How to train at home ‘in short bursts’ to stay in shape without a gym

Did you know that only 10.5% of Spaniards prefer to train at home? Almost 40% are in favor of doing it in a private club and only 27 and 25% choose public facilities and the street respectively. These are data from the latest report on sporting habits in Spain published by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) that explain that lack of time is the main reason why 35% abandon the practice of exercise. The predilection for workouts that involve movement means that many end up dying trying to adhere to a sports routine. However, the excuse is no longer valid because, according to experts, Breaking your workouts into 10-minute blocks, for example, and doing them throughout the day without equipment and from home can be highly effective.. In fact, Elsa Pataky is one of the celebrities who, on more than one occasion, has admitted to frequently practicing this type of fitness. It has become popular under the name exercise snackingdue to the way in which the training sessions are distributed during the day: as small appetizers. Now, Not just any training will do and there are certain guidelines that should be kept in mind! We have spoken to several professional trainers and this is what they have told us. Aim!

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Splitting your workouts due to lack of time is an effective solution

The coach and coach career Andrea de Ayala, better known on networks as Entrenaconandre, is shown absolutely in favor of training at home “in short bursts” to maintain the line. He defends that it is a habit that “serves both for people who are active at a sporting level and practice continuous exercise, and for people who are more sedentary due to the fact that their jobs, children and pace of life in general do not allow them train at ease.” “I always say that even if they are 10 minutes now, 10 later… it all adds up!“, affirms the expert. “I apply this to myself, as I am a person who does prioritize sport in my life,” she affirms. Thus, she assures that if she cannot do her daily 20-kilometer run in one sitting, split the training and do half in the morning and the rest in the late afternoon, for example.

It is a practice that is also applied by Yasmina Sancayo, professional ballet dancer and founder of Ballet Sporty Club, in whom she trusts, among others, Paula Echevarria. The dancer considers it very practical to train at home. “Nowadays, it is easy to find workouts that adapt to your needs, that motivate you and, in addition, save you time by avoiding travel,” he confirms. “I always defend that a little exercise is better than nothing”he asserts. “Even if we don’t have much time, those micro-minutes of movement make a big difference,” adds the expert, who also points out two reasons.

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Two reasons to opt for microtraining

There are two reasons why Yasmina Sancayo recommends taking up the practice of exercise snacking:

• Microtrainings help keep the body active
• Also have a positive impact on mood and the feeling of well-being, since exercise releases endorphins and allows us to release stress

“As a ballet professional, I know how important it is to connect the body and mind through movement. In Ballet Workout, for example, we not only work the body, but we also learn to be present and release tension,” says Yasmina . However, one of the cons of training at home in short bursts for the instructor is that “it is difficult to achieve the same intensity or depth as in a full session”.

Jesús Valor from JVTRAINING agrees with her, who assures that “time is always relative” and that “a 10-minute workout can be very effective if done with the appropriate intensity.” “It is not a question of time but of quality and intensity of training. A 10-minute session can add three times more than a forty-minute session if it is well structured.”says the expert. In any case, the trainer insists that, no matter how intense they are, they always have to be accompanied by an active lifestyle. That is why he talks about the importance of take into account our NEAT

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Keep your NEAT in mind and take advantage of your physical activity

Jesús Valor defines NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) as the “amount of physical activity we have during the day that is outside of our training”. Thus, it refers, for example, to the amount of calories we burn when we choose the stairs instead of the elevator. It invites us to recover our vitality and not to stand still. Given that 36.6% of Spaniards work “sitting most of the time” according to the CIS, and more than 50% travel by private or public transport, it is advisable Don’t try to start building the house from the roof. If you don’t usually train and you haven’t found the motivation to do so yet, you can join the exercise snacking in a different way following the advice of Andrea de Ayala. For example:

• Walk home if you leave work late.
• To the supermarket, even if you are loaded, try to walk.
• If you have a lunch hour at the office, be realistic. Use the 15 minutes that it usually takes us to eat when we do it alone and take advantage of the rest of the time to go out for a walk.

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According to Andrea de Ayala “to walk you can always find small gaps throughout the day”. “If you add up all the little moments that you have taken advantage of throughout the day, maybe you will realize that you have done a good walk,” says the coach. Once you have adopted these habits, you can:

• Try to wear comfortable clothes when you are at home.
• Have several training sessions located on-line short duration and high intensity that are well structured and designed by professionals.
• Do them in small moments in your daily life.

You can use the virtual training platforms that emerged in the pandemic and that work on a subscription basis, or the micro-training videos published on the Internet. We recommend Entrena Virtual, Better Naked Club, Pamela Reif’s videos and Kayla Itsines’ platform, for example.