Get full body fitness at home
Sports Technician, Jonathan Thomas, guides us through a fired up workout!
To help you to stay motivated throughout lockdown, our Sports Team at The Manchester College has delivered a great full body workout, requiring minimal equipment, that will get your heart rate up and stretch out those muscles.
Our virtual trainer, Jonathan Thomas, a Sports Technician based at our Nicholls campus is also a fully qualified personal trainer with a passion for fitness and boxing. He frequently delivers fitness sessions for colleagues and students.
Let’s see what he has in store for us!
Workout checklist
- Comfortable clothes
- Trainers or flat shoes
- An open space, indoors or outdoors
- A glass or bottle of water
More information about Jonathan’s routine
- Skipping
If you don’t have a skipping rope, this exercise can be replaced with jogging on the spot or star jumps.
When skipping, jogging on the spot or performing star jumps, it’s important to keep your feet facing forwards, maintain a slight bend in your knees and keep your core (abdominal muscles) tight to support the lower back.
- Press-ups
When completing this exercise keep your back straight (not bent), feet together and core tight. If you are struggling to complete the full press up, elevate some of the weight by resting your knees on the ground as demonstrated by Jonathan in the video.
- Squats
To maintain good form and avoid injury you need to stand tall with your back straight, feet a little more than hip width apart and in a straight line, toes pointed slightly out (between five and 20 degrees), shoulders relaxed and chest lifted.
During each repetition look straight ahead, imagine you’re about to sit on a chair, with your arms extended in front of you, and squeeze your glutes (bottom) at the top, so that your pelvic region is in symmetry with the imaginary straight line between your feet.
- Lunges
Lunges can help you develop lower body strength and endurance. They’re also a great exercise for those who are new to fitness. When done correctly, lunges can effectively target your lower body muscles without placing added strain on your joints. To perform a perfect lunge:
1. Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and core engaged.
2. Take a big step forward with your right leg. Start to shift your weight forward as you move so that your heel hits the floor first.
3. Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and right shin is vertical. Don’t worry if your knee shifts forward a little as long as it doesn’t go past your toes on your right foot. If mobility allows, lightly tap your left knee on the floor while keeping your weight in you right heel.
4. Press into your right heel to drive back up to your starting position.
5. Repeat on the other side.