Home Exercises for Body Building

You don't need a gym with fancy equipment to build muscles. With a little creativity and some inexpensive equipment, you can do lots of exercises at home to build muscle, burn fat and get in shape. The ideas below are only a small sample, but they will get you started!

Jump Roping and Running

Cardiovascular exercise is important for any routine whether the goal is to get in shape or to become a body builder. You don't need an expensive treadmill or bicycle. Jump ropes are inexpensive but provide a great cardiovascular workout. Jumping rope at a moderate to fast pace will burn as many calories as running does. Running is the cheapest form of cardiovascular exercises. Find a safe place around your neighborhood to go for a quick run. Both of these exercises tone muscle and can build it while burning a lot of calories.

Squats and Lunges

Squats and lunges are great exercises to build quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles, when done correctly. The muscle-building potential of these exercises can be greatly enhanced when extra weight is added by using dumbbells or resistance bands, or household items like jugs of water. Using the large leg muscles burns a lot of calories and helps to burn body fat.

Curls and Dips

Bicep curls are easy at-home exercises that can build muscle. Again, use dumbbells, resistance bands or household items, and slowly increase the weight with each workout. Grip your weight in your hand and bend your arm upward at the elbow with your hand facing your shoulder.

For dips, which work your triceps, start by sitting on the edge of a chair. Place the palms of your hands on the edge of the seat and place your heels firmly on the ground in front of you with your knees slightly bent. Lift your body off of the chair and lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Lift your body up and repeat. You can add weight to this exercise by balancing a heavy item in your lap while performing the exercise.

Sit-ups, Crunches and Leg Lifts

There are lots of exercises to do at home for abdominal strength. You can do sit-ups by placing your feet underneath the couch and holding weights on your chest. Crunches can be done using no additional equipment.

Leg lifts are simple and effective: lie on your back and either place your hands under your hips or hold the legs of a table as you pull your legs off the floor, keeping your knees straight. Lift your hips off the floor in a controlled manner before returning to the starting position. Weights can be wrapped around your ankles, or you can hold a heavy item between your feet.

Chest and Shoulder Presses

Chest presses can be done while lying flat or on an incline. Either way, grip weights with your hands so that your upper and lower arms create a 90 degree angle. Engage your pectoral muscles to lift the weights up straight, and return to the starting position.

A similar movement can target the shoulder muscles. Sit up straight in a chair with your feet firmly on the ground. Lift the weights above your head, and bring them down to create a 90 degree angle between your upper and lower arm. Repeat and increase the weight.

Supplements

There are lots of supplements on the market today that promote muscle growth, but many of them are not FDA-regulated, so be sure to do some preliminary research about brands, ingredients and effectiveness. Using a protein supplement is one way to help build muscle because it helps your muscles to heal after a hard workout. With each workout, you should be aiming for sore muscles the next day. That's how you know you have torn your muscles during a workout, and they'll grow as they repair to accommodate heavier weight. Taking 30 to 40 grams of protein before and after your workout can speed up the healing process, so you can target the same muscle groups with less rest time in between. What supplement you decide to use depends on your desired results.

Warning

Before you start any exercise or supplement program, talk to your doctor about what sort of activity is best for you. Be careful not to consume too much protein as this can strain your liver and kidneys--they are the primary organs that process the nutrient.

Be patient with your bodybuilding endeavors. Muscles repair and grow on a microscopic level, so it takes time to see results. When you are eating right and balancing weight-training and cardiovascular exercise consistently, you'll start to notice that you feel stronger and look leaner.

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