5 Easy Workouts to Get You Back into the Swing of Things

Working out has many great health benefits, such as lowering stress, improving overall health and improving fitness. Despite these great benefits, it can sometimes be easy to get off track. There are many reasons for this, such as a vacations and holidays, among others. While you may have not worked out in quite some time, do not despair. There are easy workouts that can help get you back into the rhythm of working out. Below are 5 workouts that can help you do just that.

Walking

While walking may not seem as glamorous or appealing as other workouts, it remains one of the best workouts you can do, especially if you are easing back into exercise. Walking is much easier on your joints, especially your knees, then other exercises such as running or jogging. Walking be done practically anywhere and does not need any fancy equipment. Regular brisk walking can help you stay at a healthy weight, improve your mood and get your bones and muscles stronger.

Start off by doing a simple 10 minute walk outside. You can gradually increase time. If you walk on a treadmill, you can increase the angle of the track, which makes for a harder workout that is still easy on the joints. You can also try hiking outdoors in nature.

Pushups

Pushups are a staple of many workout programs and exercise regimens, and for good reason. Pushups, if done correctly, can target several major muscle groups in your upper body. A proper pushup activates the chest, shoulders, triceps and core. What is great about pushups is that they can be scaled down, or even up, quite easily to meet your fitness needs. For example, if a regular pushup is too difficult to perform, try kneeling pushups. If those are too difficult, try incline pushups on a bench, or even perform them against a wall. If a regular pushup is too easy, try them with your feet elevated, or uneven pushups. A whole workout can be developed around pushups to create a great workout for the chest and shoulders, as well as triceps.

Bodyweight Squats

The bodyweight squat is another great exercise that can be formed into an entire workout that can ease you back into exercising. The squat is a compound movement and works several muscles at once. Also, the primary muscles activated are the quadriceps, with secondary muscles being activated such as hamstrings and calves.

Like the pushup, bodyweight squats can be scaled in difficulty to your ability. Half squats can be performed on the easier end, while one-legged, or pistol, squats can be performed on the more difficult end of the spectrum. To make bodyweight squats into a workout, try utilizing different difficulty levels, as well as repetitions and sets.

Biking or Spinning

Biking is a great form of exercise that still provides great health benefits while being easy on the joints. You can start off with small distances and gradually increase them, as well as choosing more difficult routes that have more hills in them. Spinning is essentially the same as biking, except done on a stationary bike which is typically indoors. This can be helpful if the weather is bad and you cannot bike outside. Spinning machines or stationary bikes often have adjustable resistance, which lets you control the difficulty of the exercise.

Jumping Rope

Jumping or skipping rope can be a great form of exercise that requires minimal equipment but still offers great results. Jumping rope may take a little getting used to at first, due to the coordination required, but it can be a great exercise to help get you fit and trim. Make sure to warm up you calves before starting, as this exercise requires you to hop quite a bit. You can start off with a simple two foot jump, and advance to more difficult techniques like double-unders.

In the end, getting back into working out after some time can be difficult. What can help ease you back into the routine of exercising are some easy workouts. Remember: keep the workouts doable yet challenging. It is better to gradually yet consistently workout then to jump into an extreme workout and yet quit two weeks into it. Hopefully the exercises and workouts listed above can help give you a starting point to start exercising.