10 Exercises You Can Do at Home When There’s No Time for the Gym

It happens to all of us – you’re in a time crunch. Not enough time to get to the gym, but you may have enough time to fit in a quick workout. Sound familiar?

You don’t have to ditch the exercise entirely, says Michael Cortese, Outpatient Rehabilitation Director for Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West. Mr. Cortese says put these 10 exercises into your home workout arsenal.  No special workout equipment is needed and you will see results. 

As always, if you’re new to exercising, this expert says check with your doctor to make sure you’re ready to start or resume regular exercises.

Mr. Cortese offers two different workouts, each with fiveexercises working different parts of the body. He recommends doing 12 repetitionsof each movement, and repeat three times. 

Workout 1(You need a chair with arms and a non-skid floor surface.)

1)  Squat: Stand in front the chair, lower into the chair and return to stand without putting weight on the chair. The goal here is to not use your arms, lowering to just hovering over seat, then stand and repeat.

2) Push Up – modified: Lean on the arms of the chair and lower. Another option: put your hands on the seat and lower. Of course, the most difficult is a regular push up.

3) Triceps Dip: Put your hands on the arms of the chair and lower, or place your hands at the front of the seat and lower.

4) Side Plank: Put one hand on the seat of chair, position in to side plank position bracing your core (don’t let your middle “sag”). Rotate from one side to another.

5) Abdominal exercises: Sit in the chair and bicycle. Brace your core, and pedal.

Workout 2

1) Lunge: Step forward with one leg, and lower. Do not let front knee go forward over your foot.

2) Bicep Curls: You can use bottles with handles like laundry detergent – they make excellent weights.  Remember to brace your core as you lift and lower – doing both movements slowly and without “swinging” your arms.

3) Calf Stretch: Keep your feet planted and lift your heels. You will feel this through your calves and lower extremities as you repeat.

4) Bridge: Lying on back, knees bent, with your heels touching your fingertips. Lift your bottom up and lower, slowly lift and repeat.

5) Side step: A big step side to side (like a skater’s stride). It can be done as steps. Speed and distance can increase until one is jumping side-to-side — and landing and holding balance on one foot .

Remember to breathe. Speed isn’t important, using correct form is more important. So, take your time and get that workout in.