Six Indoor Exercises

Escape the Summer Sun with these 6 Indoor Activities

Swimming, barbecues, baseball games – the start of summer brings all kinds of fun outdoor activities. Depending on where you live it can also means sweltering temperatures and greater sun-exposure.

So while it is great to get out and soaking up some vitamin-D doing fun summer activities, be sure to practice good sun safety by limiting your daily exposure.

One way you can do this is by moving your workout inside. Here are six indoor exercises you can do to stay in shape this summer:

Walk Indoors

If waking-up early to walk outdoors before the sun comes up doesn’t sound appealing to you, don’t give up so easily. Simply grab your MP3 player and move your walk-it out indoors.

Many malls open early so people may “mall walk” or jog through the long corridors of shopping malls. This activity is actually quite popular since the indoor climate is quite comfortable, there is easy access to restrooms, and an abundance of interesting things to look at.

Stretch

For many stretching takes a back seat to their exercise routine. After all, your main concern is exercising, not stretching right? Not so fast – stretching may increase your flexibility and improve your joints’ range of motion, which in turn may improve your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury.

Before stretching you should warm up with five to ten minutes of light activity (think walking or jogging at low intensity). Hold each stretch for about 30 seconds, then switch sides and repeat. If you feel pain, you’ve stretched too far. You should always keep your stretching gentle

Jump

This is an exercise classic for a reason. Jumping Jacks involve numerous parts of the body such as your back, calves, shoulders and thighs – plus you can do them anywhere (including indoors!)

To perform a Jumping Jack one must ‘jump’ to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead, then quickly returning to a position with the feet together and arms at the side.

Squat

Squats are another exercise you can do just about anywhere. Simply stand with your feet shoulder width apart, keeping your shoulders back and head up. Slowly sit back into your heel and bend the knees to a sitting position. Maintain control while you come back to your starting position.

You should feel a slight burning sensation in your thighs as you work on tightening you upper-leg muscles and strengthening your knees. When performing squats it’s critical you get the technique right. The benefits of squats are immense, but so are the injuries you could sustain if you perform them incorrectly.

Bend Your Waist

Waist bends are a low-impact, anaerobic type of exercise. You can perform this move at your home, office or gym as part of a total body workout.

A forward waist bend begins by standing straight with arms straight above your head and your feet shoulder width apart. Bend forward at the waist until your spinal column is parallel with the floor. Raise back up to the starting position. For the side waist bend, you should bend to the left side, to approximately a 45-degree angle, then back up to the starting position, and repeat the same movement on the right side.

You can intensify the difficulty of this move by holding a dumbbell in each hand, raising a leg, or increasing your pace.

Put On Socks While Standing

It may sounds silly, but one of the things we begin to lose as we get older is our balance. Test your balance by putting on your socks while standing up – and without holding onto anything!

You may find this task to be surprisingly difficult at first, but if you make it part of your dressing routine, this habit will help you improve your balance over time.