The Big Seven - At Home Resistance Exercises
In Africa, the Big Five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.
We are going to take a stroll through the wild world of at home workouts to give you the big 7 at home exercises:
Push ups, Core exercises, Bent Over rows, Squats, Glute/ Hip bridge, Dead lifts and Interval Training
These exercises were selected because they target the major muscle groups
Grab an old back pack, two 1 liter bottles of water, and an old towel and lets gear up to workout at home.
1. CAPE Buffalo đ - Push ups ~ Incline, Neutral, Diamond
Why push up?
Push ups develop your chest shoulders triceps and core if done correctly.
Benefits Include: Good posture and your ability to open stiff doors and stiff arm anyone that makes the mistake of attempting to step to you!
2. ELEPHANT đ Core exercises ~ Isometric, Neutral Supine and dynamic movements
Your core has three layers and therefore core exercises should be done over the three types of movements:
Isometric: Planks, Hollow Holds
Neutral Supine: Flutter Kicks, Leg Raises (limited spinal movement)
Dynamic movements: Hanging knee raises, V-Sit Ups, Crunch variations etc
Why do core?
For good posture and stability and to take control of your hips and spine.
Basic anatomy is as follows:
The Deep layer
đ§Transverse Ado-minis Attaches your back comes around to your front- it stabilizes your pelvis and lower back
The Mid Layer
đ§Internal Obliques - It assists in exhaling and rotating your trunk
đ§External Obliques - Supports the rotation of the trunk and spine (important stuff of course)
đ§ Rectus Abdominis - Moves the trunk backwards forwards and side ways (aids in breathing, deification, labor and urination)
The Back Layer exercises Superman Variations and Good Mornings~ đ§quadratus lumborum (QL) muscles controls and prevents lateral movementsđ§ Multifidus muscles - spacial awareness and đ§ the Erector Spinae ~ to hold you up right of course and lets not forget back flexion
3. RHINO đŚ- Bent Over rows, upper back muscles â˘
đ§Latissimus Dorsi (back)
* Rhomboids, Scapular Stabilizers.
* Forearms and Biceps (grip and some pulling)
* Spinal Erectors.
* Hamstrings and Glute
Why Strengthen your upper a back?
To achieve a good upper body posture and shoulder stability
4. LION đŚ ~ Squats ~ Strong legs
đ§ Predominately quads, it also engages your hamstrings and glutes. Its the almost perfect full body exercise
Grab a back pack and stuff it with books or any heavy. Make sure that the weight is centered. You can performed controlled deep squats from 15-20 reps for a good burn.
5. LEOPARD đ Glute/ Hip bridge once again ladies and gentlemen find a chair or coach. that is close to the height of your knees. rest your shoulders on the edge of the coach/bed and raise your hips up as high as possible. You can add the weighted back pack for resistance and you are on your way to developing stronger glutes
6. Zebra đŚ Deadlifts water bottles or heavy back pack . Straight leg, conventional dead lift and of course the sumo dead lifts
7. Interval Training - Add an exercise from each category do 15 - 20 reps per set and keep your rest down to 1 to 2 minutes after each set. A safe rule to follow for rest is to not exceed your max heart rate or better yet do not start a new set with your max heart rate.
Your general max heart rate can be found by subtracting your age from 220.
There you have it be safe. Check with your medical doctor before embarking on any new training regime and get started or continue your fitness journey
