Are you looking for a VERY simple and basic routine that most people can do safely at home on their own, or with their partner without needing ANY equipment? Then this article provided by Cris Ramis of Ramis Health and Fitness is for you.

The simple lockdown workout

As with any workout, these routines are safe and simple provided they are performed correctly. If you are a complete beginner, just ensure you take the exercises at a gentle pace and follow instructions properly. It is better to move just a few inches properly than make big movements that are badly positioned.

Bodyweight Squat

3 sets of 10 reps or as many as you can do in 60 seconds. But it isn’t a race! It is important to ensure you breathe properly and set your core properly for each repetition.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold your arms straight-ahead in front of your shoulders. Breathe in deep, inflate belly then draw belly button in (BB) and pelvic floor up (PF).

Hold your breath and squat down as low as you can without flexing your spine. You must keep the natural arch in your low back whilst squatting.

Keep the heels flat on the floor and avoid pushing off the toes as you’ll put pressure on the kneecap instead of the muscles. Curl the toes up inside your trainers so that you push off the ball and heel of your feet. This will ensure your muscles are worked rather than the joints.

Go down slowly and come up fast (but controlled).

Hold dumbbells, if you have any, to increase difficulty.

Split Squat or Lunge

3 sets of 10 repetitions per leg.

Stand with feet hip or shoulder-width apart.

Move one leg back to position legs into a ‘lunge’ style stance. Legs must be at a 90-degree angle at the very least.

Ensure you are up on the toes on the back foot and keep the heel down on the front foot.

Breathe in and inflate belly, pull in your belly button (BB) and pelvic floor (PF), hold breath and lower down till knee is an inch off the floor.

Come back up and breathe out, reset breathing and belly etc and continue.

Do not push off toes on the front foot, as you will stress the kneecap, not the muscles.

Keep palms facing forward to encourage good posture.

As before, go down slowly, come up fast (but controlled).

Hold dumbbells to make it tougher.

Hip Extension on Floor

As per the squat, 3 sets of 10 reps or as many as you can do in 60 seconds

Lie flat on your back with your feet close to your bum cheeks.

Lift your bum so it’s approx 1 inch off the floor.

Breathe in deep and inflate belly, draw in BB and PF, and lift bum as high as possible, squeezing the cheeks as hard as you can.

Hold for a couple of seconds and then breathe out as you lower the bum back down to approx an inch off the floor.

Remember that your bottom stays off the floor throughout the exercise and keep arms outstretched facing up to the ceiling throughout.

Press-ups

3 sets of 10 repetitions

Lie flat on the floor and place hands either side of your chest. Don’t have them too far in front of the body as this overworks your shoulders.

Aim to have the elbows at an approximately 45-degree angle from the body to maximally work the chest.

With your feet and knees together, come up onto your knees and then up onto your toes into the start position.

Maintain a straight line from the feet to the back of the head during this exercise.

If you get tired during a set and start to lose the form, then carry the set on from the knees (i.e. bend knees to 90-degrees and carry the set on) – see below.

Breathe in, set belly button, hold breathe as you lower yourself down to the floor then breathe out on the way up.

Don’t let your head drop during the reps. Aim to keep the back of the head in line with the spine at all times.

Keep the elbows slightly unlocked at the top of the reps to maintain tension on the muscles.

Press-Ups (on knees if doing full-length press-ups are too challenging)  

Lie flat on the floor and place hands either side of your chest. Don’t have them too far in front of the body as this overworks your shoulders.

Have feet and knees together, bend the knees to 90-degrees and have the feet off the floor.

Maintain a straight line from the knees to the back of the head during this exercise.

Breathe in, set belly button, hold breathe as you lower yourself down to the floor then breathe out on the way up.

Keep your chin tucked and back of your head in line with spine during the reps.

Prone Cobra  

Each rep is 10 seconds up and 5 seconds rest.
Aim for 3 sets of 10 reps with 1-minute rest between sets

Lie face down on a mat or towel and rest arms at sides.

Elevate torso while simultaneously squeezing shoulder blades together and externally rotating arms so thumbs point outwards. In the proper end position, your palms should face away from body with head and neck aligned and toes touching the ground.

Do not allow your head to roll backwards as this will encourage poor posture.

Keep glutes – your buttock muscles- switched ON during exercise!

This is a postural exercise, best done at the end of exercising, to ensure you can maintain good posture and some tone in the back muscles. This is important because the press-up, if overdone or not counter-balanced with back training, can lead to poor posture in the form of rounded shoulders and forward head posture (it looks a bit like a giraffe neck…which is fine for a giraffe, though not so great for a human!)

Conclusion

This routine is suitable for someone who is an absolute beginner and wants to start training, though without having someone checking your form, as with any type of exercise, there is obviously an inherent risk.

This is a SIMPLE routine that will just hopefully just help anyone who tries it to maintain their health and strength, or at least minimise any reduction in strength and muscle until they can resume their normal routine.

Aim to do at least 3 sessions a week on alternate days.

If you can add a decent exercise band into the mix, this will provide an opportunity to include more back, bicep and shoulder exercises.

You can reach out to me via my website and social media if you have any questions.

Image credits:

Squat by Oleg Magni from Pexels
Split squat (lunge) by Oleg Magni from Pexels
Press ups by bgs_digital_creator from Pixabay
Make things Happen by by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
All other images provided by Chris Ramis