Exercise At Home
An exercise program does not have to cost a fortune or require fancy equipment. There are excellent exercise programs which do not even require a gym membership. Exercises which utilize body weight resistance can burn calories and build muscle without equipment. A home exercise routine is easy to create and maintain with little or no cost.
Walking is the first and best exercise for weight loss. Walking does not require any equipment except for a pair of walking shoes. Most tennis shoes or sneakers are perfect for walking. The exercise can be accomplished within the home or around the neighborhood. Walking up and down stairs is also a great way to burn calories. The stairs in a home can be just as useful as a stair-climbing machine in a gym. Step aerobics and stair-climbing exercises can be accomplished using just the stairs to the second floor of the house. Simple step exercises like step-lunges, are also easy to do.
Jumping jacks and leg lifts are also easy exercises, which require no equipment. Jumping jacks are a good cardiovascular exercise and can help to lower blood pressure. Jumping jacks also build muscle in the calf and thigh areas of the body. Leg lifts are an excellent exercise to increase muscle tone in the thighs. Doing several repetitions with both straight and bent legs can help to lift the buttocks and decrease fat in the thighs. Leg lifts are an important part of toning the lower body.
Push-ups and crunches also tone the body and build muscle. Crunches are core exercises which strengthen the abdominal muscles. Exercises which build core muscles can decrease incidences of back pain and injury. Push-ups build the muscles of the arms, shoulders and chest. Again, these muscles help to stabilize the core of the body and protect the back from injury.
Jogging and dancing at home are fun ways to add cardiovascular exercise to a routine. Jogging or dancing in place, with the aid of a radio or television, can burn calories and increase the strength of the heart. There are many fun line-dancing workouts that can be found on the television. Exercise television programs are most often included in cable packages. Most homes already have access to these programs. These workouts are free and are often led by a fitness expert. Recording a program that is enjoyable is almost as good as hiring a private trainer to supervise an exercise routine. These programs can be repeated as often as necessary and usually focus on different areas of the body during each episode.
Household items can also be used as free-weights for a resistance training program. Jugs of milk or cans of beans can be utilized as weights for curls or bench-presses. Empty laundry soap containers, filled with sand, make great resistance weights for home use. There is no excuse to avoid exercise, especially when there are so many home exercise choices.
Best Home Workout Equipment For Weight Loss
