Pilates ring
Also called the magic circle, this provides resistence and assistance, and can help you tone both the upper and lower body. It’s especially good for core workouts. Here are a few exercises you can do with it:
Inner thigh squeeze: Lie on your back with the padded sides of the ring between your inner thighs. Squeeze and hold for a few seconds. When you engage your inner thighs, this has an impact on the muscles of your pelvic floor which need strengthening at every age, but especially if you are a senior or have had babies. Do 10-12 repetitions.
Abdominal curls: Place the inside padding of one side of the ring behind the middle of the head and bring the palms to the inside, one on top of the other, on the opposite side. Curl up, with the head pressing into the circle, which makes sure you are lifting up from the torso, not the neck. The circle helps in engaging your core and strengthening the abdominals while keeping the neck out of the equation.
Axial elongation: This can help reduce lower back strain that may be a result of poor posture. Lie on your back and lift legs to a tabletop position. Place one side of the pads on your thighs and hold the other so that the circle is parallel to the ground. Push on the circle with the hands, with a gentle counter pressure from the thighs. The knees should remain over the hips.
Radhika Karle, trains Hrithik Roshan
Suspension straps
This helps you exercise every part of your body: the chest, abs, back, arms, legs. You get versions that can be hung on doors or weight-bearing bars that can be fixed between door posts. You can also hang it outdoors on a tree or the support structure of a shed. The original TRX bands give you the option of increasing and decreasing resistance. Try these exercises:
Hanging row for the arms and back
Plank, knee tuck and pike for the core
Bicep curls and tricep extensions for the arms
Chest press, for the chest
Single leg squat, for the legs
Jump in – jump out squat for the whole body
Vinod Channa, trains Riteish Deshmukh
Sandbag
Muscular athlete doing core bag squats workout in a gym.
Used as a part of firefighting training in the US, this piece of equipment has an uneven grip and shifting weight, making it extremely functional. You can push, pull, kick, lift, throw, and slam it, and do a variety of exercises, such as jumping or squatting with it, ‘wearing’ it around your neck, on your shoulders. There are several DIY videos on how to make them, and they can be fashioned into logs, worms, balls or any other shape. A snake, for instance, can even be used in a group exercise.
Praveen Tokas, trains Emraan Hashmi
- When setting aside a space for fitness accessories, keep in mind the exercise regimen that you had before the lockdown, says Chandan Chawla, a physiotherapist in Delhi. “Using body weight, free weights and resistance bands are the easiest ways to get started,” he says. “Give yourself more time to recover if you aren’t used to body weight exercises that can leave you sore.” To avoid training errors he says it’s best to look at the websites of established magazines like Men’s Health and Runner’s World , or ask for an online session with a physiotherapist.
- “Go slow and focus on form.”
Skipping rope
Healthy young woman skipping rope in studio. Muscular young woman exercising with jumping rope on white background.
Revisit your childhood and skip regularly. Once you get better, try your hand at double or triple unders. It’s an inexpensive form of cardio that raises the heart rate. You can put it into every workout.
If you’re doing it for the first time, start slow, learning how to get the rope around you. Start with 30 seconds and take a minute off, leading up to 5-10 minutes a day. Jumping is great for your bones and joints, especially in growing children. For adults, know that it’s an impact exercise, so it can affect your knees if not done properly or if you have a pre-existing injury or knee condition. Only once you have the basics right should you use a weighted rope.
Sohrab Khushrushahi, trains Alia Bhatt
Mat
HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training Workout Indoors
That’s the first thing you need, especially for exercises on the knees — the ground can be too hard and sometimes dirty. A carpet simply won’t do, because when you do face-down exercises you don’t want to inhale all the dust and grime from the fibres.
When buying a mat, test it out: lie down on it to make sure you’ve got the length right — ideally there should be a few inches of space on either end. See if it is shock absorbant to some extent. Bits of it shouldn’t be peeling off — that’s just poor quality. And make sure a rolled mat rolls out flat without curling up at the edges. It should not slip on the floor and your body should not slip on it when you sweat. Try doing a few exercises on it before buying.
Wipe down the mat daily and wash it with soap and water once a week, airing it out in the sun for about 30 minutes after use. If possible, invest in one that is made of a natural material.
Yasmin Karachiwala, trains Katrina Kaif
Resistance bands
This is one piece of equipment you can store easily and pack to take anywhere. They are good no matter what your size or weight. They allow for muscles to work concentrically (shorten) and eccentrically (elongate). Here are a few exercises:
Bird dog: This improves stability, promotes proper posture by encouraging a neutral spine, and relieves low back pain. It strengthens your core, hips, and back muscles.
Banded hip thrust: It helps strengthen and build your glutes in a gentle way.
Transverse rotation: Consistent training in the transverse plane (the imaginary line that divides the body into upper and lower) will increase your core strength and stability, balance and coordination, and rotational power.
Lateral flexion: This is the movement of the trunk to the left or right, which involves the movement of the shoulder towards the hip on either side.
Praveen Nair, trains Shraddha Kapoor