You don't need much to start building your own home gym. For less than the cost of an annual fitness club membership, you can purchase most of the equipment you need to workout at home. Good starting pieces include an aerobic step, a physioball and several sets of dumbbells. You can get away with not investing in a cardio machine like a treadmill or elliptical by using the step, a set of stairs in your house or by purchasing a $10 jump rope for cardiovascular exercise.
Cardiovascular Workouts
To work your heart and lungs, perform at least 20 to 30 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise each day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests performing a talk test to determine your intensity level. If you can carry on a conversation while exercising, but you're working too hard to be able to sing, then you're probably working at a moderate intensity level.
You can perform cardio exercise at home in a number of ways: walk or jog up and down your stairs, use your aerobic step to step in place while watching your favorite TV show, jump rope during the commercial breaks or even just walk or jog in place. If you find yourself getting bored, ramp up the intensity by splitting up your cardio routine with sets of body weight exercises. Jog in place for five minutes, then do a minute of walking lunges, jump rope for five minutes, followed by a minute-long wall sit—continue this cycle until you've reached your 20 to 30 minute cardio goal.
Weight Lifting Workouts
Use your aerobic step and your physioball as benches for performing weight lifting routines at home. Any exercise you would normally perform on a bench, such as a dumbbell press, seated shoulder press, concentration curl or dumbbell row, you can easily perform using the aerobic step. To engage more muscles and to enhance your balance and coordination, use a stability ball as a bench. Sit or lie with your back against the ball, using your core muscles and legs to mimic the shape your body would form if the ball were, in fact, flat. Additionally, use the ball for lunges, wall squats and even hamstring curls for a full-body workout.
For a full body weight lifting routine, switch back and forth between an upper body and a lower body exercise. Perform weight training at least twice a week for a minimum of 20 minutes each session.
Workout Videos
If you don't feel comfortable making your own home workouts, or if you need motivation from an external source, look into home workout videos or online videos. Workout videos range from high-intensity weight training routines to beginner dance videos. Some videos focus on strength training, flexibility or cardiovascular fitness, and some videos provide you with a little bit of each. Many videos now provide users with options to adjust or change the workout based on your own knowledge and ability level, or to choose programs based on the time you have available to exercise.
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