How to Exercise Indoors

For those of us who live in locales such as southern California, outdoor activities and outdoor exercise are available year-round. Elsewhere, winter sets in and many people discontinue their outdoor activities until the return of spring. As it is important to maintain our fitness levels throughout the year, ongoing questions relate to the possibility of developing indoor activities and exercise programs. Fortunately, a wide range of indoor exercise activities is available when the weather gets colder to effectively replace one's outdoor fitness regime.

An indoor activity and exercise program includes the following:

Supine leg roll-overs (core)

Supine hip presses (core)

Plank (core)

All-fours leg raises (core)

Push-ups

Bodyweight squats

Bodyweight split-squat

Walking hamstring lunges

Jumping jacks

Rapid standing leg lifts

Abdominal crunches (core)

Leg raises

Resistance band seated row

Resistance band shoulder press

The only equipment you need is a 6-foot-long exercise mat and a resistance band.

You may perform the entire routine in a single session or divide the exercises into groups, such as legs and 1-2 core exercises, upper body and 1-2 core exercises, aerobic exercise and 1-2 core exercises, and perform each group on a separate day. The overall goal is to do 30 minutes of vigorous exercise five days a week. The indoor activity/exercise program incorporates strength training, aerobic exercise, and core exercise. It could even replace going to the gym when the weather is particularly unsettled.

From the perspective of an individual's and a family's health and well-being, as well as from a public health perspective, regular vigorous exercise provides a wealth of benefits. For example, diabetes, high serum cholesterol levels, overweight/obesity, heart disease, and hypertension are all lifestyle disorders. By implementing consistent lifestyle changes including exercise, nutritious food choices, and obtaining sufficient rest, we are taking meaningful action on our own behalf that will positively impact our long-term health and well-being. These lifestyle changes are important for everyone, as people of all ages, races, and genders may be affected by lifestyle diseases. For example, research has shown that lifestyle modifications accounted for a 50% reduction in mortality from heart disease. This is a significant return on investment of time and effort.

Regular chiropractic care is a key component of all exercise programs and provides support and benefit for both indoor and outdoor exercise activities. Regular chiropractic care detects and corrects spinal misalignments and sources of nerve irritation as well as helps enable your body to perform at peak capacity and function at high levels of effectiveness. In this way, by participating in regular chiropractic care, the spinal biomechanics of every family member is optimized, helping to ensure the long-term health and well-being of everyone, young and old.

1Escamilla RF, et al: Muscle Activation Among Supine, Prone, and Side Position Exercises With and Without a Swiss Ball. Sports Health 8(4):372-379, 2016

2Lorenzetti S, et al: How to squat? Effects of various stance widths, foot placement angles and level of experience on knee, hip and trunk motion and loading. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2018 Jul 17;10:14. doi: 10.1186/s13102-018-0103-7

3Beazley D, et al: Trunk and hip muscle activation during yoga poses: Implications for physical therapy practice. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2017 Nov;29:130-135, 2017 . doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.09.009