Many of us have to skip gym due to our busy work schedule but we are willing to spend some time working out at home. The Week talked to Sachin Pradhan of Platinum Fitness to find out how you can best tone your body without having to step into the gym. He advises that you watch a few YouTube tutorials before attempting any exercise, especially if you are a beginner, as wrong posture while doing an exercise may lead to injuries.
Arms
Pushups with a twist
Use a basketball, football or a stack of books to create an uneven surface. Go on a pushup position with your right hand on the ball and left hand on the floor (if you are using books make sure you have books ready on both sides). Keeping your elbows in, squeeze your abs as you lower yourself towards the ground, push back up and pass the ball to the other side (or change your hand on the stack of books). This will increase your upper body strength along with toning your arms.
Know your inner self
Triceps swing
Lie down with your face facing upwards, bend your knees and make sure your feet are firmly planted on the ground. If you don’t have dumbbells in the house, use a one liter bottle of water in each hand instead. Don’t rest these bottles on the floor; hold them a few inches off the floor behind your head. Don’t move your right arm as you raise your left arm over your chest. When your arm reaches 90 degrees, take it back to the starting posting and start again. Do 15 reps with each arm in a set of two to three.
Core
Sit up
Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor. Relax your neck to avoid the tension there and keep your hands on your head. Making sure that your feet are on the ground, go back until you’re lying on the floor and then rise back up again. Continue this for a minute, take a twenty second break, and repeat four more times.
Leg raise
Lie down on the floor with your face facing the ceiling. Make sure your legs are straight and raise one leg, slowly until it reaches ninety degrees. Slowly lower the legs and repeat nine more times. Alternate the legs and do five reps of this to target the lower abs. When your core muscles are strong enough, you can raise both your legs together, but make sure to go slow while lowering them, fighting the gravitational pull in order to get better results.
Planks
There are many varieties of plank you can do to focus on different muscles groups of the body. For the normal one, get down in the pushup positing and bend your arms, resting your body weight on the forearms instead of the hands. Your body should form a straight line from the shoulder to ankles. Harden your core like you would when you are expecting a punch and hold the position for as long as you can. You can try doing five leg lifts with each leg and then lift yourself up to do a straight arm plank.
Legs
Squat
Hold a 1.5 liter bottle of coca-cola filled with water to add extra weight to your squat. Stand with your head facing forward and chest out. Plant your feet shoulder-width apart (or slightly wider) and extend your arms out in front of you for balance. While doing the squat, imagine you are sitting down on a chair, but make sure your head is facing forward when your upper body bends; arching your body instead of letting it round.
Go as low, and as parallel to the ground as you can and press your body weight back into your heels. Start small with three sets of ten squats and add more each day. You can also remodel this exercise and do a jump squat. Go only two-thirds of the way down while doing a squat and jump up immediately, with your arms pointed towards the ceiling.
When you land go right back to the next rep without pausing. Do 3 sets of 20 reps.
The Lean
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your arms down at your sides. Take a step back diagonally with your left foot and then bend sideways from the waist toward the side where your left leg is stretched out. Reach up your left arm and stretch your right arm towards the back of your left calf. Return to the starting position and repeat. Do 10 reps on each side.
