My top 5 beginner’s fitness tips for home exercise in lockdown

We all know that exercise is good for our mental health and that it is now more important than ever to take good care of our immune systems, but if you’re experiencing anxiety with regards to going outside for a daily walk and have concerns about social distancing, you are not alone. Adding some gentle exercise to your day from the comfort of your own home could help you in many ways, so I’ve compiled my top 5 beginner’s fitness tips for home exercise in lockdown!

If you are new to fitness or have taken a long break from regular exercise, then it can all seem a bit daunting and unachievable. I say this from my own experience – going to the gym has never really appealed to me, so now that we are all in lockdown, it seemed the perfect time to get into a routine with exercising at home.  So recently, I decided to start exercising regularly in a bid to improve my physical fitness, I can already see a big improvement and my mental overall wellbeing has significantly improved, which has been another huge benefit. I now look forward to my exercise, often finding myself wanting to do more, something hand on heart I never thought I would say! 

There are so many online fitness resources to choose from which can be a bit overwhelming, so I’ve picked out my top 5 go to resources. These are all You Tube channels so you can find lots of content on each channel and the best bit is, they are all free!

  1. Sarah Beth Yoga Starting off nice and gentle with some beginners Yoga, 10 Minute Morning Beginners Yoga is a personal favourite of mine and is a great place to start if, like me, you are new to this. Although it is suggested as a morning routine, do not worry about that, just do it at whatever time of day suits you. Sarah Beth has lots of other great routines on her channel, including yoga for stress, sadness, anxiety, fat burning, back pains – just give something a go! Click for Sarah Beth Yoga on YouTube.

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       2. Yoga with Adriene This is another channel I regularly use. Adriene has lots of routines to follow for all levels. She also runs a series, 30 days of Yoga which is great if you fancy setting yourself a challenge, and don’t worry about it if you miss a day here or there, you can do it at your own pace. Click for Yoga with Adriene – 30 days of Yoga on YouTube.

       3. Lucy Wyndham Read – There are so many great, short workouts on this channel. Most of them use either little or no equipment and if you do need equipment you can usually utilise something that you probably already have in your home. 

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If you are new to this, I would recommend starting off with one at a time. Now that I have been doing this for a while, I have built up to doing a few different routines as I often feel energised after doing my first one. The Seven Minute Workouts are great, as there are no repeat exercises, which is fantastic if you get bored easily. Once you feel confident following the routines, I recommend muting Lucy (sorry!) and putting on some upbeat music to power you through – Click for Lucy Wyndham Read on YouTube.

         4. POPSUGAR Fitness Again, many different videos for all levels covering a wide range of exercise styles so you can experiment with classes that you might not feel confident to try in a public class – or is that just me?! There are lots of guest instructors on this channel too. 

My regular routines are comprised of two to four routines from any of these channels. Sometimes I do it all in one go, or sometimes I do something in the morning, then something else later in the day, it depends on energy levels and other commitments. Over time you will find something that works for you, I find it keeps me interested to mix things up a bit. Click for POPSUGAR Fitness on YouTube.

            5. The Body Coach – I could not talk about home exercise during lockdown without mentioning Joe Wicks and his P.E With Joe workouts!  He is keeping lots of us moving during lockdown and again, live daily at 9am on his channel. Again, if you’ve missed any sessions, you can catch up with them anytime as they’re available for you to stream them at a more convenient time if you want to. If these sessions are too energetic or high impact for you, you could try his lockdown workouts for seniors. Click for The Body Coach TV on Youtube.

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Finally, I hope you feel inspired to get moving, if you are a complete beginner, take things slowly and ease yourself in gently, not taking too much on at once. You will probably find that over time you’re able and willing to do more… And most importantly, ALWAYS warm up for a few minutes and cool down at the end followed with stretches to avoid injury, hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds! 

Regular exercise has a positive impact on both physical health and wellbeing. This blog post has been written for guidance only and should not be considered as professional health advice. If you have any concerns regarding exercise and your health, you should seek advice from a health professional. 

Enjoy, and stay safe!


Stacey Hill,
Centre Administrator, Arc
May 12th, 2020