“I can’t afford to pay $40 a month for a gym membership!”
“I can’t exercise today because the weather is awful!”
“I just don’t have time to drive to the gym, exercise and drive home again. It all takes way too long!”
Whatever your excuse is for not exercising today, the reality is, it’s probably not valid! Exercise doesn’t need to be performed in a lavish gym. It doesn’t need to be performed outside. You don’t need expensive equipment. After all, humans have exercised long before gyms were around to take our $40.
So how can you exercise at home without a Bowflex, Total Gym or whatever the latest product Tony Little is selling?
The key to doing this successfully is to utilize your surroundings and be imaginative. There are many exercises that can be performed using no equipment whatsoever, and many more that can be performed using an exercise ball ($15), a few exercise bands ($10) or a family member (free). Minimal equipment exercising isn’t only for the ladies either; even the most athletic guy can be put through an extremely intense workout without lifting a barbell!
Some upper body exercises, which can be performed at home, are pushups, arm curls, overhead presses, bent-over rows, and tricep extensions. Using these five exercises all muscle groups in the upper body will be exercised. These exercises can be adapted for every strength level. For instance, the untrained beginner would start with pushups against the wall or the back of the sofa, the intermediate pushup would be on the floor (normal style), The advanced pushup would be performed on an exercise ball. These are just three of the many ways to perform a simple pushup depending on your strength level.
Some lower body exercises, which can be performed at home, are lunges (front, side, backwards), squats, hamstring curls, calf raises, hip adductor/abductor. Using these exercises all muscle groups will be exercised. Squats can be performed many ways dependent on one’s strength level. An untrained beginner would start performing half squats, the intermediate would perform exercise ball squats against a wall, the advanced would perform squats with holds at the bottom of the movement.
The third category of exercises is "core" or any exercise utilizing the abdominals. These include crunches, sit-ups and leg raises to name a few (of the many). All of these can be performed without any equipment. Also, the intensity can be varied to workout the 88 year old woman or the 24 year old NFL player.
So, the sky is the limit when it comes to exercising at home. Be creative in movements and in choosing “equipment” to help you achieve your fitness goals!
Note: Thank you Amy, this post is due to your comment from last week’s blog. Thank you for the question!
“I can’t exercise today because the weather is awful!”
“I just don’t have time to drive to the gym, exercise and drive home again. It all takes way too long!”
Whatever your excuse is for not exercising today, the reality is, it’s probably not valid! Exercise doesn’t need to be performed in a lavish gym. It doesn’t need to be performed outside. You don’t need expensive equipment. After all, humans have exercised long before gyms were around to take our $40.
So how can you exercise at home without a Bowflex, Total Gym or whatever the latest product Tony Little is selling?
The key to doing this successfully is to utilize your surroundings and be imaginative. There are many exercises that can be performed using no equipment whatsoever, and many more that can be performed using an exercise ball ($15), a few exercise bands ($10) or a family member (free). Minimal equipment exercising isn’t only for the ladies either; even the most athletic guy can be put through an extremely intense workout without lifting a barbell!
Some upper body exercises, which can be performed at home, are pushups, arm curls, overhead presses, bent-over rows, and tricep extensions. Using these five exercises all muscle groups in the upper body will be exercised. These exercises can be adapted for every strength level. For instance, the untrained beginner would start with pushups against the wall or the back of the sofa, the intermediate pushup would be on the floor (normal style), The advanced pushup would be performed on an exercise ball. These are just three of the many ways to perform a simple pushup depending on your strength level.
Some lower body exercises, which can be performed at home, are lunges (front, side, backwards), squats, hamstring curls, calf raises, hip adductor/abductor. Using these exercises all muscle groups will be exercised. Squats can be performed many ways dependent on one’s strength level. An untrained beginner would start performing half squats, the intermediate would perform exercise ball squats against a wall, the advanced would perform squats with holds at the bottom of the movement.
The third category of exercises is "core" or any exercise utilizing the abdominals. These include crunches, sit-ups and leg raises to name a few (of the many). All of these can be performed without any equipment. Also, the intensity can be varied to workout the 88 year old woman or the 24 year old NFL player.
So, the sky is the limit when it comes to exercising at home. Be creative in movements and in choosing “equipment” to help you achieve your fitness goals!
Note: Thank you Amy, this post is due to your comment from last week’s blog. Thank you for the question!
6 comments:
This all sounds so familiar. We all know that exercise can be done with little or no expense, but in reality I for one can't get the motivation to do it at home alone.
I need the discipline of getting out of the house and going to an organized environment.
When I am at the gym, what should I be doing, and to what degree should I be challenging myself to get the most out of my $40 a month.
Thank you, Jonathan!!! This really helps!
Thanks soo much. I was just looking at the exercise balls at Dick's yesterday. This may be silly question, but where can you find instructions on doing exercises with the ball? I don't want to hurt myself :)
Thanks for the tips Jonathan. We are glad you are back online:-)
How about this Amy:
http://www.exerciseballworkouts.net/
To Amy: When you are shopping for the exercise ball find one that comes with info. on exercises and how they should be performed. This should help with any questions about proper form and possible exercises. All of the products you would buy at Dick's probably come with this info.
To Elaine: Thanks for the comment, I know it can be tough to find motivation! Did you get the email I sent to you about an exercise plan? I just need the health history info. and i'll design your program. This way you'll get the most out of your $40.
Jon and Tawnya Thanks for the info.
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