We all know that it is important to maintain an optimal level of health and fitness. The bad news is that not everyone can afford to pay high prices for personal trainers, fitness equipment or gym memberships, so they must find a way to achieve fitness at home. The good news is that there are several sound options for improving your fitness level right in the comfort of your own home.
Body Weight Exercises
Body weight exercises are exercises that use your body and gravity to supply resistance. These exercises do not require any equipment. Most body weight exercises also require very little space to complete. This makes body weight exercises a great choice for a home workout. A few examples of body weight exercises include: push-ups, lunges, mountain climbers, squat jumps and sit-ups.
Equipment Around the Home
There are plenty of items around your home that can be used as exercise equipment. Chairs and benches can be used for exercises such as dips or decline pushups. Soup and vegetable cans can be used as light dumbbells. Just be sure that anything you use as a weight is durable and easy to hold. A set of stairs may be used for cardio activities.
Making Equipment
You can also make your own fitness equipment using items you can find around your home or that you can purchase for a nominal amount of money. An easy way to make hand weights is to find empty milk or water jugs and fill them with various items like water, sand, beans, or pennies. You may need to use wraps or towels to maintain a comfortable grip throughout the entire workout. Broom handles can be used as light weight barbells for exercises such as overhead squats and various stretches.
Free workouts, videos, music and computer software
There many ways that you can get your hands on free workout programs, exercise lists, videos, music and computer software to instruct, track, and motivate your workouts. A simple online search will bring up many choices for home workout programs, but the best places for to start are national fitness organizations such as the ACSM or ACE. Another option is to check out your local library. In addition to books on the subject, many libraries also carry video options.
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