The 15 Minute Stay-at-Home Workout!

A fitness centre may give you the structure and space required to pursue your fitness goals in a controlled environment that is exclusively focused on working out, but fitness truly begins at home. If better health and body image is on top of your new year’s resolution list, then you should know that you it's not the gym that gets you there.

What you do require however, is the unflagging self-motivation to make the most of every opportunity to get active. Motivation and mindset is key, because without the will to change one’s sedentary ways, even the most professional personal trainer won’t be able to influence you. If you have the fundamental drive to embrace a all over healthy lifestyle from inside out, you will not need a crushing workout regimen, an expensive gym membership and all the latest technology. All you need to do is focus on the basics and avoid the pitfalls of losing control of your diet, focus and discipline. 

Your body is the best workout tool you require, even though the gym offers equipment that seriously amplifies your regime. You don’t need a cross trainer or weights to give your body to rush of endorphins and activity it needs to stay healthy and in shape. The great thing about home workouts is that score high on the convenience factor. If your schedule is just too hectic for your to drive to the gym and back, a quick home workout solves your problem and eliminates the excuse for not working out.

We’ve got together and listed three highly effective workouts you can perform at home. So whether you are a seasoned weightlifter or fitness rookie, you can still get results from these moves. They can be done in 30 minutes or much less. Just remember to stay accountable and not switch up this activity with surfing the internet or taking a nap! Make an appointment with yourself—preferably at the same time each day or week to get in the groove and work hard to ensure that you won't even consider skipping your sweat session.

Start your session by tapping into your body with a light warm-up. Don't skip this. You don’t need a blueprint for this part of the work out, just engage in some deep stretching while keeping your breathing deep and relaxed. Try to tune into and engage every muscle in your body, from your toes to your neck. Do whatever it takes to really ground yourself in your body and activate every moving part.

Exercise 1: The Leg Curl 

Lie face-up on the floor, knees bent and both heels firmly planted on the ground; lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders (a). Slide your heels away from you as far as you can without dropping your hips (b). Pause, then return to start. That's one rep. Do 15.

Exercise 2: Seated Oblique Twist

Sit on the floor and hold a towel or rope taut between your hands, arms straight and extended at shoulder height; lean back and raise your feet about a foot off the floor, keeping your core tight and knees bent (a). Pull the right end of the towel or rope toward the floor, rotating your shoulders and torso (b). Pause, then rotate back to centre and repeat on the other side. That's one rep. Do 20.

Exercise 3: Simple Push Ups 

This one is a classic, for working on your upper torso strength. Get into a plank, lower yourself down until your chest is about an inch or two from the ground and then slowly push yourself back up to the starting position. Push through the heels of your hands in order to return to the starting position. Do 20. Repeat if you can.

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