If you are out shape and would prefer to exercise at home instead of at a gym, there are many things you can do. To lose one pound, you have to burn off 3,500 calories from exercise or reduce calories from your diet, assuming your weight is stable. You can lose weight through exercise alone, but be aware of what you are eating so you are not sabotaging your weight loss plan.
Start With Cardio Three Times Weekly
Your first week, do at least three sessions of cardio of 10 to 20 minutes. If you are very deconditioned, do at least 10 minutes of easy cardio. For example, march in place as you watch TV or listen to music for five minutes. Then, shift gears and walk up and down a flight of stairs in your home for another five minutes. If you are winded, just rest; otherwise, do one more round of marching in place and stair-climbing so your cardio is 20 minutes total.
Add Pushups, Jumping Jacks
Once you are able to do 20 minutes of cardio, three times a week, the bare minimum recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine, add a few exercises to your routine. Add 10 to 20 jumping jacks, then try 10 to 20 pushups either at the wall, on the floor with bent knees, or classic pushups with straight legs. Last, march in place very slowly for two minutes to cool down. Stretch for five minutes. This beginner workout provides you with 20 minutes of cardio and jumping jacks to stretch the upper body, and pushups for upper-body strength.
Circuit Training
Mix it up and do two sessions of circuit training by doing different cardio drills or exercises to equal 20 to 30 minutes. Circuit training keeps the heart rate elevated to burn calories and is considered cardio as you move through a range of different exercises without resting. For example, do five minutes of jogging up and down your driveway. Then stop and do an exercise called "mountain climber." Place your hands flat on the ground and set your feet down but heels up, knees bent. Keeping your hands flat, quickly step your right foot up toward your hands and back down. Repeat on the left side, and keep alternating. You will keep your heart rate up. Do this for a minute to two minutes.
Next, side-skip down the length of your driveway for another five minutes. After that, do 20 to 25 jumping jacks and 10 to 20 pushups. If you are physically spent, walk for two minutes to cool down. If not, do one more of each component. Stretch for five minutes after each workout.
Record Workouts
Record your workouts in a notebook as you increase your cardio by five minutes a week. Your weekly workout now consists of three 20-minute sessions of vigorous cardio, and two sessions of short bouts of cardio and mixed drills for a total of 20 to 30 minutes.
On days you have more time, lengthen your cardio to 30 minutes or longer.
Eventually, work up to doing 30 minutes, five times a week as you get stronger. That is what ACSM recommends for all healthy adults. Once you are doing that, you will be strong enough to challenge yourself further with working out in a gym with weights or jogging on a treadmill or using a stair-climber or elliptical machine. Recording your workouts will show you what works best for you: straight cardio or the circuit training.
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