Work from home, why not workout from home, too?

If, like me, last year’s ‘get fit from home’ movement managed to pass you by in a blur of baking, reading and learning somewhat pointless skills, then you might find yourself motivated to not make the same mistake twice.

Viva Leisure has given all Club Lime members free access to the Club Lime at Home app – full of home workouts to ensure this lockdown doesn’t slip by in the same haze.

I decided to make the most of my somewhat endless weekend free time and gave a full-body burn a go.

At home with the family for lockdown, I dragged my sister and mum into this workout, and we settled on a hiit republic workout with instructor Bec.

Like many people, none of us really have any at-home gym equipment, so we made sure to choose a bodyweight workout.

While I can’t say it completely replaces actually going to the gym, having the three of us working out next to each other was a great way to stay motivated until the end – especially when it came to the planks.

Although, a word of warning is probably necessary – unsurprisingly, your average gym is much bigger than your average lounge room so, if the warm-up requires swinging of your arms – it’s a good idea to not all stand directly next to each other.

After a quick warm-up and some technical issues as I tried to get my phone to stay awake for longer than 30 seconds at a time, we eventually got going.

The format of the workout was pretty simple: four exercises every three-and-a-half minutes.

They were also quite basic exercises: burpees, air squats, mountain climbers and the dreaded plank to finish. You had to do 10 burpees, 20 squats, 30 mountain climbers and then hold the plank for a minute before resting until … you did it again.

Did I mention we had to do that five times?

For those familiar with HIIT classes, it’s a pretty common format, and the instructor made it scalable by suggesting those who were finding it easy (who?) could add on a couple of extra reps each time.

With instructor Bec’s encouragement and the usual gym ‘pump’ music, the time passed quickly, and we were suitably sweaty afterwards.

At the end of the workout, there was a nice, easy cool down with a couple of stretches.

Next, we are looking to try some of the Pilates workouts, and there are also plenty of cardio sessions, including dance (joy!) to keep us busy over the next few weeks.

All in all, I think these simple workouts are a great addition to the daily hour or two’s walk or run we are all going on, and as the weather warms up and the evenings get longer, I’ll start bringing my exercise mat out into the garden and do a bit out there after work.

Probably best to warn the neighbours before they hear any yelps of pain as I try to hold a plank for over 60 seconds, though.

Now guidelines have been relaxed to allow for filming in gyms and studios, so lots more workouts are on the way.

Check out Club Lime at Home now. Non-members can get a taste of the content on Club Lime’s Instagram. Start streaming now and get ready for post-lockdown living.