Simple Home Exercises
If you are looking to incorporate regular exercise into your day, you can do it right at home. If your work schedule or family commitments make it impossible to get to the gym, you can get a great workout using items around your house. If finances are tight, you do not even need to buy expensive equipment. There are exercises you can do using your own body weight that provide excellent results.
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Cardiovascular Exercise
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Regular cardiovascular or aerobic exercise keeps your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in check and is the most effective at helping you lose weight. Walking is one of the best aerobic exercises to do at home. Walk at a pace that gets your heart rate up to around 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. To calculate your target heart rate, subtract your age from 220 and then multiply that number by 70 percent. If you are 40, take 220 - 40 = 180 x 0.70 = 126. As you are walking, take your pulse. You should count 126 beats in a 1-minute period. Aim to walk for 30 to 45 minutes at least 5 days per week. For more intense aerobic exercise, climb the stairs at your house. You can walk or run up and down the stairs several times to get your heart rate up. Aim for 10 to 15 minutes of stair climbing each session.
Push-Ups
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Push-ups strengthen and tone the chest, shoulders and arms. You can do them on the floor or against a wall. Come onto the floor on hands and knees. For an easier variation, leave your knees on the floor; to make it harder, rest on your toes instead. Keep your body in a straight line and lower the body as a unit toward the floor. Lower down only as far as you can keep your body straight. Do not drop your hips more than your chest. Your hips, stomach and nose should all reach the floor at the same time (see the picture in Resources on Smoking Hot Bod). Push back up, but do not lock the elbows. Do three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. If getting on the floor is not an option, do wall push-ups. Place your hands at shoulder height and chest width apart on a wall. For a harder floor variation, place your feet up on a chair and put your hands on the floor.
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Squats
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Squats are one of the best exercises to tone the lower body. They can be done without weights, or you can hold weights in your hands or use a weighted bar. If you do not own hand weights, hold soup cans or plastic containers filled with water or sand. If you have ankle weights, wrap them around a broomstick to make a weighted bar. Stand with the feet a little wider than shoulder width apart. Reach the buttocks back as if you were about to sit in a chair. Do not let the buttocks go lower than your knees. Press your heels into the floor and come up all the way, but do not lock the knees. Do three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Try a one-legged squat for a more intense workout.
Lunges
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As with squats, you can do this exercise with or without weights. Step the feet wide apart, with the right foot forward and the left foot back with both toes pointing straight forward. Drop your back knee to the floor as low as you can without causing knee pain. Make sure your front knee does not extend past your front toes. Push into the right heel to come back up. Do eight to 12 repetitions and repeat on the other side. For more intensity, place your back foot up on a chair or stair.
Abdominal Exercises
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No workout is complete without exercise to strengthen the abs. When working your midsection, incorporate exercise for the upper and lower abs as well as the obliques, or waist. There are hundreds of different exercise you can do. For a basic crunch, lie on the floor with both knees bent and feet flat. Lightly place your fingertips behind your head, but do not clasp the hands. Press your back flat into the floor and lift your head and both shoulders straight up. Do not pull on the neck to come up. You should feel this in your stomach, not your neck or back. Do eight to 12 repetitions. Visit the link in Resources for Six Pack Abs Now for a good variety of abdominal and oblique exercises.
Considerations
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Start slowly, and always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. If you experience any joint pain or other symptoms, you may want to hire a trainer to come to your home for a few visits to make sure you are using proper form. It is important to stretch after your workout. Stretching helps you maintain muscle flexibility and goes a long way to prevent injuries. Visit Yoga Journal to search for some great yoga postures to help you stretch.
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