Not everyone has the time or money, especially these days, to go to the gym and workout. However, many people still want to stay fit and in order to stay in shape you must eat right and exercise. Believe it or not you can get a full body workout at home with little to no equipment. It’s called the old fashioned way of course, but just like many things in our society today, you don’t need an expensive gym membership or any equipment for that matter to stay in shape.
You may want to consider purchasing a few small things to help you with your workout, but that is completely up to you. Here’s a few things you may want to purchase: a mat, small weights, a small stepper or something you could step on when exercising and exercise videos. First you need to make a space for yourself to work out. You could do this in a living room, bedroom or other room where perhaps you could move things out of the way and have some room to exercise in. Try to have little distractions around you so you can really focus on working out and make sure to have some water nearby to so you stay hydrated.
You should start by stretching. You need to stretch in order to warm up your muscles for exercising and so that you do not pull a muscle when exercising. You can do simple stretches like touching your toes, rolling your neck and stretching your arms out or you could do some yoga stretches. Stretch your leg muscles out by propping one foot against the wall and another foot back, lean in slowly to stretch your leg muscle out. You can also job in place for a few minutes and do some jumping jacks or jump rope. Once you start to feel your heart rate rise, then begin with your cardio workout.
Simple workouts that you can do at home in two minute intervals include the following: jumping jacks, high-knee jogging, skipping back and forth while kicking leg out, stepping out and back in while pulling arms up and down to your side(called the two step, take a big step to the right, bring left foot over and then step to left bringing right foot over, while holding out arms and put arms down when you step together), running forward and backward and kicking into air, dancing or dance moves, crunches or situps, neck rolls, push ups and swinging arms in circles. Use a stepping stool to do steps up and down. Use your small weights to work your arms more. You can do lunges with your legs while holding the weights in your hands. You could also use a ball to lay on and do exercises with. Use weights to work your arms by holding them down next to your sides, slowly move your arms up holding the weights in your hand, hold and then bring down.
Cool down by walking in place or around your house for two or three minutes. Thoroughly stretch your muscles again. You could even do some yoga stretches in order to stretch and get cooled down. If you need to relax, lay flat on your back with the center of your head down on the floor, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Take a few minutes to think about nothing and just relax.
There are many websites that you can find to help you find exercises to work out at home or you could buy a video and watch the video as you work out and follow it. There are many options you have, keep an eye out for free or discounted work out videos you could get. Also, there’s free workout videos you can watch on the internet. Check out these sites for free workout videos you can watch:
http://www.workoutz.com/
http://www.slimtree.com/
http://www.workoutsondemand.com/
http://www.fitbyfun.com/index
http://www.women-workout-routines.com/
http://www.nextfitness.com/
http://www.myfittribe.com/
http://www.pfunkonline.com/
http://www.self.com/
If nothing else you could turn on the radio or pop in a CD to listen to some music to exercise and dance to. Whatever you do, get moving! Other tips when it comes to exercising:
- Take precautions if you are pregnant or have any medical conditions, you may want to consult your doctor before beginning any kind of exercise routine just to be safe.
- There hasn’t been a certain time of the day proven to be better for exercising, choose which time of the day you think you will be able to keep up with. However, experts have said that if you have trouble with consistency, morning may be the best time to exercise for you, that way nothing else will get in the way of your exercise routine.
- The standard of how long you should exercise is three days a week for at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. However, it is different for everyone. Beginners may need to exercise more. Beginners should follow each day of exercise with a full day of rest afterwards and keep on a regular exercise schedule. If and when you do work out on consecutive days it is important to change the area of the body in which you are working.
