Functional fitness impacts every area of life.
For me, being strong and fit is essential to having mental clarity, good energy, and bringing my best self into the world every day.
There’s a lot that I want to accomplish, and being healthy and energized supports my productivity.
I used to follow Mark Sisson, who is a big paleo guy. One of the things that he said that resonated with me is that you should be strong enough to save your own life- Run fast, climb a tree, lift heavy things.
You don’t have to go to the gym in order to be fit.
I’m not a fan of gyms. I’m an introvert, so being around crowds isn’t great for me. I don’t like artificial light and recycled air and breathing other people’s gases And contacting their sweat. (No matter how much you sanitize the weight bench after you’ve sweated all over it.).
I get a ton of joy from working out outside – on my porch or deck or in the woods. I’ve got another post about skipping. I do sprints in the woods. I climb trees. Bear crawls. Leaps- as in leap frog.
You can get a ton of benefit from bodyweight exercises
There’s so much great bodyweight stuff that can be done to build strength. (I do make sure I work in kettlebells a couple of times a week because it’s important for bone density. I’m building muscle and other things, especially over 50).
I was doing this workout in the woods and decided to tape it. My form may not be perfect, But you get the idea. Do this, and you will push the muscles of your lower body and feel stronger and more energized as a result.
Simple but effective at-home workout for lower body strength:
- Jump squat. 180-degree jump squats (optional)
- Jump lunge
- Side-to-side squat
- Curtsy lunge
- Speed skaters
- Sissy squats
How much should I do? How hard should I push?
I would say that you don’t have to go nuts. If you’re at a high level of cardiovascular fitness, maybe you do this for 20-30 minutes. If you are at a lower level of cardiovascular fitness or just starting out, you’re working out. Listen to your body and do 5-10-15 minutes.If you enjoy this workout, let me know in the comments.
If you have suggestions to augment or adjust this, also let me know. I’m always happy to learn new exercises. I believe that diversity of exercises and stimulating the muscles in many different ways is one of the keys to functional fitness.