New Year, new you – a workout routine from the comfort of your own home

AS the New Year approaches, the majority of us are left with one New Year’s resolution – to become fitter and healthier.

Finding the time and motivation to create a workout that is best suited for you can be challenging however, let along the time and effort needed to actually go to a gym.

Our sister paper, the Newcastle Advertiser sat down with a personal trainer for advice on how to stay fit and active this festive season, without leaving home.

“Many residents are not aware of how many activities are taking place, where they can get actively involved and keep the entire family active,” explained Sanele Mtshali.

Start off with going back to the basics of fitness, which is to reach your highest possible heart rate (between 60 and 75 per cent). This can be easily accomplished through high intensity workouts such as running, jumping jacks, rope skipping, jump squats, swimming and aerobics such as Zumba, which can all be done in the comfort of your own home.

Working on key areas of your body such as upper arms, lower stomach and legs will make it easier for you to develop a personal training programme to best suit you.

Sanele provided are a few ideas on how to structure your fitness programme:

Legs: Training legs can have an overall benefit. Look at exercises such as squats, sumo squats, wall squats, lunges, box jumps and plank leg lifts.

Arms: lateral raises (side raises) on each side of your arms with a weight of your choice, press-ups or the modified version – in which both legs are bent and the weight of your body shifted to your upper torso – overhead extensions and seated arm dips.

Stomach: Working on your stomach will help with the development of a stronger and tighter core. This can be achieved through sit-ups, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches, mountain climbers and planking for longer than one minute.

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