If you’re new to the fitness world but want to make positive changes to both your mental and physical wellbeing, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
However, with every goal you need to start with small, incremental steps, which means creating and working towards the right exercise routine for your personal fitness.
To help you start off on the right foot, here are 7 simple exercises for beginners.
Push up
Push ups might seem quite daunting to start with, but they are a perfect way to begin your fitness journey. Get into a plank position, with your hands shoulder width apart, and lower yourself in a controlled manner towards the floor. If you find this too difficult, you can modify this slightly, using bent knees as a pivoting point, rather than your feet.
Squat
Stand with your feet hip distance apart. Slowly lower yourself towards the ground, bending your knees. Keep your knees in line with your toes, and your weight over your heals. After coming to a squat position, push through your heels to return to standing position.
Walking, light jogging, and running
Running is a fantastic form of cardio – but so is walking! There are many folding motorised treadmills that don’t take up too much space in your home, and allow you to set a pace that you are comfortable with. Start off at a brisk walking pace, slowly increasing the speed over time to light jogging, and eventually running.
If you are looking for something with a bit higher impact, why not combine all of the above as part of a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. Simply alternate between short bursts of sprinting and walking rest breaks.
Crunch
Lie on your back with your knees bent and facing the ceiling. Place your hands on the back of your head to anchor yourself and use your core to pull your upper back and shoulders off the ground.
Whilst in this position, you can also add in a few sit ups. This time, use your core to pull your entire back off the floor in a controlled manner, and curl the body up towards the knees until you are in a seated position.
Lunge (and reverse lunge)
Step forward with one leg, bending the knee until the opposite knee touches the ground. Then, step back and repeat on the other side, making sure to keep your back straight throughout. For a reverse lunge, step backwards and touch your knee to the floor.
You can do lunges in sequence, standing still on one spot. Or you can make them into a dynamic stretch, continuously moving forward, known as walking lunges.
Deadlift
Start with a very light weight, or no way at all, so that you can perfect the form before moving onto higher weights. There are many different variations of deadlift you can try, including traditional barbell deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and sumo deadlifts.
Bicep curls
Again, you might like to start with a very light weight or no weight at all. If you don’t have any handheld weights, you could even use a water bottle or tins of food! With your arms by your sides, and your elbows bent at a right angle, pull your hands up to your shoulders, and back down again.
With these 7 simple exercises, you have the makings of a fantastic workout routine for beginners, that you can continually adapt to push yourself further as you get fitter and stronger.
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