words by Lucy Marshall

If your ‘New Year, New You’ regime isn’t quite going to plan because you’ve lost motivation to get up, get out and go to the gym then fear not, Hip & Healthy has a brilliant solution to help kick-start your routine again. In fact, you may as well cancel your gym membership right now… cue a gasp of horror. Ladies, we introduce to you the novel idea of the home workout. Perfect in so many ways and you don’t need to waste time leaving the house .We’re not suggesting you devise your own fitness routines as there is a variety of incredible online websites and DVD programmes that will motivate you to turn your living room into your gym. They all require little to no equipment, and if you have nothing at all then using household items is encouraged. I would recommend investing in some exercise bands though, as they can be great alternatives to dumbbells and pull-up bars, providing resistance where needed.

Five years ago I discovered the cream of the home workout crop, P90X. This is a programme that was devised over a decade ago and which has rapidly gained a cult-like global following. Its intention is to change your body in 90 days with a series of workout DVDs that are each an hour long, and which use a training technique that introduces new movements and routines so that your body never plateaus and you don’t get bored. Furthermore, its founder and trainer, Tony Horton is FUNNY. The workouts are intense; I’d recommend you begin with light weights and do the suggested modifications if you’re new to exercise. There are now more programmes in the P90X machine, innovatively called P90XPlus, P90X2 and the newest, P90X3. ‘X3’ cuts the workouts in half to 30 minutes each meaning they’re much more doable for those who love a pre-work/study/life routine; it’s my current favourite. The results of the dedicated fans of P90X are unbelievable – check out the YouTube ‘before and after’ videos for proof. Each programme costs £99, and you can pay in three monthly instalments. I challenge you not to get obsessed.

For those of you who don’t even have time to sleep then I couldn’t recommend the DailyHiit website enough. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and the DailyHiit provides you with free HIIT workouts that last only 12 minutes. They take you through three rounds of four-minute routines, where you have 50 seconds of intense exercise, followed by ten seconds of rest. A ten second rest doesn’t sound like much at all but with only 12 minutes you need to work HARD to achieve the benefits. Lisa-Marie, the fabulous personal trainer with a stomach of steel makes you laugh and feel at ease as she trains with you in the workouts she has designed. This is fitness tailored for people who stumble and fall, get up, try again and smash it. The sister website to the DailyHiit is Bodyrock.tv, also fronted by Lisa-Marie and which is currently providing 30-Day-Challenges with HIIT workouts up to and over an hour long – not for the feint of heart.

My final recommendation is Blogilates. Cassey Ho is an immensely peppy and cheerful trainer who takes you through ab-shredding Pilates workouts in a matter of minutes. Prepare to feel the burn like never before.

I can personally vouch for all of these websites and programmes because I use all of them five times a week, all year round and love them because they are all different and help me to mix up my workout routine.  Exercising at home has never been so easy and affordable, and with such amazing guidance from all of these excellent personal trainers there is no excuse to fall off the fitness wagon any more.

Other home workout programmes Hip & Healthy recommends: 

Shiva Rea, Daily Energy; Vinyasa Flow Yoga. A DVD that has seven, 20 minute vinyasa flows to wake you up or calm you down.

The Podium Effect. These are 60 days worth of online workouts designed by Olympic heptathlete, Louise Hazel.

Instructor Live.  This website offers online classes with instructors training you live. Almost like a workout with a trainer on Skype.

Sleek Technique.  Ballet-based online workouts designed to hone and tone with grace and agility.

Insanity. A series of DVDs that use intervals to dramatically increase fitness. They are literally insane, try once your fitness is very good.