Regular exercise helps with blood pressure and cholesterol, and there are a range of exercises you can perform at home to enjoy the associated health benefits
The importance of keeping physically active can’t be underestimated. As the NHS explains: “Regular exercise will make your heart and blood circulatory system more efficient, lower your cholesterol level, and also keep your blood pressure at a healthy level”.
If that wasn’t enough, keeping active can reduce your risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes and cancer. While there are many exercises you can try, everyone should incorporate a mix of strength and flexibility exercises into their weekly routine.
Along with the wider benefits associated with physical activity, strength and flexibility exercises will help you increase muscle strength. It can also help you “maintain bone density, improve balance and reduce joint pain,” according to the NHS.
Fortunately, plenty of moves you can try at home that strengthen your whole body and don’t require any equipment. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has created a guide to nine effective moves, with video instructions on completing them all.
The moves include:
- floor press-ups
- knee press-ups
- incline press-ups
- adapted half-burpees
- half burpees
- sit to stand using arms
- reverse lunge with overhead press
- reverse lung with weighted overhead press
- deadlift to row
As seen in the videos on the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s website, you can use items found around the home to level up your workouts. For instance, you can lean on a sturdy chair or bench to complete adapted half-burpees, which involve leaning on the chair and then taking a big step back with each foot before walking your feet back toward the chair.
Similarly, you could use an umbrella to add weight when completing exercises like the reverse lunge with a weighted overhead press. Find out about the symptoms you need to watch out for and get health advice with our free health newsletter from the Mirror
The NHS says you’ll be able to tell if a move is muscle strengthening if you find your muscles need a short rest before you continue with the next exercise. It’s recommended to do two or more muscle-strengthening exercises a week, but these sessions aren’t limited to the time spent lifting weights or working out using resistance bands. Cycling, hill walking, dancing, and heavy gardening could all count as muscle-strengthening exercises.
The NHS adds: “For general health, try to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, as well as muscle-strengthening activities one to two days a week. The NHS also recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week.
