Take It Off: Exercises to do at home

Last year you moved and grooved with the News Journal during Move It Delaware, our 10-week health challenge where we asked readers to embrace a healthy lifestyle by logging 150 minutes of physical activity a week.

This year we are at it again.

We are still all about healthy lifestyles, but with a new theme: Take It Off.

However, first things first: we're talking about pounds, folks.

The end goal of this year's challenge is weight loss, with an eye toward helping people avoid diabetes or improve their situation.

Sponsored by Christiana Care Health System, the health challenge is free. It officially kicked off last week and will run 12 weeks, but people can register at www.delawareonline.com/takeitoff to join at any point. Instead of logging minutes and activity, we are asking people to track their weight for the next 12 weeks.

You could win one of our weekly prizes and be in the running for prizes that include a $1,000 gift card.

Like with Move It, I will be trying out different exercises or recipes throughout the challenge to give readers new ideas for working out or improving eating habits.

After a bit of a hiatus, here's my first go-around for Take It Off. True story, I've had this conversation with myself too many times over the last 10 days:

We've had some very sunny days, but the parking lot at the gym I go to, Club Fitness in Dover, must still be snow-caked post-Jonas. And so, to protect my car from a sure icy accident, I will forgo running on the treadmill or my favorite hip-hop class.

So, yes, it's cold outside. Or rainy. Or blustery. Or 64 degrees and it shouldn't be. Or sunny for the first time in weeks. Because it's winter in Delaware.

And it's OK to not want to drive to the gym or step outside after work. But at the same time, let's be honest It can be difficult to stay motivated at the same place you put up your feet.

"One of the challenges of working out at home is the distraction," said Nic DeCaire, owner of Fusion Fitness in Newark. "You physically did not leave and go to a place to work out. You have to be very disciplined to work out at home, but it's also more convenient."

Working out at home doesn't need to be complicated. It may not be easy mentally or physically, but it can be fun.

DeCaire and Steve Sinko, personal trainer at Fusion Fitness and head cross country/track coach at Newark Charter High School, gave us some tips on how to make at-home workouts the best they can be. These exercises can be adapted by people who haven't worked out in a long time and want to get started, or by people who are in shape and want to maintain at home.

What do you need to do it?

Focus on body-weight exercises, which are exactly what you think – you use your body as weight instead of traditional kettle or dumbbells. They can be modified to what you can do as well so don't be discouraged if you can't do a full push-up.

Body weight training includes push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, leg lifts and planks. With very little research online, you can learn to shift the way you are doing an exercise to target different muscles.

The amount of calories you will burn depends on the intensity you work out.

"The more breaks you take, the less calories you will burn," DeCaire said. "The faster you move through your workout the more calories you are going to burn."

What types of exercise do I do?

Here are five body weight exercises to try at home.

1. Squats:  Start in a squat position with your knees bent, pushing your weight into your heels. Pretend you are sitting on a chair, then use your legs and core to rise back up to standing position. If you're not used to doing them, hold on to a wall, a rail, the back of a sturdy piece of furniture to stabilize yourself until you get more proficient.

2. Lunges: Start in a standing position with hands on your waist, or wherever is comfortable. Stretch your right leg behind you, planting the ball of your foot on the ground. Bend your left leg so it is at a 90-degree angle. Switch sides. And as above, if you're not used to doing them, hold on to something until you get more proficient.

3. Bird dogs: Start on your hands and knees, with your back straight. Reach your right arm straight ahead while simultaneously stretching your leg leg back. Hold for three seconds. Alternate sides. These are especially good for strengthening the lower back, DeCaire said, which is essential to a pain-free life and excellent snow shoveling, should the need arise again this year.

4. Push-ups: You can drop to your knees if you need to (I know I do), just keep your back straight. You can even do a push-up against a wall. Use your arms, shoulders and upper back to raise and lower your upper body to the wall, keeping your elbows in a triangle position. Then straighten your arms.

5. Planks: Looks easy, but it's not. Use your forearms as support and straighten your legs and back. Keep the core tight, your bum from rising into the air and you will feel the burn. You don't have to do this on the floor. Again, you can start by leaning against a wall or a sturdy piece of furniture. If a wall plank is easy, position your feet further away from the wall to make the angle more challenging. Hold for as long as you can.(Try for a minute each time).

Repeat these exercises at least two or three times a week. Schedule them when you can, maybe even during your favorite television show.

Full disclosure: I like to pull out the yoga mat during "Law and Order SVU" and watch Olivia kick butt while I stretch.

"It's a good way to get your show in and get your working out in at the same time," DeCaire said.

Where?

Anywhere. The world is your gym.

What's the cost?

It's your body, my friends, so this exercise is free.

Check out our events during Take It Off

Want to groove? Check out Christiana Care’s Dance Your Heart Out event March 10, to help you dance your way to health. It's free features lots of fun, screening tables, food and more. Sign up here: http://events.christianacare.org/event/dance-your-heart-out-2016.

And The News Journal will be hosting an Imagine Delaware event in April focused on diabetes in the state, which many health officials say is near epidemic proportions, mostly because of weight and poor eating habits.

Have an activity or recipe suggestion for Jen?

If so, contact her at (302) 324-2386, jrini@delawareonline.com or @JenRini on Twitter.