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Exercises you can do from your sofa

Exercises you can do from your sofa

Yep, gyms across the country are still closed.
Meaning some of us will still be resigned to slumping on the sofa, longing for the day they reopen.
But what if we told you, not all hope is lost and that you can still build muscle, blast through body fat and get in great shape during this time.
In fact, what if we said you can do it without even having to leave the sofa you’ve become so attached to these last few months?
Training doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t need the latest high tech gym machinery to get results.
Nope, were going to show you, with only your bodyweight or a couple of dumbbells, how to get fit from the (dis)comfort of your own sofa.
Below, we have a selection of exercises (utilising your sofa) for each body part, to give you a full body blast that will leave you, conveniently, wanting to collapse on the couch.
Upper Body
Incline/decline press up
For decline press ups, place your feet on either the seat or arm rest (the arm rest will increase the difficulty). Keeping your body straight, bend your elbows, lowering yourself to the ground and press back up.
For incline, simply swap it around and place your hands on the sofa seat/arm. This variation is made easier using the arm rest.
Pike press
Place your feet on the arm of the sofa and your hands directly below your shoulders on the ground, mimicking a downward dog position.
Lower your body slowly until the top of your head touches the ground. Pause at the bottom and then push yourself back to the starting position.
Renegade row
Place your feet on the sofa and your hands shoulder width apart on the floor, holding a press up positions.
Lift one arm and row it backwards, squeezing at the top position. To increase difficulty, use a dumbbell.
Lower Body
Split Squats
Facing away from the sofa, rest one foot up and behind you.
Leaning slightly forward, keeping your weight on your front leg, bend your knee and squat down to just below parallel.
After a slight pause push back up through your front foot, making sure not to lock your knee out.
Hip thrusts
Use the sofa to support your upper back and head.
Place your feet out in front, shoulder width apart with a 90o bend at the knees.
From here, drop your hips down to the floor and then squeeze your glutes to return to the top position.
Increase difficulty by performing unilaterally or with a weight.
Step ups
Facing your sofa, place one foot up on the sofa, leaning slightly forward to keep weight on the front leg.
Press up through your front foot, until you’re standing upright, reverse the movement back down and swap legs.
Hold onto a weight to increase the resistance.
Just remember to take your shoes off for this one.
Abs & Arms
Preacher curls
Facing towards the sofa, position yourself so that your torso is placed against the back rest, and then hang your arms over the back of the sofa. The top of the sofa should be under your armpits.
Holding onto a weight, lower your arms down until almost straight, keeping tension on the biceps. Pause at the bottom and then curl the weights back up.
Dips
Place your hands at either side of your body on the seat, place your legs together and straight out in front of you, so that your bum is in front of the sofa.
Bending at the elbows (keeping them pointed backwards) lower yourself down until you touch the floor. Keep your core tight, and chest proud, and push through your triceps to return to the top position.
Knee tucks
Sitting on the edge of the sofa, place your hands at either side of your body for support and balance, whilst extending your legs straight out in front of you and leaning slightly backwards.
From this position, bend your knees and bring them towards your chest whilst simultaneously leaning forward by crunching your upper abs.
Pause at the top and then slowly return to the start position.
Putting it all together
Using the exercises above, pick a selection that compliment which body part/s you are training.
Perform as straight sets or increase the intensity by incorporating them into AMRAPS, EMOMS or TABATA style workouts to really work up a sweat.

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