Stay Fit This Fall

(Image courtesy of Christos Takos)

With fall and colder weather just around the corner keeping up with your daily workout routine can be a challenge. When it’s cold outside, snuggling up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book always sounds better than braving the weather to go to the gym.

Luckily, for those days when it’s just too much to get out of your pajamas and into a pair of gym shoes your apartment is stocked with a myriad of workout equipment. With all these tools at your disposal it’ll be hard to say no to a quick calorie burning routine. Follow some of the tips from this article from renters.apartments.com for a quick work out session that you don’t even have to leave your apartment to get done!

Hand towels: Head to your linen closet and you’ll find one of the most versatile exercise accessories. Hold it tight with one hand on each end and keep it taut while you do crunches, squats and oblique twists. Then, place it on the floor and jump over it from side to side for a heart-pumping plyometric workout.

Plastic bottles: Buying your own set of hand weights can be a costly purchase. Instead, save those one- and two-liter bottles of soda and refill them with water or sand. You can use the smaller bottles to work smaller muscles like biceps and triceps, and the larger ones to add weight to your squats, lunges and chest presses.

Chairs: Usually used to relax, a chair can also be used to make you sweat. Put your palms on the edge and extend your legs in front of you for some intense tricep dips. Or, put your hands on the floor and your toes on the chair for incline pushups. You can also use the back for balance during yoga postures and leg lifts.

Stairs: One of the best workouts you can get in your apartment is on the stairs. Run up and down them 10 times and you’ll be breathing as hard as you would after a mile on the treadmill. If you don’t have stairs in your unit but live in a high rise, don’t be shy – chances are everyone else is taking the elevator.

Your cat/baby: Really! Videos and websites like the Happy Baby Workout and Cat Workout show you how you can involve your littlest companions in your workout routine. Use them like a weight for squats, chest presses and upright rows. Sit your baby on your stomach during crunches and give him a high five with each one, or lay him underneath you during push-ups and give him a kiss.

What are your favorite ways to workout in your apartment?