If you'd like to burn fat, build muscle, lose weight or improve your stamina in the privacy of your own home, you have many effective workout options from which to choose. Different exercises performed at different intensities help you to create a variety of training routines. Choose activities that meet your specific fitness goals, rather than buying a generic exercise DVD or piece of equipment, and you'll increase your chance for success.
Beginner Workout
If you are new to exercise, you'll want to start slowly, improving your muscular and cardiovascular endurance so you can do more exercise, and at a higher intensity as you get in shape. Endurance, also known as stamina, is your ability to perform physical activity over time. As you build endurance, you'll be able to work out harder and burn more calories.
Start with non- and low-impact exercises, which keep both feet or one foot on the ground during your workout. Pedaling an exercise bike is an example of a non-impact exercise, while step aerobics, which has you stepping up and down on a small riser, is an example of low-impact exercise. You can buy a bike stand to turn your bicycle into a stationery trainer. Walking up and down stairs is a healthy way to get your heart rate up while working your lower-body muscles. Walking in place while swinging your arms, dancing with a partner or by yourself, boxing moves, high knee steps with trunk rotations and simple calisthenics such push-ups and sit-ups all help to create an introductory workout.
Intermediate Workout
As your stamina increases, you'll want to increase the intensity and duration of your workouts to burn more calories. Add weight to your exercise program to build more muscles. According to the Mayo Clinic, a pound of muscle burns more calories throughout the day than a pound of fat, so weight training pays dividends beyond helping you look better. Start with resistance bands or dumbbells and perform exercises such as biceps curls, triceps extensions, flyes and arm raises to work your upper body. Use lunges, squats and calf raises to work your legs. Sit-ups and crunches will help you to build core strength. You should not use very heavy weights if your goal is not body building. For muscle toning and muscle increase, use weights that allow you to perform 10 to 12 repetitions of an exercise before you fatigue or fail. If you don't know the names of the specific exercises you are doing, simply experiment with moving the weights in different ways to work different muscles, being careful not to strain muscles and joints.
Advanced Workout
Once you are able to work out at an intensity that has you sweating for 15 to 30 minutes, you are ready for aerobic exercise. The American Heart Association recommends aerobic exercise at least three times per week to help to maintain heart health. You can use step aerobics, a more high-impact workout following a TV show or DVD, your stationary bike, jogging in place, skipping rope or jumping jacks. Create a circuit training workout with your bands or weight exercises by keeping the intensity high for 30 minutes with one-minute breaks between sets. To make sure you stay in your aerobic zone, take the talk test--if you can't talk during your workout, your heart rate is too high and you have entered the anaerobic zone. Anaerobic exercise burns more calories, but is shorter in duration and more appropriate for competitive athletes.
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