Home Exercise: Utilizing the Weight of Your Body
Fitness experts have observed that majority of people join a gym at the start of the year. So if you’re planning to start your year with a big fitness boom, it would do you more good to consider doing a home exercise program that doesn’t use any equipment aside from your own body.
Lots of fitness advertisements are misleading. The term "selling ice to Eskimos" best describe those ads. Instead of telling people the hard facts about staying fit, they emphasize the need for exercise machines and gadgets. After spending hundreds of dollars on gym equipment, most people have no more space left in their houses and still remain physically unfit.
Whether you are on a tight schedule or left with no decent alternatives for an effective workout, you can opt to do exercise routines that do not require any exercise gadget or machine. This is not as difficult as it seems. Using your body only, you can still develop well-toned muscles and maintain a high level of fitness.
Suggestions for Exercises
- Pushups – Lots of people think this is too much work, but the truth is, pushups are highly effective. It targets the triceps, chest and abs. If your hands and wrists are not yet strong enough, you can choose to do pushups with your knees on the floor. Later on, you can add more effectiveness to the exercise by doing pushups on your toes.
- Crunches – Crunches work better than typical sit ups because they lessen neck and lower back pressure. Just lie on your back and attempt to move your upper body upwards for approximately forty-five degrees. Crunches can also be done in other variations so as to work out oblique muscles and the abdominal area.
- Walking – This is one of the most commonly accepted forms of exercise in all age groups and fitness levels. It is also surprisingly effective as well. Studies have proven that taking a non-stop brisk walk for at least thirty minutes daily is an ideal aerobic exercise and provides tremendous cardiovascular benefits.
Jumping jacks – Almost everyone is familiar with jumping jacks since childhood. Doing jumping jacks for five to ten minutes non-stop is a great aerobic workout. If you do jumping jacks at short intervals during the day, you will find that its fitness benefits will accumulate in the long run.
Jumping rope – On a rainy day and you don’t feel like going out to exercise, you can try the jumping rope at home. A few strokes with the jumping rope will instantly pump up your heartbeat rate, and get your sweat rolling profusely. Incorporating jumping rope with other fitness workouts is great for developing endurance.
Squats and lunges – These exercises are done for the benefit of the lower body muscles. If you want to tone your butt and develop strong thighs, include squats and lunges in your overall fitness workout.
Using your own body weight during workouts is a terrific way to start gaining fitness. Of course, as you gradually drop down in weight, you have to eventually use dumbbells or slightly heavy equipment. Always keep in mind that whatever type of workout you do, warm up before you start and cool down after the workout. Balance your workout with both cardiovascular training and muscle building. Elements.