Home fitness tips

The core skill of home fitness is never to collect 10,000 yuan of fitness equipment and copy the one-hour training plan in the gym. It is to adapt the movements to the existing home scene, embed the training into the daily rhythm, and at the same time calibrate the movements to avoid the mentality trap of "training for the sake of training", so that you can achieve the same training effect as going to the gym.

When many people first get into home fitness, their first reaction is to buy a bunch of stuff, such as yoga mats, dumbbells, kettlebells, and spinning bikes that can’t fit on the balcony. They end up using them to hang clothes. I’ve been through this trap before. I bought an adjustable dumbbell that cost more than 1,000 yuan, but after using it for less than three months, I sold it because it was too heavy to move. Later, after talking to friends in the body-weight training circle, I realized that there is no need for all these bells and whistles. Of course, people with different training goals have different opinions on this matter. If you want to systematically build muscle, a pair of adjustable dumbbells and a pull-up bar are really enough. The total price is only two to three hundred, which is more cost-effective than getting an annual card. ； But if you just want to maintain your physical fitness and lose some fat, your body weight is sufficient. A trolley box filled with books can be used as a kettlebell, a sturdy dining chair can be used as a bench press, and even a mineral water bucket can be used as a small weight dumbbell. The house I rented before was so small that it could only accommodate a bed, so I practiced deadlifting with a shopping bag filled with two 5L barrels of cooking oil. The only incident was that the bag leaked once, and I wiped the kitchen floor for half an hour, which was considered extra aerobic. By the way, if your neighbor is sensitive, remember to buy a thicker silent yoga mat and don’t do barefoot aerobics. I was visited by the aunt downstairs three times before. Later, I changed to a 10mm mat and never had any problems again.

At this point, some people may ask, I am busy with work and taking care of my baby at home, so I can’t spare any time to practice? In fact, the industry has been arguing about this for several years. One group insists that 45-60 minutes of training must be devoted to training every day in order to achieve effective muscle stimulation. The other group focuses on fragmented fitness and feels that even if it is 10 minutes each time, three times a day will not be bad. I have tried both. When I was working on a project last year, I had to squeeze in time to eat every day, so I followed the "home micro-exercises". I did 3 sets of Bulgarian split squats while making coffee, stood and did 15 standing shoulder presses while waiting for takeout, and even quietly sat on the edge of the chair to do seated leg extensions during unimportant online meetings. Not only did I not gain weight in those two months, my body fat rate also dropped by 1.2 percentage points. I also have a friend who works in new media. He does 20 kettlebell swings every time he edits a video. He has lost 6cm in waist circumference in three months. It is more efficient than his previous trip to the gym twice a week - after all, he does not have to spend half an hour commuting, and he will not skip training because of rain or crowded gyms.

When it comes to training content, many people’s first reaction is to follow popular fitness live broadcasts. Both sides have different opinions on this matter. Those who support it feel that the live broadcast has an atmosphere, it is not easy to paddle with the instructor, and novices don’t have to make their own plans, they can just follow along. ； Opponents say that in order to take care of the vast majority of people, the difficulty of the movements in live broadcasts is generally very low, and the rhythm is fixed. If you can't keep up with the forced movements, you will easily compensate for injuries. When Liu Genghong became popular two years ago, I don't know how many people suffered from knee pain and ankle pain after dancing for two or three days. Most of them were caused by tight core and deformed movements. My own experience is that novices can get a feel for it through the live broadcast in the early stage, but don’t insist on following the whole process. If you feel that the movement is not right, pause, search for the key points of standard movements, or turn on your mobile phone to record your movements for 10 seconds, and look in the mirror to see if there are any problems such as knee buckling and waist collapse. It is much more useful than dancing blindly for half an hour. If you already have a certain training foundation, you can make a simple plan by yourself. You can practice upper limbs today and lower limbs tomorrow. The total time does not need to exceed 40 minutes, which is much more efficient.

There is also an interesting controversial point, which is whether home fitness should have a sense of ritual. Some people say that you can practice at home in pajamas, whatever makes you feel comfortable. Some people say that you must wear professional fitness clothes and lay out a yoga mat to be in good training condition. I think there is really no standard answer to this. Sometimes I am too tired to move after get off work, so I put on coral velvet pajamas and do 10 minutes of stretching, which can also achieve the effect of relaxing my shoulders and neck. ； If you want to train your butt and legs intensively that day, just change into fitness pants and wear supportive sneakers. You will feel better immediately. You don’t have to worry about what others say. The choice that makes you willing to move is the right one.

In fact, after practicing home fitness for so long, my biggest feeling is that this thing is originally meant to save everyone trouble. If you have to force yourself to gather equipment, squeeze in enough time, and do enough standard sets, you will be more tired than going to the gym, which defeats the original intention. If you don't want to move today, just do 5 push-ups. If you feel good today, practice for 20 more minutes. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you persist, it will be more effective than any fancy tricks.