If you need me, I'll be working out from my bed
8 exercise videos for every mood, even the “Who ate my slice of pizza?” rage monster
Have you met the “Mood nahi hai” crew? If not, you’re probably one of them. Your go-to response affected your social life, gradually tip-toeing towards making your dating life non-existent. Now it’s interfering with just about everything – working, eating healthy, and even exercising. You double-tapped on the high-intensity workout videos your best friend posted on Instagram, but when she asked you to join her, you stopped answering her calls.
We get it: your inner caterpillar has become very comfortable in its cocoon. Why stuff yourself into tight gym clothes, stew in traffic, then marinate in the aroma of sweaty strangers in a closed room, when you can roll up on the couch in your blanket like a human frankie and watch horror movies in the hope of frightening off those extra kilos?
Most humans aren’t as exercise-enthusiastic as Kendall Jenner, who drops into a plank while the next episode is loading on Netflix. A cocktail of boredom, laziness and the need for instant gratification is the reason why 90% of us abandon ship three months after paying for a gym membership.
We have to be cajoled, cheered or bullied by a scary-looking trainer into doing something as monotonous as working out. And COVID-19 just gave us another excuse to avoid it.
But what if we found a way to inject fun (stay with us) fitness ideas into your couch potato lifestyle? So you can work up a sweat while basking in the cool blue rays of your TV.
Scroll through our selection of workout videos that will ensure that you always have an option, regardless of what you’re feeling at the moment.
Before “Mood nahi hai” is replaced by “Option nahi hai”.
Workout videos to fit every mood
For all the times you’re too overwhelmed by your task list
Duration: Scattered across the day
Equipment: Household items
Focus: Full body workout
Jhaadu, poccha, cooking, washing, and chopping are what crowd your to-do lists these days. So take Zumba trainer Sucheta Pal’s advice and combine exercise with ghar ka kaam.
Get your squats in while cleaning the fridge and if you’re too overwhelmed by the kinds of exercise equipment available out there, just use the milk bottles you have at home, and begin pumping. Two birds, one stone (down).
When your infamous impatience is at its peak
Duration: 30 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Full body workout with special focus on abs and legs
“Are you even doing anything if you’re not juggling five tasks at one go” is your motto? You hate wasting time, and are always in the car ten minutes early, honking away to glory, hurrying everyone up. And your approach to exercising is pretty much the same. You want to do it all, and you want to do it all, well.
This workout video is a multitasker’s dream – a full-body workout that doesn’t just help you lose weight, but also includes a warm-up routine and stretches while additionally helping you work towards getting washboard abs and toned legs.
When you have major FOMO from missing your BFFs wedding
Duration: 11 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Full body high intensity cardio workout
You are the designated choreographer at all weddings, you begin your day with a performance in the shower.
So, when your best friend decided to get married during the lockdown, and there was no way for you to jump on a flight, your worst nightmare came true – no sangeet practice.
To get you out of this slump, we suggest you put on your shiniest workout gear and give this Bollywood dance workout a go.
When you’re in no mood for confrontation
Duration: 10 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Fat-burning cardio workout
You can’t use speakers when friends come over. Working out, well you can’t do that either because apparently, the thuds aren’t letting Mrs Sharma’s son concentrate on his studies.
Nosey neighbours with zero noise tolerance are rites of passage that every adult has to go through to understand the true meaning of pin-drop silence. But we won’t let them throw your workout routine out of whack anymore.
Follow this cardio routine that involves no jumping and is perfect when you need to get fit without waking the neighbours.
When staying in bed is all you want to do
Duration: 5 to 12 minutes depending on your speed
Equipment: Your bed
Focus: Full body workout along with cardio exercises
Buried under blankets with piles of pillows keeping you cosy, while lying on a mattress that feels like a warm hug – if this is your preferred state of being, then we have just the motivation you need.
This video, instead of pulling you out of bed, shows you how you can turn your favourite spot into a gym. Whoever said there’s no winning in life clearly hadn’t tried out this bed workout.
For the times when rage takes over
Duration: 15 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Full body workout
When someone eats the slice of pizza you’d hidden, when you accidentally step into a puddle with your new white shoes… moments like these have your face turning crimson and smoke billowing out of your ears.
But letting your true emotions shine in moments like this can often be called an overreaction.
So channel your energies into this Anger Releasee exercise routine, and punch your way to a happier place.
When you’re in need of some company
Duration: 20 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Full body workout
Working out alone can be isolating. Especially if your partner is watching you trudge through a 20-minute session while he lays on the bed eating popcorn. Misery loves company, so pull your partner in for this buddy workout.
You can use Bengaluru-based vegan bodybuilder Roshni Sanghvi’s words of wisdom to convince them, “Working out releases the same happy hormone that your brain does when it’s in love. Couples that work out together tend to be happier and have more chemistry than those who don’t.”
This buddy workout can be done anywhere because it requires no equipment. This thirty-minute-long strength-based workout includes three sets and targets your entire body.
For when you feel like a ball of nerves
Duration: 27 minutes
Equipment: No equipment
Focus: Breathing techniques and spinal work
2020 was very hard on a lot of people, putting everyone more on edge than usual.
A coffee spill was enough to invite a flood of tears, and a full stop at the end of a message meant an entire day spent overthinking under a pile of blankets.
On days when the anxious pigeon within comes knocking, give this yoga session a go. The breathing techniques and spinal work can help you feel calm, centred and less anxious.