With many gyms and sports clubs closed due to COVID-19, most of our daily lives are largely contained to our own four walls. For many, the only physical activity now is in the home, but with the proximity of the fridge and couch, falling into bad habits is tempting. This is not necessarily good for your health, so our HAIX® workout family has put together a few exercises that you can easily do at home. Most of the training equipment that our athletes use can be found in every household: a yoga mat, chair, backpack and a water bottle. These athletes show you how you can train at home with little effort and without equipment – so you can live the motto: "Stay Home - Stay Strong!"
Police K-9 handler, Johann, finds that you can train at home with little to no equipment. His at-home workout tips require minimum effort but will definitely make you sweat!
Squat - Push-up - Jump!
- Take an upright position and then squat.
- Push your buttocks towards the floor and move forward with your hands along the floor to a push up position – do a push-up - and move back with hands along floor back to squat position.
- Then: stretch/straight jump.
Roll-ups with Jump & Walking Lunges
- Lie down on your back on your yoga mat, roll up with the help of your abdominal muscles and then directly - jump!
- Go back down, roll back to a lying position and start again.
- For the walking lunges, not only will it challenge your fitness but it will also challenge your balance. Be sure to have enough floor space.
- Start your lunge walk with a step forward on one side, down into the lunge position, push back up again and then move to the next lunge with the other leg forward.
- Did you hit the wall? Just turn around and "walk your lunges" back!
Meghan, a professional firefighter and also an athlete on the HAIX® team, believes in classic squats. The deeper you go, the more intense the training.
Using Backpack as a Weight
For added intensity, she packs a HAIX® backpack full of books or other items for added weight. During the squats you carry the backpack weight on your back or raise them over your head with your hands. The backpack can serve as a weight for various exercises. Her partner, Jan, for example, has the weight on the back while doing pushups. For an added challenge, position a stool or towel under your feet, putting your feet on the stool or towel, lower into push-up position and back again.
Working out with friends or in a group can also keep you motivated. Hannah, Marius and Chris not only share a common passion for fire and emergency services, but also volunteering and physical fitness. After long days on the job, the three enjoy sweating out their energy during a workout. In order to stay fit, the three of them moved their workouts into the home and told us about their favorite full-body exercises to strengthen your core, abdominals, tendons, ligaments and joints. First, Hannah and Marius demonstrate planking and training with a water bottle.
The Plank Position
- Hold yourself on the floor with your forearms.
- It is important that the legs are stretched out, feet together, and the body forms a straight line.
- Hold position for 20-30 seconds.
- If you want to intensify the exercise, get into a push-up position on your hands, lower yourself in the pushup position onto your forearms, right arm first, then left arm and then back up to the starting position. Do right arm, left arm, then left arm, right arm, alternating.
Abdominal Muscle Training with a Water Bottle
- You don't need anything for the next exercise except a bottle of water.
- Lie flat on your back and hold on to something with your hands, for example the end of the couch.
- Now clamp the water bottle between your feet.
- Tense your legs and lift them up horizontally.
- Move your legs from top to bottom without touching the floor.
- Change position to the left, back to the center and to the right.
Relieve Tension with Fascia Training
Chris shows how you can relax your neck and neck muscles after a long day of work with the BLACKROLL® fascia ball. Especially after stress/strain, I feel that regular training with the BLACKROLL® Ball loosens my muscles." Fascia training improves the mobility of muscles, tendons and ligaments, and it also stimulates the blood circulation. Start by lying down, face up. Place the fascia ball under your neck. Slowly turn your head left and right. Increase the pressure as needed.
The BLACKROLL® Ball is also suitable for the calf, foot and back: roll out the calf with slow, even movements over the ball while lying on the floor, using the natural weight of your body to create pressure. To roll out the plantar fascia in the foot, stand upright over your BLACKROLL® ball and move one foot over the it with light, circular movements. For the back, stand with your back to the wall, the ball is pinched between the wall and back, right next to the spine. Roll over the ball by lowering your legs to a squatting position, keeping the ball between you and the wall, and back up again. Active pressure with the back against the ball varies the intensity. Instead of the fascia ball, the mini fascia roll can also be used.
These are challenging times for the world, but with every challenge comes a new opportunity to come out stronger, both mentally and physically! As the motto says: ‘’Stay Home - Stay Strong!”