Easy Workouts That You Can Do Right in Your Apartment

Getting in shape and staying fit are good goals to have, but hitting the gym on a regular basis isn’t exactly easy. Going out of your way to make it to your fitness center takes time and effort that might at times be in short supply. That’s why it’s good to have a few fitness routines planned that you can do in the comfort of your home. These exercises, which are good for small spaces, require no equipment and are quiet enough that they won’t bother the neighbors. Now you’ll have no excuses to work out!

Use a Yoga Routine to Get Limber

Don’t ever underestimate including a good stretch in your workout. Doing yoga on the regular is good all on its own, but it also makes the rest of your workouts easier. Over time, you’ll find the improved balance and flexibility you get from doing yoga helps when you’re doing other exercises. If you’ve never performed yoga before, you might be surprised how easy it can be to start. You can find plenty of beginner’s yoga workouts on YouTube and various fitness websites online to help guide you through the poses.

Work Your Core With Some Plank Holds

Just because you aren’t doing reps, don’t think you aren’t getting a workout. A simple plank routine, in which you support your body with your hands and arms, is a great way of working your core and improving your balance. Besides the standard, push-up plank position, you can do side planks and even reverse planks to work different parts of your stomach, chest, shoulders, and arms. Don’t be surprised if you can only hold yourself for a few seconds before falling back down to the ground – if it’s a little difficult, that means it’s a great workout.

Sweat It Out With Cardio

Many people who work out have the goal of losing weight, which is best achieved through cardio exercises. At the gym, this would mean hitting the treadmill or spin bike for an hour. But at home, you probably don’t have the equipment–or maybe even the room for equipment–to do these exercises. No worries! There are plenty of cardio exercises you can do that require no equipment and take up little room. Jumping jacks, lunges, kicks, and lunges are all great cardio workouts that will elevate your heartrate. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of different cardio exercises, but it doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you’re sweating!   

Bodyweight Exercises to Build Strength

Building strength is a cornerstone of a great fitness routine, but it often gets a bad rap. Contrary to popular belief, strength training doesn’t have to be all about huge reps and bulging muscles. In fact, mixing in a little strength work with bodyweight exercises as a complement to the rest of your workout can help you lose weight more easily and prevent you from getting an injury. Push ups, squats, leg lifts, calf raises, and the like are all good exercises that will build muscle and make you stronger, no dumbbells required.

Sure, there are a few things you miss out on by not going to the gym. But think about all the benefits of working out at home: it’s free, it’s always close and always open, and it’s a safe, non-judgemental place where you can feel free to experiment with new workouts. Maybe someday you’ll “graduate” to the gym, but with these exercise routines, you’ll find that working out at home is just as good.

Community Pool Etiquette to Ensure Everyone Has Fun at the Pool

During the hottest days of the summer, the community pool can be the best place to cool off or just sit back, relax, and catch some rays. But, there’s sometimes a fine line between having fun and making the experience unpleasant for everyone else. You follow social etiquette on a day-to-day basis, and it’s no different when you’re at the pool. If you catch yourself doing any of these troublesome habits, it’s time to make a change!

Follow the Rules

Yeah, yeah, “walk, don’t run.” Despite the simplicity of some of the pool rules, don’t think that they exclude you. The rules are there for a reason, and usually that reason is for the safety of all swimmers. Plus, if you make a habit of bending the rules, other, more impressionable folks may start thinking that the rules were made to be broken. Following the rules doesn’t take much effort, and by sticking to them, you could save a life.

Respect Your Neighbors’ Space

It’s a community pool, not your own private oasis! While lounging out in the sun can bring out the lazy in us–not that there’s anything wrong with that–you should also make sure that you’re sharing the space for all of your neighbors. That might mean giving up the chair you’re drying your towel on or ending your game of water polo a little early. Practice the golden rule: share the pool how you’d like it be to be shared with you.

Keep It Clean

Again, the community pool is meant to be used for the enjoyment of all, and that enjoyment is severely limited when you’re goose-stepping around left-behind trash. Just like you would in any public space, clean up after yourself! In this case, one man’s trash is definitely not another man’s treasure – it’s a gross nuisance for whoever has to pick it up.

Have Fun, But Don’t Go Overboard

People, and especially kids, tend to go a little crazy when there’s a pool involved. Again, follow pool safety and limit yourself and those around you from having a cannonball splash competition or attempting to backflip into the pool; these activities tend to escalate until someone ends up hurt. Also, while the pool isn’t a library, be considerate of the noise you make in the vicinity of other community members and their homes.

Dress to Impress

You might have ulterior motives for hitting up the pool, such as getting an awesome tanline. While soaking in the sun is one of the many great things that makes the pool the perfect summer hangout spot, double check what you’re wearing before you head out. What’s fine for you may be rique for others, so play it safe and dress conservatively – you never know who else you’ll be sharing the space with.

In all, it doesn’t really take much to be a good pool-goer. Be nice, play safe, and consider the other people around you. By following these simple etiquette guidelines, everybody will have a nice time at the pool all summer long and for many summers to come.