While we are all staying safe and remaining home there are only so many days on the sofa we can have before we start to feel sluggish. So we have rounded up a few of the best exercise books and DVDs that we think will inspire you to get moving. Fear not, we have something for everyone; toned legs, slow movement, buff abs or a toned face!
Yoga, A Manual for Life by Naomi Annand
Be calmer, happier and more creative. In Yoga, A Manual for Life Naomi Annand shows you how to use the ancient practice of yoga to live better in the modern world. Utilising simple, breath-led movement, this beautiful practice companion teaches you how to wake up feeling energised, calm an anxious mind, sleep better, feel inspired. It’s ideal for total beginners and even for more experienced yogis, this manual includes everything you’ll need to live a more balanced, grounded life, from five-minute life hacks to longer sequences with specific goals in mind.
Boundless by Ben Greenfield
What if the ability to look, feel, and perform at peak capacity wasn’t the stuff of lore but instead was within easy reach? Sure, some of us find ways to hit peak performance in one area or another there are professional poker players, computer programmers, and race car drivers hunched over card games, keyboards, and steering wheels with optimised minds; UFC and NFL gladiators fighting for glory on television with optimised bodies; and monks and meditators roaming the planet with optimised spirits. But in a perfect world, you would be able to have it all: complete optimisation of mind, body, and spirit. In Boundless Ben Greenfield offers a first-of-its-kind blueprint for total human optimisation by maximising cognition, mental clarity, and IQ.
Ballet Beautiful Total Body DVD by Mary Helen Bowers
Do not be fooled by the tutu, pretty satin ballet shoes and the floating arm movements. This ballet workout is crazy hard. Take it from this wanna-be ballerina who was looking to tone her arms and legs. After about two minutes the body was quivering at the thought of another set of plies while holding arm weights. I can happily report that this gets easier…it just takes three weeks of daily workouts. This DVD offers a total body workout from Mary Helen Bowers, Natalie Portman’s trainer for her Academy Award-Winning Role in Black Swan! Get a tight, toned and elegant body with this ballet inspired workout. Sculpt sleek and strong legs, arms, butt, abs and upper body. Shape a lean and graceful dancer’s body with targeted mat work and standing exercises that lengthen and tone. Workouts include focused exercise on trouble areas while increasing flexibility and improving posture.
The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler
It may be 20 years old, but this is still a fabulous book. In The Pilates Body author Brooke Siler, owner of one of New York’s top studios for Pilates and personal trainer to supermodels, actors and actresses, provides a complete, easy-to-follow programme of Pilates exercises to give you a whole new body in thirty sessions. Pilates is the ultimate mind-body exercise for those who want to tone, streamline and realign their bodies, without the bulked-up results of more conventional workout methods. Brooke Siler guides you through a complete circuit of mat-based exercises, each clearly illustrated with photographs, line drawings and unique visualisation exercises. With this guide you can streamline your figure, create longer, leaner muscles, improve posture, flexibility and balance, enhance your emotional well being, build self-esteem and confidence, and reduce stress and fatigue.
Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews
If you want to get muscular, lean, and strong as quickly as possible without steroids, good genetics, extreme dieting, or wasting ridiculous amounts of time in the gym, regardless of your age, you will want to read this book. Imagine enjoying the added benefits of high energy levels, no aches and pains, better spirits, and knowing that you’re getting healthier every day. This book aims to debunk myths that keep people from ever achieving the lean, muscular, strong, and healthy bodies they truly desire.
If all of that running and jumping and weight lifting is just too much we have found the most relaxing exercise book for you to tackle while staying safe at home…and you can do it on the sofa!
Press Here! Face Work Outs for Beginners by Nadira Persaud
Press Here Face Workouts for Beginners offers age-defying results through a series of easy-to-follow pressure and massage techniques, which can be used as part of your daily skincare regime. Benefits of facial workouts are more than aesthetics; a daily workout can have remarkable results in the way you feel. You’ll be encouraged to focus on the feeling of each movement to identify problem areas or muscle tension in the face which can display deep lines, sagging skin, and an overall tired appearance. Through the power of touch and focused breathing, these simple routines will help you feel more energised, de-stress, and maintain a toned and firm facial structure without the use of specialised equipment, whether you want to see a transformation immediately or over time.
Enjoy!