Even the Laziest Person Can Workout – Are You a Lazy Girl?

If you are like many women, the thought of having to workout doesn’t motivate you to get up and move around, but sounds like a good reason to take a nap. You may not be lazy per say, but you don’t have a lot of time or energy for hour-long workouts, five days a week like your friends seem to pull off. Luckily, you don’t have to dedicate a lot of time just to exercise.

It is important to first understand the reasons why you should be exercising on a regular basis, even if for only a few minutes a day. Here are some essential benefits of getting in a regular workout:

• You can lose weight or maintain your current weight. A common reason people choose to exercise is in order to lose weight, but even if you are at an average weight and are fine with your body, that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to stay like that forever. Regular physical activity is important if you want to maintain your current weight as well. (find out your Ideal Healthy Weight here)
• It improves your mood. When you exercise, it allows your brain to release happy chemicals called endorphins. These will help to improve your mood and can help with things like anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
• You actually get more energy from working out. You get an excellent boost of energy every time you exercise. While it might seem like working out would make you more tired, the opposite is often true. If you exercise first thing in the morning, you have more energy to get you through the day.
• Exercise is crucial for preventing life-threatening illnesses. Getting regular exercise can also help you prevent or manage illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Tone Your Body Without Getting Up

If you are a true lazy girl, then just getting up off the couch or getting out of bed to workout can seem like a chore. If this is this is the case, why not do some exercises you can actually do without ever getting up? Here are some different workout ideas you can do right from your bed.

Yoga Moves

There are a few different yoga moves that don’t require you to be on the ground in order to accomplish them. The first yoga move you can do from your bed is the cobra. All you need to do is lie on your stomach and reach your arms ahead of you while your palms face the bed. Squeeze your abdominal and buttocks and lift your chest and hands from the flood. Hold it for a few seconds, then release. Repeat it up to 10 times.

The bridge is another yoga move you can do while still lying in bed. Turn on your other side so that you are lying on your back and bend your knees. While holding in your abdominal muscles and squeezing your buttocks muscles, lift your pelvis and hold it in the air for several seconds, then release. Repeat this for 10-15 reps.

Stretching

A variety of stretching exercises can also be done from the comfort of your bed. An easy stretch to do is to sit up on the bed and open your legs wide, stretching them out as wide as they will go, as if you are doing the splits. This is not only a great stretch, but it can tone your leg muscles and increase your flexibility. While sitting up, put your legs together and reach forward, attempting to touch your toes. Both of these stretches are easy to do in bed and will really help improve your flexibility as well.

Plank

Planks might look easy, but that is only until you try it. This is actually a real good toning exercise, and one you can do anywhere, even in bed or on your couch if you have enough room. To do a plank, you first lie on your stomach with your forearms touching the bed and keeping your feet together. You will then slowly lift your body until your body is in a straight line, then hold for a few seconds. Keep repeating this up to 10-15 times.

Fast Workouts

There are some workouts that do require getting up to do, but you won’t be up for long. These are lightning fast workouts that still pack a powerful punch. You might not be lazy in the way that you don’t want to get up from the television, but that you simply don’t have the energy to dedicate a lot of time to exercising. The following workouts are perfect for you.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells provide short and intensive workouts that let you get an excellent toning exercise routine for your arms, but you will also work out your back, shoulders, and core as well. You can even watch television while doing your kettlebell workout routine.

HIIT/Tabata

HIIT workouts, or high-intensity interval training, are workouts that are very similar to tabata, but each separate interval is a little longer. When you are doing HIIT workouts, you are still only exercising for a few minutes total, so you can easily fit this in at any time. They are ideal for lazy girls who have a really hard time with motivation. All you need to do is workout as hard as you can for a few minutes, then you’re done.   You can find a lot of great workouts on YouTube, on infographics, and our course is here.

One-Song/One-Commercial Workouts

Another idea is to just get through one song for your workout. Maybe you are at home and enjoying some downtime while listening to the radio or your favorite song on iTunes. Force yourself to get up and move around for just that one song, whether you dance in your living room, run up and down the stairs in your home, or do sprints down the hallway. When the song is over, you’re finished with the workout.  Or use the same concept if watching a TV show that has commercials, exercise during the breaks, enjoy the show between.

