strap, the arms and the back are notorious.
See our article on rowing exercises here.
> Yoga at home remains the king of sports to practice at home, which, in addition to the effect on our body, also acts on our nervous system, our concentration, our mind.
Discover 20 yoga postures that will be a good basis for mobilizing your muscles:
Exercises to warm up the house
Before jumping (failing to go out for a run) or starting your squats and your hardcore pumps, warm up! Indeed, in order not to rush your muscles, especially in the morning, and therefore risk injuring yourself, it is advisable to put yourself in conditions gently and gradually.
If you do your sport at home in the evening, your body will already be warmer and you can shorten these exercises. Knowing that they never turn out to be in vain … But be careful not to shorten too much if you haven't moved all day.
> Stand up, stretch. Parallel feet firmly anchored in the ground, tuck in the belly, tighten the buttocks, lower the shoulders, and raise the arms palm against palm above your head.
> Then dive down to the ground without forcing, stop when it starts to shoot. Stay at this limit and become aware of the anchoring of your feet in the ground, breathe well, relax your back. Get up slowly and gradually.
> Stretch on the sides, feet apart a little more than the width of the hips, and without shifting the pelvis, an outstretched arm, stretch sides and size.
> Then put yourself on all fours, and extend one leg backward while you extend the opposite arm forward. Tighten the muscles tightly around the kidneys and abs, stretch this arm and leg and keep your balance. Do the same on the other side.
> Then, still lying on the ground, against a wall, raise your legs to form a right angle with your chest on the floor and your legs against the wall. This should stretch the back of the legs.
> Get up slowly and put yourself in chair, back against the wall and stay. This allows to heat the thighs, for the rest. Tighten the abs tightly and do not help yourself with your hands on your quadriceps!
> Then, standing up again, you can continue with the Jumping Jacks that follow below.
Your cardio training plan at home
To work on endurance until you are out of breath, embark on a circuit training with intense interval exercises and short recovery times. The advantage lies above all in the diversity and you can increase the number of sets and repetitions to make the difficulties worse.
Intensity and cardio, nothing like it to act on your metabolism and also work on weight loss if necessary.
The sequence to start: jumping jacks, squats, fast jogging on the spot like a boxer, burpees and front lunges.
Start with a series, then increase the number of repetitions as it becomes easier. If the time available to you is short, then vary your exercises: one day a series with two exercises, the next another series with two others.
> Jumping jacks, to warm up and bring the cardio up.
Other benefits: thighs, abs, shoulders
Starting position : Stand upright, legs together, tighten the stomach and buttock muscles well.
Movement : spread the legs of a jump, and close them. In parallel, spread your arms and clap your hands above your head and lower yourself.
Remember to properly sheathe stomach and contract the perineum, and to stand up straight.
10 repetitions. If you find this really easy, start with 15 right away!
> Squats, to build thighs and glutes
Other benefits: abs and lumbar, provided that the abdominal strap is well covered.
Starting position : standing, feet parallel hip width. Cover the stomach and buttocks.
Movement : As if you were going to sit on an imaginary chair behind you, bend your legs; the bent knees should not go further than the feet. These are the buttocks which recede: indeed, push backwards when you descend. Your bust stays straight.
10 to 15 repetitions taking care to keep 4 seconds down. Breathe well.
Trick : to avoid leaning your back forward or backward, you can use your arms to help you in the prayer position.
The most advanced will take a dumbbell or a kettlebell in their hands and accompany your squats with a pendulum movement, going up to the front of the bust on the descent.
The boxer's jogging, for explosiveness
Other benefits: ankles, calves and arms
A rather simple exercise: run on the spot but tighten the belly well and gain the back. Take small, quick steps. Like a boxer who trains, give small forehands and uppercuts to an opponent or an imaginary bag in front of you, contracting your arms for a very toned gesture.
To practice for 5 minutes. Attention it is not so short!
