2018

Colder Months? How to make your indoor workouts more effective

Colder Months? How to make your indoor workouts more effective
As autumn and winter come around, rolling out of bed for that early alarm becomes harder and harder. The thought of getting out of bed for an early run rapidly becomes rather unbearable – and making it to the gym before the sun is up?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

For most of us, the colder months represent something of a hibernation. Our activity levels tend to drop, and we frequently seek out our favorite comfort foods. And as a result, we often put on a couple of pounds of unwanted body fat in the process.

But trust me when I say that it doesn’t have to be this way.

You see, you can easily remove one of the largest winter barriers to exercise by simply training indoors. This immediately removes the need to get up early and leave the warmth of your home, while giving you more time to get prepared for your day in the process.

Why Workout Indoors?


Most people tend to think that indoor workouts are somehow inferior to gym-based training sessions because they don’t allow you to load up heavy, and they don’t involve the use of fancy equipment – however, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you organize your indoor training sessions in an appropriate manner, you can get in an extremely solid workout in, using the very minimal equipment. All it requires is a little bit of creativity and some smart programming.

indoor workouts in the fall

Once you have that organized, you can easily build muscle, burn fat, and boost health all from the comfort of your own living room

With that in mind, the four keys outlined in this article ensure that you can get the best out of your indoor workout, creating the perfect option for the depths of winter!

1) Embrace Circuit Style training


Our first point of call is around the style of workouts best suited to indoor training.

When it comes to typical gym training, most people complete 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for a given exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets, before moving on to a different exercise – and there is obviously nothing wrong with this.

This method of training has been shown to promote muscle growth and elicit strength adaptations, which are obviously important when it comes to making both changes in body composition and improving health.

But this certainly isn’t the only method of training.



Circuit training describes a specific style of training where all the exercises within the session are completed in a sequential order, with minimal rest between exercises. At the completion of the circuit, you can rest for 2-3 minutes before repeating the entire circuit for a total of 3-4 times.

This method of training not only provides an excellent way to stimulate muscle tissue but also places a significant load on the cardiovascular system.

As a result, it provides a great way to burn fat, build muscle, and develop that all-important aerobic fitness.

2) Start integrating tempo


Now, given that most (if not all) of the exercises we are going to be using at home require the use of your body weight as the primary method of adding load, we need to stress the muscle tissue through other mechanisms.

And the best way to go about this is to increase the time under tension that muscle receives each set.

Time under tension(or TUT) is pretty much what it sounds like – the amount of time in which the muscle is loaded under tension. TUT is considered a primary factor for muscle growth, which means that manipulating it appropriately offers a great way to trigger greater body composition changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SyFudXzfso

The easiest way to increase muscle time under tension is to manipulate the tempo of the movement. We can do this by prolonging the duration of the eccentric (or lowering) portion of the movement, while also adding small pauses at different points of the movement.

3) Invest in some key pieces of equipment


Although we can certainly get in shape with a strict combination of circuit training and bodyweight exercises , introducing one or two key pieces of equipment into the equation can make an incredible difference.

And our two pieces? A kettlebell and a skipping rope.



Both of these options are extremely affordable, take up very little room, and provide an extremely easy way to maximize the intensity of your home workout.

Kettlebells can be used for squats , swings, and presses, in which they offer the perfect way to overload the muscle tissue, enhance muscle growth and promote heightened fat loss.

Similarly skipping is the perfect form of cardio – as it not only stresses the aerobic system but also develops coordination and balance.

4. Get explosive


And finally, the introduction of some explosive movements at the start of your workout is the perfect way to ‘prime’ the nervous system for the coming session. This maximizes the recruitment of your muscle fibers for all subsequent exercises, meaning that your body will be working harder in its entirety for the duration of the session.

The result?


More energy expenditure, greater changes in body composition, and enhanced strength adaptations.

Not to mention that the performance of explosive movements has been shown to increase bone mineral density, enhance neuromuscular coordination, and reduce your risk of falls in a very big way – meaning that they are also a great tool to ensure that you maintain a high level of function for the remainder of your lifetime.


Putting it All Together


Taking the above points into consideration, I have put together what I believe to be the perfect indoor workout. Seriously, this uses the above tips to create the perfect training session that will enhance muscle growth, build fitness, and even cause some fat loss.

And the bonus?

It takes up next to no room, and can obviously be done in the comfort of your own living room. This routine can be completed for 3-4 rounds in as little as 20 minutes, making it an extremely effective and time efficient option.

Complete 3 or 4 rounds of the following circuit


Skipping



  • Reps: 3 minutes

  • Tempo: 3 second eccentric, with a one-second pause at the bottom. Come up as fast as possible


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quoyW7FZqdI

Maximal Vertical Jump



  • Reps:  4 reps

  • Tempo:  Complete each jump as explosively as possible


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgboWFzSUKo

Close Hand Push Up



  • Reps:  12 reps

  • Tempo:  A 2-second eccentric portion, with a 2-second pause at the bottom (chest ~1 inch from the floor)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEVDmjU-65c

Reverse Lunge



  • Reps:  10 reps per side

  • Tempo:  3-second eccentric portion. 2-second pause at bottom, with knee ~1 inch from the floor


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299_TU7qmg4

Wide hand push up



  • Reps:  12 reps

  • Tempo:  A 2-second eccentric portion, with a 2-second pause at the bottom (chest ~1 inch from the floor)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwTW7DXBw5w

Split Squat



  • Reps:  10 reps per side

  • Tempo:  3-second eccentric portion. 2-second pause at bottom, with knee ~1 inch from the floor


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMfbdugbcL8

Kettlebell Swing



  • Reps:  20 reps

  • Tempo:  Perform each swing as explosively as possible


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxHifyI6s8

Inverted row



  • Reps:  12

  • Tempo:  2-second pause at the top, with a 2-second lowering portion.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEes6CJXCPU

Plank



  • Reps:  3 x 30s

  • Tempo:  NA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdvN_XEl_c

Side Plank



  • Reps:  3 x 20s / side

  • Tempo:  NA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2VljzCC16g

Takeaway Message


I understand completely. When the winter months come around, it becomes harder and harder to get motivated for exercise – and the thought of getting up in the pitch black for your normal run or gym routine can seem at times impossible.



Which is why indoor training is the perfect alternative. By following the key principles outlined in this article, you can take your home workouts to the next level, causing improvement in muscle growth, fat loss, while also enhancing general health and aerobic fitness.

Now don’t get me wrong, while this is pretty simple in premise, it's certainly not easy – so be prepared to work!




Check out the Whole Life Fitness Manifesto - free 28-day workout-in-your-home program! And transform your body, mind, and spirit with just 30 minutes a day. Sign up for free at www.JoinWLFM.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FljOLEyN1UI&t=570s




 
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