I hope you all are staying safe and healthy and practicing social isolation as much as possible! I will be doing a lot of workouts at home, and after my exam on Friday (wish me luck - it's been so hard to focus on studying!), I plan to make a bunch of videos for at home workouts to share with you all!
I am also excited to have some extra time to make fun recipes, although I am disappointed I won't be able to travel for my only spring break of medical school - but safety first! It is important to think about others in this difficult time, and traveling really increases the risk of spreading the virus and getting those who are more at risk sick.
So anyways, here are two core exercises that you can do at home! The first one uses no equipment, and for the second one, you can use any sort of prop - a pillow, shoe, footstool, soccer ball, etc.
To do this first set, start by laying flat on your back, with your legs out straight in front of you. Bring your hands behind your head and your elbows out wide. For a modification, you can bend your legs and plant your feet on the floor. Engage your core muscles to keep your shoulder slightly hovering above the floor the whole time, never fully releasing back to the floor.
Exhale as you twist across the body and draw in your right knee, bringing your left elbow toward the knee. Think more about initiating the movement from your upper body and moving your left shoulder toward your knee, and keep you elbows wide. Try to avoid drawing your elbows in (which is very common to do when you get tired) because this can strain your neck and compromise the engagement of your core. Return your upper body down, and repeat the movement, this time with your arm and leg fully extended, reaching your left arm to tap your right toes. Switch sides and do the same sequence. Continue alternating sides until you have done 8 on each for one full set! For a greater challenge, you can hover the lower straight leg a few inches above the floor the whole time.
Choose a prop of some sort that is low enough to the ground that you can lift your legs over it, but high enough that it challenges you. Sit up with your legs straight out in front of you and place the prop in between your feet. For a modification, you can slightly bend your legs - the straighter they are, the harder this will be. Lean back slightly to engage your core, keeping your back fairly straight, and bring your hands to your chest (if you want some extra work for your pectoral muscles, you can press your hands together tightly or even add a small ball or block between them).
Lift your legs one after the other over and across the prop - almost as if you were drawing a rainbow with your leg! Focus on controlling this movement from your core and moving your whole leg as one unit, rather than just moving from your feet or knee. To take this up a level, press your legs together and move them at the same time over and across the prop! This will really challenge your balance as well, so try to keep as still as you can in the core and upper body. Do at least 8 on each side for one full set!
I hope you liked these videos! I will be posting more workout videos soon, so if there is anything you want to see, let me know! My focus will be on moves that you can easily do in a small space and using no equipment or props you can commonly find in a house/apartment. I know not everyone has weights or other exercise equipment at home, and it is definitely possible to get in a great full workout without these things, so I hope I can share some helpful videos! In the meantime, you can check out my other workout videos on my page - most of them also require no/minimal equipment!
Stay safe out there and take care of yourself as well as being considerate of others!