Work Out While You Work From Home With Denise Austin

This video is part of the 30-Day Couch-to-Fit Challenge designed to help you improve strength, cardio, balance and flexibility. Start the challenge here: aarp.org/CouchToFit

Try these easy exercises throughout your workday to tone while waiting for coffee, stretch during work calls, and trim belly fat while taking a break.

Key takeaways

• Boost energy and productivity with Denise Austin’s simple at-home exercises while you work remotely.
• Improve strength, posture, and flexibility using functional fitness moves like countertop push-ups and mini-squats.
• Create lasting healthy habits by joining the 30-Day Couch-to-Fit Challenge for daily motivation and results.

Summary

Staying active when you work from home is easier than ever with these simple at-home exercises from fitness expert Denise Austin. The “work out while you work from home” approach fits seamlessly into your daily routine — think toning your arms with countertop push-ups while waiting for coffee, doing mini-squats as you wash dishes, or squeezing in core moves during work breaks. These functional fitness tips help improve your strength, balance and flexibility, all without leaving your living room or office.

Incorporating short exercises into your remote workday not only boosts your energy but also supports better posture, relieves tension and helps you trim belly fat. Whether you’re aiming to sculpt your arms, strengthen your abs, or simply feel better throughout the day, getting moving at home makes a real difference. To build lasting results and create healthy habits, try adding a few of these moves each day and explore the 30-Day Couch-to-Fit Challenge for ongoing motivation.

The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Full Transcript:

[0:00:00] [AARP’s GET MOVING Wherever You Are]

[0:00:02] [WORK OUT WHILE YOU WORK FROM HOME WITH Fitness Expert Denise Austin]

[0:00:06] >> Denise Austin: Hi, everybody. It’s Denise Austin.

[0:00:08] Welcome to my home.

[0:00:10] Turn a workday into a workout.

[0:00:13] That’s what we’re going to do.

[0:00:14] I’m going to take you throughout my home and show you ways that you can tone

[0:00:18] and tighten up your muscles till you feel great,

[0:00:21] all in your own home.

[0:00:23] So let’s begin.

[0:00:25] [TONE UP WHILE YOU WAIT FOR COFFEE]

[0:00:28] In the morning, I’m waiting for my coffee to brew.

[0:00:31] So guess what I want to do.

[0:00:33] I want to firm up my arms, chest and shoulders

[0:00:36] with a fabulous push-up up against the kitchen countertop.

[0:00:40] So placing your hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart,

[0:00:45] place your feet together, and go all the way down into push-up,

[0:00:49] and come all the way back up.

[0:00:51] This is a great way to firm your arms, your chest, your shoulders.

[0:00:56] This exercise helps to improve your posture.

[0:01:00] Try to do about 10 of these.

[0:01:02] Isn’t that great?

[0:01:03] You get in 10 push-ups in the morning, right in the kitchen.

[0:01:07] Thinking about good posture while you’re doing push-ups, so important.

[0:01:11] Squeeze the buttocks.

[0:01:13] That’s it. One more, you got it.

[0:01:16] And release.

[0:01:18] OK, now I’m waiting for my toast to pop up,

[0:01:21] and I want to make sure I’m going to tone and firm up my legs.

[0:01:25] So while I’m doing that I am lifting,

[0:01:28] and I’m toning the back of my thighs.

[0:01:31] That’s it.

[0:01:33] This is a great way to use your hands here at the counter for support and balance.

[0:01:38] And squeeze the bottom, tighten up the tushy.

[0:01:42] And always do both legs.

[0:01:44] Lift up to the other side.

[0:01:46] Really tone and firm.

[0:01:48] I like to do about 10 with each leg.

[0:01:51] Excellent.

[0:01:53] Great.

[0:01:54] Also, while you’re washing your dishes,

[0:01:56] we all spend time in the kitchen,

[0:01:58] so why not do a mini-squat?

[0:02:00] All you have to do is use your thigh muscles. Go halfway down and back up.

[0:02:05] This will help work the tushy as well as clean your dishes.

[0:02:09] You could always hold on right here too in the sink.

[0:02:12] Great way to reshape your buttock muscles,

[0:02:16] your thigh muscles, keeping strong.

[0:02:19] Beautiful. Last one.

[0:02:22] OK.

