Easy Ways to Get Fit at Home

It's not always easy to find inspiration around the house for getting fit, not least for taking the time out to utilise home equipment / space for beneficial fitness purposes. For those who prefer to exercise out of the public eye or simply for those looking to exercise on a budget (without the added expenses of a gym membership which you might never use), this guide looks in depth at what furniture and space around the house you can use to get fit at home.

With help from our infographic and the expert advice from Britain's finest, Rosemary Conley, and some other industry experts—look no further for easy ways to get fit and find fitness inspiration all over the house, even if it's in household chores... 

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If you'd like to embed this infographic on your site, please use the embed code above. With accreditation to Wayfair.co.uk you're welcome to use it on your blog or website.

 Top tips from fitness experts

 For more inspirational tips, it's a pleasure to have Rosemary Conley on board to share her advice. Rosemary is the UK's leading diet and fitness expert and a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to the fitness and diet industries. Along with Rosemary, we also have exercise tips from Hayley Magidan, WNBF Pro and director of Fitness Fan, and nutrition advice from Jon Taylor, body transformation and weight loss specialist. 

Rosemary Conlet CBE

Exercising at home is easier than you imagine and I think we've all wondered whether vigorous housework would burn off a cream cake or chocolate bar?

We can choose to do formal exercise such as working out to a fitness DVD or go for a walk or jog. But it's interesting to realise how many calories we can burn just by doing our everyday tasks:

• An hour's ironing will burn 140 calories.
• 15 minutes of vacuuming will burn 90 calories.
• Cleaning windows for 30 minutes will burn 125 calories.
• 20 minutes of dusting will burn 70 calories.
• Stair climbing for 15 minutes will burn 143 calories.
• Car washing for 30 minutes will burn 143 calories.
• Walking briskly for 20 minutes will burn 100 calories.

We all want to be toned up as we lose weight so why not try these simple exercises in your own home that will work on specific parts of your body:

• FOR THIGHS
Sit on the front half of a dining chair. Stand up and sit down x 40. Great for toning upper thighs.
• FOR ABS
Whether sitting or standing get into the habit of holding your stomach in all the time. It works wonders on your posture and midriff.
• FOR BOTTOMS
The best exercise you can do for your bottom is stair climbing. Use the stairs as often as you can and very regularly.
• FOR ARMS
Place the heels of your hands on the edge of a sturdy chair. Keeping your hips close to the front of the chair as you dip and raise your body as many times as you can without hurting your wrists. Great for flabby under-arms.
• POSTURE
Take a broom handle and hold it above your head in both hands. Lower it behind your head whilst still standing tall. Great for your posture muscles.
• PROTECTING YOUR BACK
Whenever you lift something heavy or lean forward to do a task, remember to always hold your core (stomach muscles) very tightly. This will support your back and help to prevent injury.

​For more exercise and weight loss advice go to www.rosemaryconley.com  

Hayley Madigan—WNBF Pro and Director of Fitness Fan

Most of us know the benefits of exercising daily but generally some of us can't find the time to venture out to hit the gym and therefore we put exercise off.

On days where I can't make it to the gym or don't have access to one, I create my own workout at home or outside in my garden.

Even if I can only squeeze in a 20-minute workout it will still aid me hugely and can make all the difference in losing fat and building a strong, lean physique.

When you're working out at home there are certain ways you can utilise your space as well as using your furniture around you. Take the stairs for example, if you live in a two or more story house then walking up and down your stairs a couple of times is a great way to increase your heart rate and warm-up your body for a workout.

Grab a chair, a dining room or office chair will be suitable, and this can be used for countless different exercises to strengthen your core, upper body as well as your lower body. You can complete a great all-round body routine with one simple chair. Tricep dips—to tone up those dreaded bingo wings – is a perfect exercise to start with. Simply place the palms of your hands shoulder width apart on the edge of the chair and lengthen out your legs about a metre out in front of you. Put the weight into your palms starting off with straight arms and lower yourself down until your elbow is at a 90-degree angle, then push back up to straighten your arms again and return to the starting point. Repeat this exercise 15-20 times to feel the burn in your triceps and keep your core nice and tight. You can then move onto numerous core exercises to tone up and increase your abdominal strength. Sit down on your chair and lift up your legs so your knees are up close to your chest. Whilst holding on to either side of your chair, gently lengthen out your legs in front of you till they are straight and bring them back into your chest repeatedly. Do this for 15-20 reps or until you can't do any more.

I typically create my own home workouts by choosing four different exercises that work my upper body and four different exercises that work my lower body. I then alternate the upper body exercises with the lower body ones to create a circuit. I will either complete each exercise for 30 seconds or achieve 15-20 reps, I recommend no rest between each exercise in order to increase your heart rate. After I have completed one circuit I will rest for 30-60 seconds before repeating the circuit; I will then repeat this until I have worked out for a total of 20-25 minutes.

Additionally, you can aid your home workouts with inexpensive gym equipment that is designed for your home. A great fitness tool to use at home is a TRX, it is one of the most diverse pieces of equipment that you can use anywhere; I even take one on holiday with me. It can be hung up between any doorframe and wrapped around any tree for an outdoor workout. Its intelligent design enables you to complete hundreds of exercises to stimulate the whole of your body by leveraging gravity and your bodyweight.

My top tips for leading a healthy lifestyle are:
1) Try to prepare your food at home to take to work, this will stop you making impulsively bad decisions when hunger strikes.
2) Load up on fats and proteins in the morning to keep you fuller for longer.
3) Drink flavoured green teas to boost your metabolism and keep hunger at bay.
4) Add chillies and cayenne pepper to lunches/dinners to increase the amount of calories you burn during digestion.

Jon Taylor—Jon Taylor Fitness

Jon Taylor is a body transformation specialist from South Wales, U.K. He not only helps people with transforming their body but also addresses the underlying factors that have led them to being unhappy and finding an escape through food to finally achieve permanent lifestyle changes, not temporary yo-yo results.

Here are his top tips on nutrition to get the very best results in the shortest amount of time.
1) One tbsp of Peanut Butter before bed—Yes, you read that right! Peanut butter is very slow releasing with its nutrients through a number of hours. This will help feed your body throughout the night so that you do not go into "starvation" mode and your body starts breaking down "muscle" for energy during sleep. You can then utilise all nutrients from breakfast instead of potentially storing any.

2) Reduce starchy carbs at night—By cutting starchy carbs at night time and increasing healthy fats and protein instead you initiating body fat burning triggers.
3) Fruit Chewing Gum—Suffer with a sweet tooth? Fruit chewing gum will be your friend. This tricks your brain to think you are having something sweet to eat and the chewing motion solidifies that.
4) Eat every three hours—There is no magic time that you have to stop eating, we've all heard that "the kitchen closes at 7.30pm", this is nonsense. Eat your last meal two hours before bedtime; that is the only rule.

My top tips for exercise would be just really to enjoy it and don't view it as a chore. If we view exercise or anything really in life as a chore or struggle, our inner child will simply put their foot down and say "No!" and you will start rapidly losing motivation. There is exercise all around us; look around your home, everything can be used for exercise.

 "I wish you health, happiness and success on your journeys."