Top 5 most effective exercises you can do at home

With the cold, wet and snowy weather, it can be easy to let your workouts slip. The good news is that there are a few super effective exercises you can do at home to keep you in shape throughout the winter.

We chatted with Alicia Putinski, Personal Trainer, Canfit Pro/FMS Level 2 and Elliott Flockhart, Kinesiologist and BCAK/FMS Level 2 at Kalev Fitness Solution to find out the five most effective exercises you can do in your living room.

Watch the video above for a crash course in how to do these top toning exercises, and check out the tips below on how to maximize each of them.

Bodyweight squat:

Do: Keep weight back on your heels. Imagine you are sitting into a chair, with shoulders back and chest up.

Don’t: Let your heels come off the ground. Try not to have your knees come together, and do not have the knees come further forward than just past your toes.

Pushups:

Do: Keep your torso in a plank position (should have a line from ear to ankle), keep the elbows into the sides when performing the pushup, keep shoulders, elbows and wrists aligned before descending, stay on your toes, feet together, and bring the chest down to the ground.

Don’t: Squeeze your shoulder blades together – and avoid extreme curvature in the lower back.

Scapula row with band:

Do: Keep elbows into your sides, bring the shoulder blades together and down, plant your feet shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the knees, think about bringing your elbows towards the wall behind you and keep your chest up.

Don’t: Extend the lower back and avoid overusing your biceps.

Single leg deadlift (with or without weight):

Do: Keep your weight back on the heels, keep a 20 degree bend in the knees, keep your entire foot on the floor, keep hips and shoulders square to the ground, keep a nice line between your ear and hips, drive the hips forward by squeezing the glutes when guiding the body back to a standing position, and hinge at the hips to drive the bum back to wall behind you and squeeze to return to standing.

Don’t: Round the upper back or lose the natural curvature of the lower back, do not lift heels and do not rotate in the hips and shoulders.

Plank:

Do: Start on your forearms with a tightened core, hold position with your shoulders over the elbows, keep the head relaxed, maintain neutral spine positioning and stay on your toes.

Don’t: Have your glutes going too high or too low, don’t over arch the lower back and avoid having your shoulder blades sink.