Burpees, top for muscle building
Other benefits: heart, whole bust, thighs
This exercise deserves to be repeated gently to properly acquire the gestures and not get hurt by sloppy.
Before making effective burpees, you must master the plank, this cladding exercise that makes your stomach flat and mobilizes the deep muscles.
For a successful board, see our special sheathing article.
Starting position standing.
Movements : squat down and jump into a cladding board, then do a pump, then bring your feet towards your hands with a little jump, and get up. If you are really fishing you can jump while standing, arms raised, clapping your hands.
For the burpees in detail, it's here.
Start with 5 burpees, don't rush.
A well-controlled physical activity will have much better effects on your body than poorly executed exercises.
The front slots, to strengthen its support
Other benefits: thighs, back of legs and glutes.
Starting position: Stand upright, the waist and buttocks tight. You can put your hands on your hips.
Movement : Now take a big step forward on your right leg, like a valiant knight. Bend both legs keeping the bust straight; the right knee stays in line with the foot (otherwise you risk hurting your knee). The rear leg can move away: the objective is to keep balance and lower the pelvis down.
Return to the starting position and alternate the exercise on the left leg.
10 repetitions on each side. Yes, it gets hot and that's normal!
Tip: the more advanced can also use weights for this exercise.
The keys to regularity
In English, a workout with well-defined exercises is called a fitness routine. And this term speaks volumes about the regularity that an effective sporting activity requires.
- Make an appointment and do not deviate from it. From twice a week minimum to every other day (best for results and to tone your body and heart), don't get distracted.
- Do you do your sessions in the morning? Did you go out the night before or slept badly? No phony excuses. If really, you feel weak, lighten the sequence but keep the rhythm of your practice.
- Set reminders on your phone several times a day.
- Post a photo of a sporty body that motivates you on the fridge or the bathroom mirror!
- Have you ever thought about taking on a 30-day challenge? Not so stupid to set foot in the stirrup.
Here are some fitness challenges to follow when doing sport at home, here.
Smart accessories to practice your sport at home
We told you in the exercises above, small dumbbells or kettlebells (heavy balls with a handle) can intensify certain movements. Including squats by swinging a kettlebell, lunges holding dumbbells, jogging on the spot with weighted anklets.
If you want to work on certain exercises in tension, you can also opt for movements with an elastic band. The elastic is an inexpensive accessory that allows you to work using the extension.
Discover our exercises with a bodybuilding elastic here.
For concrete abs, nothing beats an abdominal wheel to increase the effects of cladding. In addition, it does not take up much space.
Our selection :
– Multifunctional abdominal wheel with knee mat
But you can just as easily make your fitness accessories with the means at hand: bottles of water or filled with sand, packets of rice or medium cans will do the trick when you are broke.
Pros online courses
On Youtube
- The Doctissimo Master Class fitness: 15 to 30 minute videos offering workouts according to your needs. Coach Lucile Woodward gives you her best advice and takes you on board with great humor.
- The Bikini program with Sissy: 7 videos from 5 minutes to 1/4 hour to sculpt her body. Short sessions, to be able to train at home often, bodybuilding advice for women, given by the influencer Sissy to embody the results of your efforts.
The top apps
- The application deployed by Decathlon is obviously called "Decathlon coach"and will become your free sports coach at home. Indeed, the sports equipment brand plans to (re) put in sport as much French as possible and to do this, deploys all smoyens. The app offers several sports, with specific exercises. In fitness, you can create your à la carte sessions, and benefit from the advice of a pro. Long-term programs to follow (challenges, progressive training) are offered. Pilates to do on the ground.
- "7 min exercises – Fitness", a real sports coach on mobile who guides you for series of exercises of 7 minutes, which you can follow in circuit training mode when you have more time Short exercises, targeted according to the zone, without special equipment, who follow a progressive calendar to measure their effort. You can test with the free version, otherwise it will cost you 10.99 € for 6 months.