Seven exercises you can do at your kitchen island to tone up winter flab

You don’t need to brave the cold this winter to build your fitness levels. These at-home workouts are just as effective

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It’s now well known that short bursts of exercise are enormously beneficial for health. In fact, one recent study from the University of Milan shows that “microwalks” of 10-60 seconds with breaks in between use up to 60 per cent more energy than the same amount of time of a longer walk – like a car using more energy than a long drive. 
That’s why I have put together this list of exercises you can do at your kitchen island to make use of your time – small rounds of activity taken regularly throughout the day which can be more effective and beneficial than single long workouts we struggle to fit in.
For me, these small bursts of exercise which I call “exercise snacking” is all about building muscle mass. People think they’ve got to do cardio and get the heart pumping. But strength training is really important because the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’re going to burn, even at rest. 
For those over 65 even one minute’s exercise is beneficial as it builds fitness and muscle – it’s good for the mind too. As Marie Murphy, professor of exercise and health at Ulster University, says: “Small bouts of exercise are great at taking your mind off what you’re doing now and switching your attentional focus.” 
So try these exercises against your countertop or kitchen island when the kettle’s boiling, you’re timing something in the oven or waiting for the dishwasher to stop.
Stand with feet hip-width apart and place your hands on the kitchen counter about shoulder-width apart. Maintain a straight line from your head down to your heels. Engage your core, by pulling your belly button in towards your spine and squeeze your glutes to help protect your lower back.
Bend your elbows to 90 degrees as your body moves in that straight line towards the counter so your chest is almost touching the countertop. Inhale as you go down and exhale as you push away and straighten up back to the starting position. 
This is good for upper body strength and building lean muscle. To make this harder, move your feet further away, or try bringing your hands narrower so it targets the back of your arms – also known as bingo wings. You could make it more interesting by adding a little bounce with your arms.
When it comes to how good various exercises are for you, the press-up is the queen of upper body, but the leg squat is the king – it really delivers a lot.  Support yourself on your kitchen island or countertop. Standing with feet parallel just over shoulder width apart, visualise sitting down on an imaginary seat, keeping your knees out in line with your toes and then coming back up to standing, squeezing your glutes as you come up.
You can add an improvised weight by holding onto a safe plastic object – a large carton of milk or a sack of potatoes – which will make you work harder.
This move is brilliant for tightening up all your lower body muscles including your core and your glutes – your bottom. The more you engage your core the better, for posture and preventing back pain. Your ability to do squats is a good indicator of your future health because they mimic the common movement pattern we do – getting up from a chair, getting out of the car, using the lavatory. And it’s one of the best exercises for your brain health because the up-and-down motion of squatting causes blood to move from high to low, which results in a unique blood flow pattern to the brain. 
Find a nice flat surface like your fridge or a wall. Lower your body into a chair position as if you’re sitting with a 90-degree bend in your knees. Hold. Start off with 10 seconds, and build up to 30 to 45 seconds. You will definitely feel the burn. Then carefully place both hands on the wall to push off and get back up to a standing position. You can also pick up some tin cans and do a bit of boxing at the same time to work your arms as well.
Wall sits strengthen the quadricep muscles of your front thigh and are really good for supporting all the muscles around your knees. Isometric exercises – anything where you’re staying in one position for a length of time – are good because if you can hold one for up to two minutes studies show it can lower your blood pressure.
Do a few of these in between food prep tasks while you’re stationed at your island. From a standing position, use one hand to hold onto your kitchen island. In the other hand, hold a tin. Take a long stride back so the front knee doesn’t go over the front foot; try to bend both knees at a 90-degree angle; keep your body straight as you lower (not leaning forwards); lift your back heel up and place your weight in the heel of the front foot. Do a bicep curl with the arm you’re holding the tin in. Step back in and repeat on alternate sides.  
Stand hip-width apart, put your hands on the countertop and walk your feet back, so that you’re in a nice straight line with your body like a plank at an angle. Engage your muscles and then, one leg at a time, draw your knee up towards your chest, like a mountain climber. Repeat as many times as you can. When you’re bringing your knee up towards your chest, really try to target the hard-to-reach lower stomach muscles by tightening your core and your lower abdominal muscles as you draw that knee up towards your chest.
Balance is key whatever your age, for core, bone strength and coordination. Keep your hands resting on the kitchen island, balance on one leg and count to ten. Repeat on the other leg, building up the time you spend on one leg each time
As a little finisher and a mood booster, a few star jumps are brilliant because they’re just going to make you release those endorphins and get your heart rate up. You don’t have to add the jump in – you can do low-impact star jumps. Step one or both, legs in and out with arms meeting to clap above your head. You can do this with or without jumping.
As told to Miranda McMinn 
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