[0:02:23] Now one of my favorite exercises to do while I’m here in the kitchen,

[0:02:27] cooking, lot of times I want to turn some idle time into toning time.

[0:02:32] So with the use of your kitchen countertops,

[0:02:36] you could do walking lunges, go up and down.

[0:02:39] That’s it. Working your thigh muscles.

[0:02:41] And you can take it back and you can take it forward.

[0:02:45] These are great ways to hold on to it,

[0:02:48] so you can balance and really use your arms and your legs.

[0:02:53] This is a total body toner. That’s it.

[0:02:56] And switch legs, of course.

[0:02:58] Forward, and back like a walking lunge. That’s it.

[0:03:02] With the use of your arm strength to really help your legs.

[0:03:06] This will help strengthen the muscles surrounding your knees.

[0:03:10] So important to stay strong.

[0:03:12] You can do it.

[0:03:13] I like to do 10 on each leg.

[0:03:16] All of these exercises are so great to do each and every day.

[0:03:21] OK, let’s go to the office.

[0:03:24] [STRETCH DURING WORK CALLS]

[0:03:27] Now at your home office, here’s some easy stretches

[0:03:31] that you could do to relax your body, really reduce some of the tension

[0:03:35] that’s built up in the muscles.

[0:03:37] The first exercise, to sit up nice and tall.

[0:03:40] Place your hands behind your neck, and open up your chest

[0:03:44] to improve your posture. Hold the stretch,

[0:03:48] lift your chest straight open.

[0:03:51] This is an excellent way to improve your posture while you’re sitting.

[0:03:55] So important to think about good posture.

[0:03:58] Sit up tall. Stretch.

[0:04:01] And now bring the elbows to touch in front.

[0:04:04] That stretches the back of your neck. And then bring it right back out.

[0:04:08] Hold the stretch for about 10 to 15 seconds.

[0:04:12] That’s it. Open up the chest.

[0:04:14] So great for you.

[0:04:16] You’ll breathe better.

[0:04:17] And touch in front, stretching your neck.

[0:04:20] Excellent.

[0:04:21] And relax.

[0:04:22] Try to do about 10 of those every single day.

[0:04:25] It’ll help to improve your posture.

[0:04:27] OK, the next exercise is to relax your low back.

[0:04:31] If you’re sitting and your low back starts to hurt.

[0:04:34] Bring your knee towards your chest,

[0:04:36] pull the knee towards you, and then for an extra stretch,

[0:04:40] bring your nose towards your knee, and that will help to stretch the low back.

[0:04:46] So good for your spine.

[0:04:48] Hold the stretch, and release.

[0:04:51] Of course, always do both legs.

[0:04:53] Bring your knee in first. Sit up nice and tall.

[0:04:57] Think about good posture.

[0:04:58] This is stretching your legs, your buttocks

[0:05:01] and now your low back.

[0:05:02] Round your back, try to touch your nose towards your knee, like a knee kiss.

[0:05:08] Hold the stretch for about 10, 15 seconds, and release.

[0:05:13] Beautiful.

[0:05:14] Now we all spend lots of time on the telephone.

[0:05:17] So what I like to do is have a set of weights right here on my desk.

[0:05:23] That way I can use my weights whenever I have extra time.

[0:05:28] So talking on the telephone, I grab that extra weight,

[0:05:32] I place it up above my arms, over my head, and bring it down and up.

[0:05:39] This is called a tricep extension.

[0:05:42] This works the back of your arms to firm and tone the back of the arms.

[0:05:48] Nice strong arms.

[0:05:50] I like to do about 10 with each arm.

[0:05:53] That way you really get to firm and target that muscle.

[0:05:57] That’s it. But make sure you’re doing this with a good strong back.

[0:06:01] Good technique is important.

[0:06:04] And always do about 10 with each arm.

[0:06:08] Now my favorite of all is to work the waistline.

[0:06:11] Sitting up nice and tall, keeping your feet flat on the floor,

[0:06:15] your knees at 90-degree angles for good posture,

[0:06:20] bring your elbows up, and twist side to side.

[0:06:23] This is working the waistline.

[0:06:25] Also, so important for flexibility of your spine.

[0:06:29] That’s it.

[0:06:30] Moving rotationally through the back really helps keep us strong, keeps us healthy.

[0:06:36] That’s it. Stretch, turn. That’s it.

[0:06:39] And you can really turn to the side this way and reach down, and up.

