While we all miss sweating it out in the gym, workouts were made easy by home fitness trainers during the pandemic. They made exercising fun, engaging, and effective. If you’re yet to find out what works for you, these trainers tell you how to build your body, sans equipment.
PRATEEK KUMAR
Fat loss expert and founder of My Fit Cru
“Cardio is a great tool to implement for fat loss. One can do incline walks, stairs, farmer’s walks, and skipping to stay fit,” he says.
DIET: Easy rule: keep foods simple. My recommendation would be to have lower calorie nutritious food, and some high calorie cheat foods one or two times a week. Avoid processed and packaged foods, consume vegetables equivalent to one palm, protein equivalent to two fingers, carbs equivalent to four fingers, and fat equivalent to half your thumb in every meal.”
EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR THE WEEK: DAY 1: Upper Body
Set: 1, Reps: 10-50, Rest: 60 secs
Bird Dog, Static Lateral Neck, Standing Shoulder Flexion, Superset of 5 Decline Push-up, Alternating Leg Plank, Superset of 5 Body Weight Rows, Lying Leg Raise, Superset of 5 Bench Dip, Elbow Side Plank, Superset of 3 Cross Body Mountain Climber, Jumping Jack, High Kick, 5-min Full Body Stretch
DAY 2: Strength
Sets: 2, Reps: 10-20, Rest: 60 secs
YTW, Inchworms, Reverse Lunch Reaches, High Knee March, Press-Up Plus, T Press- Ups, Straight Leg Bicycles, Crab Reaches, Split Jumps, Squat Jumps, Quick Feet In and Out, Lying Hamstring Stretch, Kneeling Quadriceps Stretch, Quad Rocks
DAY 3: Endurance
Time: 20-60 seconds
Reverse Lunges Reaches, Walkout 60, World’s Greatest Stretch, Lateral Hip Openers, Highland Jacks, Mountain Climber, Lateral Shuffle, Forward Lunges, Plank Walk, Boat to Low Boat, Lateral Lunges, Pendulum Legs, Yoga Push, Duck Walk, High Side Plank, Drop Squat, Aeroplanes, Lower Back Stretch, Side Lying T-Stretch, Yoga Push-Ups, and Figure Four Stretch
DAY 4: Lower body
Set: 1, Reps: 15-25, Rest: 60-90 secs Leg Day Warm-up, Superset of 5 Bodyweight Reverse Lunges, Superset of 3 Bodyweight Squat, Glute Bridge, Bodyweight Calf Raise, Runner Stretch
DAY 5: Mobility & Flexibility
Time: 20-60 seconds
Inchworms, World’s Greatest Stretch, Heel Kicks, Tin Soldiers, Mountain Climbers, Hip Lift, Plank Saws, Seesaw Lunges, Lateral Bear Claw, Split Jumps, High Plank Shoulder Taps, Lateral Lunges, Lateral Bounds, High Plank Arm Reaches, Bird Dogs, Figure Four Stretch, Walkout, Quad Rockers
DAY 6: Yoga
Diaphragmatic Breathing, Child Pose, Cat Cow Lunge, Downward-Facing Dog, Sun Salutation, Mountain to High Plank Flow, Vinyasa, Horse Flow, Crescent Lunge Flow, Half Pigeon Flow, Thread The Needle, Seated Forward, Reclining Twist, Reclining Butterfly, Bridge, Savasana
SUCCESS STORY: Chinmaya Sharma lost 10 kgs with the help of Kumar’s workout routines. Giving up late-night munching was a challenge for Sharma when working out from home. He says, “I don’t blindly follow anything or anyone. What I loved about Prateek is that he educated me about my body, my workout structure, and the importance of nutrition.”
TANNY BHATTACHARJEE
USA Yoga Alliance certified fitness and yoga trainer
“Yoga flow helps stay in shape, and weight loss is a by-product of practising yoga. One must practice yoga at least three to five times in a week,” she says.
EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR THE WEEK:
1.Yoga 3 days a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
2.This workout includes warm-up of their choice, relaxation for 5-10 minutes Asanas like chair pose, standing forward bend, downward dog, boat pose, and the warrior pose. This should be followed by Shavasana and meditation
3.Tuesday and Thursdays can be for various functional movements or aerobics. If you like to dance, then that can be a great option to stay in shape
4.Exercises like a freehand warm-up, on-the-spot jogging, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jump squats, crunches, leg raises, Russian twists, push-ups, plank, etc. can be done, followed by full-body stretching
5.Sunday has to be a rest day
SUCCESS STORY: Tanny Bhattacharjee helped Dharmesh Thakkar get into shape. “To get into the routine and make time for yoga classes, with a busy schedule, was difficult initially, but since I knew that my aim was to get a fit and healthy body, build strength, and have a healthy lifestyle, I opted for yoga,” he says. Thakkar gained 8kgs with the help of Bhattacharjee’s workouts
SWETHA
Co-founder of Sweaty Ninjas
“Fitness training, HIIT, and other such workouts can be done at home. Resistance bands are very effective for most people. Dumbbells and kettlebells are handy, and easy to store as well.” she says.
EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR THE WEEK:
DAY 1: 3 sets, 8 reps of Wall Push ups/ Push ups On The Knees; 10 reps of Box Squats/ Air Squats; 4 rounds, 30 seconds each of Plank Hold, Plank Run, Knee Supported Side Plank Hold, Glute Bridges
DAY 2: 3 sets, 8 reps of Reverse Lunges each side; 30 seconds of Bear Claw Hold; 20 minutes, 20 reps of Jumping jacks; 5 Reps of Get Ups; 15 reps of Superman; 15 reps of Leg Raise; 15 reps of Side Lying Abduction/ Clams on each side
DAY 3: 3 sets, 12 reps of Air Squats; 8 reps of Close Grip Wall Push ups/ Push ups on the knees; 4 rounds, 8 reps of Inchworm to Planks; 12 Bird Dogs on each side, 10 reps of Snow Angels; 30 seconds of Elbow Plank Hold; 5 reps of Bridge March
DAY 4: 3 sets, 8 reps of Backpack Shoulder Press; 8 reps of Backpack Upright Rows; 20 minutes, eight each side of Adductor Leg Lifts; 15 reps of Prone Leg Lifts; 10 each side Flutter Kicks; 8 each side Knee Supported Side Plank Hip Drops
DAY 5: 3 sets, 10 reps of Backpack Squats; 8 reps of Kneel Down Push Ups; 4 rounds, 5 each side of Reverse lunges; 5 reps of Get Ups; 20 reps of Jumping Jacks; 8 each side Plank Jacks; 8 each side Alternate Supermans
DAY 6: Brisk Walk / Cycle /Jog for 30 minutes
SUCCESS STORY: A client who underwent massive weight transformation with the help of Swetha tells us, “I enjoyed all kinds of workouts given by SweatyNinjas as they were new and interesting every single day. It was a combination of body weight, functional, and movement training.”
RIHANA
Certified fitness coach and founder of Get Fit With Rihana
“The biggest challenge while training people online was infrastructure. Most of us do not have a dedicated space, and necessary equipment at home that are needed for an advanced level workout. So, with the lockdown trainings, it was time to get creative with the workouts.”
EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR THE WEEK:
Always start with a quick warm-up.
DAY 1: Jumping Jacks – 20 Reps, Squats – 10 Reps, Skaters – 10 Reps, Leg Raises – 10 Reps, Child & Cobra –
10 Reps. Repeat this circuit 10 times, with 15-60 seconds rest
DAY 2: Spot Jogging – 20 Reps, Step-ins – 10 Reps, Hip Thrusters – 10 Reps, Sit-ups – 10 Reps, Plank – Hold 30 Seconds. 15 seconds rest between each
DAY 3: High Knees – 20 Reps, Squats + Spot Jogging – 10 Reps, Circular Kicks – 10 Reps each leg, Lunges – 10 Reps each leg, Bicycle Crunches – 20 Reps. 15 seconds rest between each
DAY 4: Seal Jacks – 20 Reps, EZ Push ups – 10 Reps, Elbow to Knee – 10 Reps, Shoulder Tap – 10 Reps, Spiderman Lunges – 10 Reps each side. 15 seconds rest between each
DAY 5: Squat Shuffle – 10 Reps, Dive & Jump In – 10 Reps, X Mountain Climbers – 10 Reps, Plank Jacks – 10 Reps, Flutter Kicks – 10 Reps. 15 seconds rest between each
DAY 6: Butt Kicker – 20 Reps, Inchworm – 10 Reps, Plank & Crunch – 10 Reps, Hyper- rows – 10 Reps, Superman – 10 Reps. 15 seconds rest between each
DAY 7: Ratchet Squats – 10 Reps, Toe Touch – 10 Reps each leg, Mountain Climbers – 20 Reps, Pulse Lunges – 10 Reps each leg, 1 leg Hip Thrust – 10 Reps each leg. 15 seconds rest between each
SUCCESS STORY: Rihana helped get Nimish Seria in shape, and Seria lost 24kgs. “There were times in the lockdown when I would feel demotivated. With the kind of situation outside, it was hard to be constantly motivated. But Rihana did a fantastic job at inspiring me. Home or gym doesn’t matter much. What matters is the efforts you put in,” she says