Working Out While Doing Other Things

Getting a tan at the beach — Spending a relaxing day at the beach? That doesn’t mean you can’t tone up your body. Try toning your butt while lying on your stomach on the towel. Squeeze your buttocks muscles, then lift each leg behind you while flexing your calf muscles. Hold it for a few seconds, then switch to the other leg. Do this for a few reps and you will start to feel the burn.

Talking on the phone — Believe it or not, you can even do exercises while talking on the phone. Whether you are having a long phone conversation with your mom or you are in your office on a business call, this is the perfect time to do some lunges. Stand up while on your cell phone or cordless phone, reach one foot in front of you in a wide stance, then lunge forward. Continue doing this while alternating legs. Another exercise you can do while talking on the phone are squats. Do these against a wall or simply in the middle of any room.

Walking your dog — You may not have enough motivation to actually go on walks for fitness purposes, but if you have a dog, you probably take it out once or twice a day for a nice walk and potty break. During this time, take full advantage by doing a little toning work. One thing you can do while walking is try to tighten your abdominal muscles the entire time you are walking. By the end of the walk, you will feel as if you just did 50 crunches if you were tightening them long enough. You can also squeeze your buttocks tight every time you take a step. When you stop for your dog to potty, do lunges or squats.

Taking your kids to the park — The local park also provides a lot of ways to get in some fun exercise. You can jog in place while your kids are in the playground, or run sprints back and forth while you still have a good eye on your kids. You can also bring them with you while running up and down a hill on the grassy area or going for a quick hike if there are trails at the park.

Swimming in your pool — If you have a swimming pool, you can definitely use it for fitness purposes. Try swimming laps for a few minutes before you have leisure time. You can also tone your arms by placing your hands on the edge of the pool, then trying to lift yourself up. Do a few reps of this, then have some fun. You can also look up swimming aerobics, which provides a lot of cardio and weight lifting exercises that are easy to do right in the swimming pool.

Tips For Motivating Yourself

At the end of the day, there are going to be moments when you simply can’t find the motivation to stop what you’re doing and exercise. However, hope is not lost. There are plenty of simple ways to give yourself that little boost of motivation to get the required physical activity each day.

Exercise First Thing in the Morning

This is going to be hard to convince yourself in the beginning, but soon you will realize it is the best option. When you get into the routine of exercising in the morning before you leave for work, it becomes part of your morning routine, just like showering and making your breakfast. Plus, it gives you a lot of energy for the day. Start waking up a few minutes earlier and do at least a short workout before your shower. That way, you aren’t trying to exercise after you have worked all day, which is very hard to do.

Add it to Your Calendar

Your fitness routine should be part of your everyday routine, so add it to your calendar as if it were an appointment. This is something that helps everyone, not just lazy girls, but it can definitely help you as well. When you have an appointment, your phone calendar is going to remind you about it and you are a little more likely to stick with it. Plus, checking it off your to-do list feels great.

Involve Friends or Family Members

If you are more of a social person, then you might be more motivated to exercise if you are not doing it alone. If you have teenagers at home, ask if they want to start going on a walk with you in the evenings after dinner, or perhaps you have a co-worker that wants to join you in a morning break time yoga session. You may have friends that want to start going to a local barre class, so you can join them. Turn it into a social event and it just might be what you needed to get that motivation.

Offer Yourself Rewards

What is better than doing a workout and getting a reward? Set up small rewards for starting a new workout routine or going a full week of finishing all your scheduled exercises. This can be anything from going out for dessert with the family to treating yourself to a manicure.

Aim For Just a Few Minutes a Day

When you really can’t find the proper motivation to get up and get moving, just dedicate a few minutes a day to your workouts. Start with only 5-minute workouts, then gradually increase it to 10 minutes, then 15. Even this short amount of time will do wonders for you!

The most important thing is that you get up and start moving your body, whether you take your dog on an extra walk, do lunges while watching television, or tighten up those abs while walking upstairs in your home. Anything that moves your body and gets your blood pumping is going to be good for your health.