Get fit and keep fit anywhere you go, don’t just rely on a gym for a workout. When you go on holiday, there isn’t always a gym local, so make your environment your gym. With just a little wall and floor space, you can do so much. Use what’s around you for completing different exercises, using a non-slip bathroom floor mat works as your yoga or fitness floor mat. Some plastic bottles of water or cans can work as your weights for repeated exercise movement.
Use a towel or if you have some training bands, they are great for resistance training. Nowadays there are kits you can obtain where the different strength resistance bands can be used independently or together; they can also be used with an attachment that slides under or over a door that you can securely close, also working from a door handle for some alternative training.

Exercises

Warm up
1. A gentle side to side dance tap movement slowly works well, then gradually pick up the pace a little faster.
2. A forward and backward boxers jog, with a gradual build-up of pace.
3. Add a boxing punching movement of a jab and cross, throwing your one hand and arm forward and then your main hand (writing hand) forward.
4. After this, when you have worked up a good pace, spread feet hip width apart stance and go into some gentle squats.
5. Now make it harder with some kick ups. Squat and then kick up with one leg, go back into a squat and then kick up with other leg. Repeat this till extremely difficult.
6. Make it more difficult by doing a boxer’s sway, keeping a low squat, feet still firmly on the ground, hip width apart, sway side to side at low level and imagine you are avoiding a punch to the head. Work this till there is a good feel on your thighs.
7. Use the same movement but now hold for a count of 10 to each side sway, gradually increase the countdown on the holds on each side.
8. Keep feet hip width stance, knees slightly bent, tuck in bottom, tilt pelvis forward. Clasp both hands together and stretch out behind you, hold for a count of 12-15 seconds, take up a little higher and count for another 12-15 seconds. Take hands to the front, clasp them and turn them through, stretch up once again and count 15 seconds, lift and stretch out a little higher, hold for another 15 seconds then release. You are set to go for some serious training now.

Exercise 1
Use a chair, stand behind and hold the back of the chair with both hands at the top. Do some side leg raises with one leg, like a ballet pose, and repeat till leg feels tired, then repeat on other side. Follow this with a back leg lift on the starting leg till it gets tired, repeat on other leg. Finally, go back to the first starting leg, lean slightly forward and kick high up like a kickboxer, repeat with one leg till it gets tired, then switch to other leg and do the same. Repeat this whole exercise from start to finish 2-4 times, gradually increasing as your fitness level increases.

Exercise 2
For upper body strength, do some press ups. If you are starting out, use the floor, lay down face forward towards the floor, feet straight down. Place your arms to your sides, elbows to the side with your hands up parallel to your ears and head (this should form an L shape with arms) where your elbows are, move hands down to replace elbow position. This is the exact positioning of where you should have hand placing.
Cross your feet and keep both knees on the ground for beginners press up, if you are familiar then make it harder by lifting knees of the ground, keep back staring so as not to hyperextend or place strain on the back. Use upper body and core strength to do press ups, work till difficult and hard to continue. Repeat this.

Exercise 3
For good core building strength, do sit ups with feet tucked under a sofa or bed. Keep knees bent and on place bottom on a non-slip floor bath mat. Place hands by temples on head (not behind head). Do sit ups in sets, start with counts of 12 and keep working on improving the count on each set.

Exercise 4
Sit down comfortably with thighs parallel to the floor, now lifting a bottle as though it were a dumbbell, tuck back the back of your right upper arm into your right inner thigh and bend arm in a curling motion and count repetitions till arm starts to get tired. Repeat on left hand.

Exercise 5
For the back of the arms, do some triceps training, using a bottle filled with water. Face a chair, bend left knee and kneel onto the seat of chair with it, place right leg to the right side of seat and place right foot firmly on the floor. Use left arm to hold the top of the chair’s back rest. Now as you are slightly leaned forward, tuck in the right upper arm to your body and holding bottle in right hand, stretch it back, a little pull should be felt in upper arm. Repeat repetitions and gradually build up count.

This is really a top workout and if you can do this just twice a week, you will see a massive difference in just six weeks.
Stay hydrated with plenty of water and don’t forget to try and eat within 30 minutes of training for great muscle toning benefits.

Love and Sparkles
Samsara x

www.samsarabellydancer.co.uk
Facebook: Samsara Kyriakou