Our newest Bootea Blogger is Katy from Kent. Katy is a recruitment consultant and mad about fitness, especially at-home workouts!
In her first Bootea blog, she tells us how she got into fitness and why she's passionate about motivating people to workout at home if they don't feel confident in the gym.
I spent years of my life in a bad place with my self confidence and would spend hours poring over fitness models on social media, always telling myself that I would never be able to get that flat stomach and washboard abs that I desired as I had no idea where to start in the gym and the thought of even joining one scared the life out of me.
Eventually, after convincing myself that enough was enough I took the plunge and joined one anyway!
I do love my gym but, being fairly small, it was always packed and I really struggled to branch away from the cardio section as I didn’t want to embarrass myself on any of the other equipment and after a few months, I fell out of love with the gym and stopped going.
And then the fun really started!
After signing up to a well-known home based fitness plan, I realised that there are so many workouts that can be done right from your living room without even having to change out of your pyjamas or wash your hair.
People always ask me how I find the motivation to workout at home as there’s so many distractions - and I definitely agree that having the drive to get up off the sofa and get moving can be really difficult - but I love the fact that so little effort goes into getting ready for my workouts and that’s what spurs me on the most.
I always recommend that if you plan to workout, it’s a good move to get changed into some comfy workout gear as soon as you get home from work (if you’re not a morning person like me) or as soon as you wake up as it really puts you in the workout mood.
If you don’t have a specific plan to follow, there are so many fantastic workout guides you can get hold of and most of the time all you need is a yoga mat, some small dumbbells (2/3kg). If you don't have them, large bottles of water work just as well.
My favourite ways to keep fit at home include:
(30-45 minutes up to 4 times a week)
Dancing: Dancing is a really good way to warm up or even a fun way to get yourself moving for some cardio. Stick on your favourite tune and throw a few shapes. You don’t have to be Beyonce for it to work! If your heart rate rises, it’s working. Try and include some jumping or jogging moves and you’ll be sweating in no time.
Pilates: Pilates is absolutely amazing for your strength and posture as it focuses on balance and small, controlled movements. There are so many incredible pilates instructors who make videos online that you can follow.
Squats/lunges: These can be done with or without dumbbells and are a fantastic way to strengthen those legs and firm up that booty! Try to aim for 2 or 3 sets of 15 reps.
Crunches/bicycle crunches: Get those abs burning with 2 or 3 sets of crunches or bicycle crunches to work those obliques. Aim to crunch for around 30 seconds each set.
Tricep dips: Banish those bingo wings! Simply grab yourself a chair or the edge of the sofa and get to work.
Push-ups: There are so many variations of this move. If you have very little upper arm strength like I did you can do a press-up from your knees or if you already have some good upper body strength, push yourself and go for a full one!
You can either put different moves together to work your whole body at once or try dedicating a day to a specific area of your body.
I really enjoy home based workouts and still make sure they are a huge part of my fitness plan. Combining them with a healthy balanced diet, even after 3 months I saw incredible changes in my body and fitness levels.
I’ve recently made my way back into the gym and whilst I was nervous to get back into it, I’ve learnt so much from my home workouts and my confidence has improved so much that I felt at home again straight away.
Overall, please don’t give up! You don’t have to spend lots of money on a gym membership or lots of fancy equipment to improve your fitness and to feel more confident with your body.