[0:06:44] Just like a windmill.

[0:06:45] That’s it. Take it to the next level.

[0:06:48] Try to do about 10 of these every single day.

[0:06:51] Sitting there, really moving your muscles.

[0:06:55] Try to do it each and every day.

[0:06:58] [TAKE A BREAK TO TRIM BELLY FAT]

[0:07:01] In the living room,

[0:07:03] there’s lots of ways to stay toned and tight and firmed up,

[0:07:06] right there in the privacy of your own home.

[0:07:09] Here’s my favorite way to tone and tighten up the triceps,

[0:07:12] the back of our arms.

[0:07:14] Now place your hands right here on your couch.

[0:07:17] Lift your bottom away from the couch.

[0:07:20] Now bend your elbows back and straighten the elbows straight up again.

[0:07:26] This is a wonderful way to tone and tighten up the triceps.

[0:07:30] That’s it.

[0:07:31] So you could be doing these exercises while you’re watching TV anytime, anywhere.

[0:07:36] That’s it. Your living room, the rec room.

[0:07:39] That’s it. We got two more.

[0:07:41] Try to do it for 30 seconds, rest, and 30 seconds again.

[0:07:46] That way you really tone and tighten up the triceps,

[0:07:50] one of the most underused muscles of our body.

[0:07:55] OK, now it’s time to work down.

[0:07:57] Let’s work on those abs.

[0:07:59] Here’s a great natural tummy tuck that you could do right there

[0:08:03] on your couch or a chair.

[0:08:05] So what you do is you lean slightly back from your couch,

[0:08:09] you lean back, pull your knees in, and reach them back out.

[0:08:13] That’s it. In, and straight.

[0:08:16] Bend, and straight.

[0:08:18] This is now working the lower tummy.

[0:08:20] I love to do this. It really works.

[0:08:23] If you’re just starting out, you could just do one leg at a time.

[0:08:28] That’s great too.

[0:08:29] Excellent for the tummy.

[0:08:31] And now for the sides of the waistline, tuck it to the side.

[0:08:36] This is now working the oblique muscles.

[0:08:39] Beautiful way to tone and tighten up the waistline.

[0:08:43] Cinch the waistline in.

[0:08:45] Just take your time, pull your abdominal muscles in,

[0:08:49] abs are engaged.

[0:08:52] Last one.

[0:08:53] That’s it. Try to do about 10 of these.

[0:08:56] You’ll start to feel it in that tummy.

[0:08:58] Excellent for your core strength.

[0:09:01] Then a bicycle.

[0:09:02] You can do it. Just bicycle your legs forward. That’s it.

[0:09:06] Sit up tall though, really feel the length in your spine here.

[0:09:11] Lean back if you need extra support on your back.

[0:09:15] That’s good too.

[0:09:16] And you could go sideways, working the sides of the waist.

[0:09:20] This will work your legs as well as your abs.

[0:09:23] And to the other side.

[0:09:25] Excellent exercise.

[0:09:26] You can do it right there in your home.

[0:09:29] Last one.

[0:09:31] OK.

[0:09:32] Now it’s time to work on the bottom half to make it your better half.

[0:09:36] So let’s all stand up nice and tall.

[0:09:39] We’re going to do what I call a butt tap.

[0:09:42] Butt tap to the chair or your couch.

[0:09:44] So what you want to do is stand about a foot away from your couch.

[0:09:49] You’re going to go down and come back up.

[0:09:52] Almost like tap your rear end to the couch.

[0:09:55] If your couch is low, that’s OK, just give it a try.

[0:09:59] The whole motion is working your hips, your thighs,

[0:10:03] and your buttocks to tone, to firm,

[0:10:06] and reshape the bottom half.

[0:10:08] That’s it.

[0:10:09] Try to sit back on your heels.

[0:10:11] That’s better posture.

[0:10:14] Great.

[0:10:15] We got two more.

[0:10:16] Really feel it.

[0:10:18] Last one.

[0:10:19] Excellent butt tap.

[0:10:21] That’s it.

[0:10:22] OK.

[0:10:24] If you can get in about 10 of those each day,

[0:10:27] you’ll start to firm up your bottom half,

[0:10:30] your arms, as well as your abs.

[0:10:32] Keep it up.

[0:10:33] Turn your workday into a workout.

[0:10:37] [AARP]