We all experience it, those days where we want to do a workout, but have no idea what body part to work on, and what exercises should be in the workout. We can't even blame this issue on a lack of planning, because I don't know about you, but I’ve had scheduled workouts I'd rather skip over.
So, what do I suggest?
Going Back to the Basics
Often times we start to think of exercises as “the more complex the exercise, the more effective they will be”, and this is honestly not necessarily true!
The basic exercises are the ones that are actually most effective; the ones that you build your foundation of your exercise repertoire off of.
Don’t be afraid to take your complicated exercises back a bit to their simplest form. This will remind you of the importance of form, and will help you really focus in on the muscles being used for the exercise.
Here is one of my favourite beginner (or basic) upper body workout with small dumbbells (3-5lbs).
3 rounds of:
- Bicep curls- holding the small weights, keep your elbows pinned to the side of your ribcage and lift the weights up towards your shoulders. Do this with control, then slowly lower them down to starting position (repeat for 8 repetitions)
- Shoulder raises- holding the small weights, bring your hands together in front of you with your palms facing each other. Bring your arms up in unison until your arms reach just before your ears. Slowly lower them down. (repeat for 10 repetitions)
- Table Top Spine Twist- starting on all fours, with your hips stacked on top of your knees and shoulders on top of your hands, lift one hand and thread it through the hole your other arm makes with the ground. Lower yourself until your shoulder comes close to or touches the ground. Use your core muscles to bring you back to starting position (on all fours). (repeat for 10 repetitions per side)
- Shoulder Press- in a seated or standing position, holding the small weights, bring your arms up to 90 degrees to your body with your hands stacked on top of your elbows and hands facing forward. Slowly raise one arm so that is is straight up in the air, then slowly return back to starting position. Don't let your arms fall below 90 degrees (repeat for 8 repetitions per side)
- Tricep Press- in a seated or standing position, holding the small weights, bring your arms next to your ears and bend your elbows so the weights in your hands come behind your head. Keeping your elbows in that position, slowly raise and lower the weights in unison. (repeat for 10 repetitions)
- Inchworm- standing tall, with feet hip width apart, and only a slight bend in your knees, reach forward so that your finger tips hit the ground. Walk your fingers and eventually hands out until your body reaches a high plank position. Do your best to keep your legs straight with only a slight bend. Walk back up to standing position (repeat for 8 repetitions)
Do a Follow Along Workout
Now for those of you who aren't familiar with follow along workouts, don't turn your nose up to the idea just yet! Follow along workouts are fun because someone is with you engaging with you the entire workout, and it takes guessing for which exercise to next out of the game.
Here is one of my favourite follow along workouts to do at home:
Experience Fitness in a New Way
Whoever said that fitness needs to be carried out inside or in a conventional manner, was wrong! Simply moving is a part of physical fitness. Maybe you want to bust out dancing to your fav songs for half an hour on a day where you don't know what to do. Perhaps you want to go for a run, or a hike, to enjoy nature. Or maybe you even want to play a game of soccer with friends. Whatever it is, if you’re moving, you are working on your fitness. As an added benefit, when you do things outside of conventional working out, that incorporates interaction with other human beings, your mental health will also improve.
There you have it! The top 3 things I do when i have no idea what workout i should do. What’s you’re next workout?