In the next article, we will try to formulate and create a table of simple home exercises for you to incorporate into your weekly routine. This table of exercises at home is based on basic motor patterns so that you can perform a full-body routine without inconvenience and awareness.

As premises, we will try to make them simple exercises, where possible without elements and with clear progressions. Including a large number of images that help you understand and assess the execution of each exercise. When making this article on the exercise table at home, keep in mind that you may be one of those people who do not always have enough time to go to the gym and train correctly.

Obviously, always the eye of a professional both to correct the technique and to improve the quality of the movement will be essential. Despite this, we will try to be as explicit as possible so that you can understand the exercises as well as possible and can avoid the most common mistakes when executing them. You can work on a consistent routine that truly benefits you and improves your quality of life.

Basic prerequisites to perform strength exercises

No one doubts the importance of strength exercises, in fact, a better quality of life is associated with the importance of maintaining habits that include them. Even so, it is clear that to perform a strength exercise you must have certain basic and indispensable prerequisites for the effectiveness of the movement.

Mainly in sedentary people who spend long hours of the day sitting or in poor ergonomic positions, people who have lost their relationship with their bodies.

Establishing basic motor patterns of movement will allow us to establish solid bases that help us to take care of the technique of a specific exercise. Detecting limitations, weak links, actions to avoid, and points to work hard to strengthen our training.

The first point is to establish a relationship between mobility and stability. In simple words, it must move when performing the exercise, and that it must remain stable. This, which seems simple, will not only allow us to avoid compensations and poor movements but also to become aware of the correct movement pattern (1).

Michael Boyle refers to the term “continuum”, referring to the alternation between the concept’s mobility and stability. The first referring to the range of mobility and muscular flexibility, the second to motor control, and the forces exerted by the postural muscles.

Once a good mobility-stability relationship is obtained, according to Gray Cook, we will be able to continue working on our better physical fitness by applying greater force and later power of the movements (2).

Previous exercises to properly activate our neuromotor system

Before starting to define the movement patterns that allow us to create our exercise table at home. It is important to clarify that we should not start training without first having correctly activated our muscles and CNS.

To do this, we recommend doing a warm-up with 10 minutes of previous joint movements. Later, a series of basic exercises that will allow us to establish a correct panorama of stability-mobility. Exercises that will serve us mainly to activate the muscles that make up our CORE, alluding to both the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles (3).

Next, we present 5 exercises, which we recommend doing slowly and progressively, this to perform a correct activation before training with our table of exercises at home. These exercises are; Cat-camel, Russian Plank, Bird-Dog, thoracic extension, thoracic rotation, dead-bug, and unilateral glute bridge.

First activation exercise of our exercise table at home: Cat-Camel

This is a flexion-extension exercise of the spine which will allow us to recognize the neutral and natural position of the spine.

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On the other hand, it will be a widely effective exercise to activate both the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the trunk kinematic chain.

This basically consists of performing hypopressive actions and shrinking the trunk to correctly activate the stabilizing muscles of the spine.

We recommend performing this exercise for 12 reps at a cadence of 5 seconds each rep.

Second activation exercise of our exercise table at home: Russian Plank and Bird-Dog

Two combined exercises where central stabilization and anti-flexion also prevail. Key movements to activate our muscles and approach our exercise table at home in the best way. It begins with a prone plank supporting the forearms and feet, precisely the metatarsal.

The plank should be held between 10 to 15 seconds, no more, since it is an exercise with great isometric activation, and taking it longer would cause fatigue. The plank requires a vigorous voluntary contraction of the glutes, transversus abdominis, and lats. It is important to keep the body fully aligned from head to heels.

If you cannot maintain your posture, you can reduce the resistance lever by supporting your knees instead of your feet.
Then, it continues with the Bird-Dog, which consists of extending the shoulder and the hip at the same time slowly with the premise of not losing the neutrality of the spine. When extending the shoulder and the hip should be opposite members, the extension should be maintained for about 2 seconds. We recommend doing the Russian plank for 10 seconds in 6 repetitions interspersed with 6 repetitions per side of the Bird-Dog.

Third activation exercise of our exercise table at home: Thoracic rotation

It starts from the same initial position as in the Bird-Dog, that is, with hand and knee supports without losing the symmetry between said segments.

Then, a hand is brought behind the neck, with the elbow pointing to the side, later a partial rotation of the spine begins.

Upon reaching the maximum point of rotation, the posture is held for 5 seconds, trying to keep the knees and feet at a distance equal to shoulder width. The same action is repeated for the other hemisphere, trying to perform 8 repetitions per side.

Fourth activation exercise of our exercise table at home: Thoracic extension

In the dorsal ulna position, supporting the back on a hard cushion, mainly the dorsal area, the spine should be extended slowly.

The arms should be behind the head with the elbows bent and hands resting behind the neck.

When performing this exercise it is advisable to perform a correct intra-abdominal pressure as with the previous exercises, this to give greater stability to the spine. 12 repetitions are performed.

Fifth activation exercise of our exercise table at home: Dead-Bug and unilateral gluteal bridge

The Deadbug is an anti-extension exercise par excellence, which will allow us to finish activating our intrinsic muscles correctly.

Starting in a position similar to the previous one, dorsal ulna, but with the entire spine resting on the floor, including the head and neck. You will start from an initial position with both arms at 90 ° about the floor, as well as the thighs, which will be both 90 ° from the floor and the legs. That is, both shoulders and hips will begin with a partial flexion of 90 °, always trying to maintain shoulder width symmetry. The heels mustn’t lose horizontality with the knees.

Once this basic position is obtained, the opposite shoulder and hip should be extended slowly, crossed, until trying to align the arm and leg segments with the trunk without losing the neutrality of the spine. Then, the segments that were supposed to be static were continued in the same way while their peers moved. This exercise will be done in 8 repetitions per side.