Heading to the gym might sound like the last thing you want to do if you are self-conscious or feel inadequate working out in front of people. Maybe money is what's standing between you and a home workout routine, especially if you can't afford to buy any exercise equipment to help get you started. Getting fit does not require that you do either--in fact, you can do many things in the home to increase metabolism, build muscle and raise endurance without any equipment at all.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Jogging in place is simple; vary your routine by lifting your knees high or kicking your behind with the heels of your feet. Both of these variations help increase the heart rate to provide a higher-intensity workout. Follow your jogging with jumping jacks. Speed them up or slow them way down for variety. The jump-rope motion, minus the jump rope, is effective in raising the heart rate.
Running stairs is also beneficial. Take stairs one at a time until you can work up to taking them two at a time. Go up the stairs as quickly as possible and actively recover on the way back down. Active recovery means catching your breath without letting your heart rate drop back down to a resting state. For a more interesting workout, rotate through each exercise multiple times in a circuit fashion.
Upper-Body Strength Exercises
To work the triceps, find a step or place a chair against the wall. Face away from the chair and place the heel of both hands behind you on the edge of the chair or step. Bend your knees and lower yourself toward the floor until your upper arm is parallel to the chair. Push yourself back up and repeat. To make this exercise more difficult, straighten your legs out in front of you.
Bicep curls can be performed using soup cans or milk jugs. Start with the hands by the side. Bending only the elbow, bring your hands up toward your shoulders and lower them back down to the starting position.
Push-ups and sit-ups require nothing more than floor space. Keep the abdominal muscles engaged during these activities to increase the intensity. Follow correct technique, as this will strengthen your stabilizing muscles. Push-ups have many variations. For instance, after pushing back to the start position, jump both feet in near the hands, stand and then return to the push-up position and repeat. This move not only incorporates strength, but cardiovascular fitness as well. You can also place your feet up on a stair or couch during push-ups to increase intensity.
Variations for sit-ups include dropping the knees to one side, crunching straight up toward the ceiling, holding the knees in the air or keeping legs straight in the air during a crunch. A crunch is a small move in which the shoulders come up off the floor.
Lower-Body Strength Exercises
Wall sits are more difficult than they sound. In this exercise, you find a wall to sit against as if sitting in a chair with the thighs parallel to the floor. You hold the position for as long as possible, and try to hold it longer with each repetition.
Squats and lunges can work the lower-body muscles. Make sure you don't extend your knee past the toe on any of these exercises, as doing so may result in knee pain and injury. Lunges can be done forward, backward or to each side. The intensity for squats can be increased by doing one-legged squats or by adding a jump. For example, with feet shoulder-width apart, squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor, then jump up and return immediately back down until the thighs are once again parallel with the floor. This is an advanced technique so be sure to start with regular squats and work up to the more difficult level.
Stretching
Dynamic stretching is done before the workout after a five- to 10-minute warm-up. Dynamic stretches are controlled movements that work up to your range of motion without pushing past that range. Examples of dynamic stretches are leg swings, big arm circles, and arm swings across the chest. Take time at the end of your workout to stretch your muscles again and allow your heart rate to return to a resting rate.
Static stretching should only be done after your workout when the muscles are warm and pliable. A static stretch is a movement that slowly elongates a muscle to the point of tension, and then the position is held for at least 30 seconds. Do not bounce during the stretch to avoid injury.
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