The 5 best exercises to stay in shape and never need the gym again.

I have never been a big supporter of going to the gym. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Allow me to make my point. 

The best gym is your own home, your nearest park, or even a safe terrace. No time loss commuting, no paying extreme rates, or any fee at all, and personalizing it your own way.

Want to have great views and learn about your environment, go for a quick run. Want to have a great cardio session and feel the adrenaline, go for a bike ride, and yes, all of it, completely free. 

You can also recreate some “gym-only” benefits too. 

• Find a community that makes the exercises or physical activities that you like the most and join them
• Start getting your own equipment little by little or make your own 
• Choose a yoga, tai chi, calisthenics, or any type of fitness Youtube channel and make a daily routine of it. 

But even with all of these options you still need a few basics to stay in shape and never need the gym again, here are the 10 best exercises to do:

Pushups

But even with all of these options you still need a few basics to stay in shape and never need the gym again, here are the 10 best exercises to do:

You can never go wrong with push-ups. 

Is one of the best exercises that you can practice, and that you should practice every day as they give build great strength in the whole body.

According to Healthline “Pushups are a fast and effective exercise for building strength. They work the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders. When done with proper form, they can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging (pulling in) the abdominal muscles.” 

There is a big misconception about push-ups, everyone can do a pushup, just adjust, like this, your level of pushups according to your strength and build from there. 

Abs

After this, you might say. Yeah, I know all of those, but, just wait till the end. 

Another basic one you should never forget to add to the routine. 

Let’s debunk a myth about abs, they will not create your six-pack in a week, a month, or even a year. There is no such thing as specific muscle gaining or, the same, specific fat burning

Yes, you can work in a few specific sets of muscles but you won’t have the shape as you wish if you don’t take care of the full-body, doing cardio, eating healthy, and giving your body what it needs.

There are several types of abs you can try to target different muscles in your core. From leg raises to tiny crunches you can get creative with this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snuxyjy1jhg

Squats

Here come the legs!

Developing strength and power are just a few of the many benefits of including squats in your workouts.

When performed correctly, this functional exercise also boosts your calorie burn, helps prevent injuries, strengthens your core, and improves your balance and posture.

You can also try different squats and alternate with some weight, you don't have to get a dumpbell or very expensive equipment, find something heavy and handy and hold it while you try this squats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o46dADGD2W8

Burpees 

A combination of two basic ones, and you can add your own spice.

I started calling mentors to some guys in Youtube that I watch regularly for a few years already. So, my fitness mentor, Jake Mace, always said about burpees "This are the worst and most difficult ones, that's why they are the best for you. The hardest things in life usually are." And I believe it.

Burpees are very hard because of the intense cardio that they also provide, you are doing a bit of everything in a few movements. Squats for the jump, Pushup in the ground and even a bit of abs changing from plank position to stand up. It works most parts of your body.

There aren't to many variations for this one, so, just set a timer for a minute or give me ten burpees!

Planks

Last but not least, Planks

I gave this one a bit of research. Isometric holds or static holds are very good for the body in many ways. I found that they give the strength that you may get by doing weight lifts as the sustain tension helps muscle breakdown in contrast to continuous movement.

Here is a quote from Alena Luciani, certified strength and conditioning coach, taken from https://greatist.com/fitness/static-holds#isometric-holds

"During any static hold exercise you’re creating and, here’s the key word, sustaining tension in the muscle(s)", says Luciani. “Increasing time under tension is going to increase muscle breakdown. More muscle breakdown means more muscle growth when those muscle fibers repair,” she says.

One 2005 study points to these strength-boosting benefits. In the study, researchers had athletes use static holds to train one leg and dynamically train the other for 9 weeks.

The result? The quad gains of the static hold leg were greater than the other leg!

I don't know about you, but that makes a lot of sense to me. When I do the horse stance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_OSmB7iTIM I feel the stretch of my joints and a bit more tension in the muscles of the legs and the core than when doing squats. And as this article says, a combination of movement and static holds is the sweet spot to stronger and reduce injuries.

So, back to planks. Start with the simple high (like before doing a pushup) or low (with your elbows touching the floor) planks, hold and go from there. Tons of different planks will keep you motivated and help target different muscles. Try side planks, upside down, lifting legs, moving your hips, and even some dynamic planks (mountain climbers).

This are the basic exercises you must do throughout the week to keep going and stay in shape, increase the time or repetitions to keep improving and push yourself a little bit more every day. If you're a beginner try with just 15 min or your day with a 5 to 10 min stretching routine and grow from there.

Remember to combine this with a healthy diet which is as important as your daily routine, daily portion of fruits and protein are key for energy and staying in shape without needing the gym! http://instagram.com/floversnacks