Home Workout Routines

There are three elements you can adjust while exercising: frequency (how often you exercise), duration (how long you perform a particular routine) and intensity (how hard you push yourself). Recent studies indicate that intensity is the most important of the three in maintaining aerobic fitness, the most important type for promoting cardiovascular health. In one study, aerobically trained subjects were able to maintain their fitness levels when they reduced the workout frequency from six days a week to two days but still exercised at the same intensity and for the same duration. Another group of trained subjects continued to work out at the same frequency for the same duration, but lowered the intensity of their workouts by two thirds (as measured by their heart rates during exercise). After 15 weeks, those in the second group had entirely lost the aerobic capacity that their training had produced originally. Knowing how intensely you exercise, therefore, is crucial to the success of quick workouts.

One way of measuring intensity is the amount of energy you expend in the form of kilocalories, more popularly known as calories. A kilocalorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of a grain of water by one degree Celsius. For an effective aerobic workout, exercise physiologists advise that you exert yourself vigorously enough to bum 200 to 400 calories. To be aerobic, this exertion must be continuous and rhythmic. For some of the most common aerobic activities, the pace you should set to accomplish this in 20 minutes. (The exact number of calories you use will vary slightly, depending on your weight. Heavier people hum more calories per minute when they exercise at the same pace as people who weigh less.)

In survey after survey, the main reason people cite for quitting an exercise program – Or for not starting one – is lack of time. They think that exercising requires setting aside inconveniently large blocks of time that will interfere with their other activities. But most people actually do have enough time in their schedules for exercise: The key is to learn how best to manage that time. One approach is to design. an exercise routine that is as convenient as possible. Several studies indicate that exercisers whose regimens require little equipment and that can be done at home, at work or nearby are more likely to stay with it than exercisers whose regimens are less convenient.

Here are some tips for squeezing exercise into a tight schedule:

1. Walk or cycle to and from work. Or, if you have to drive or take public transportation, stop a distance from work and walk briskly the rest of the way – you will burn 50 calories per half-mile.

2. Use stairs instead of escalators or elevators. Climbing stairs requires 15 times the energy that walking on level ground does.

3. Spend your lunch hour or coffee break walking briskly or performing one of the office workouts. Aerobic exercise at lunch can also diminish your appetite so that you eat less,. an aid to those trying to lose weight.

4. “While watching television – Americans watch an average of 4 1/2 hours a day – jog in place, use a stationary bicycle, rowing machine or ski exerciser, or perform calisthenics and stretches.

A11 women (and men!) need to exercise, no matter what shape or size, young or old – and that includes you.

Where do you begin? What specific type of exercise will benefit your body – what are your capabilities and limita­tions? Is it enough to assume you are comparatively fit because you walk up a few stairs or stretch and bend a little as you go about your household chores? And is it true that you can achieve that long-desired perfect body shape from toning up different areas like thighs and buttocks?

First of all we must look at the importance of exercise in relation to our health. This surely is the primary reason for keeping fit. Women are particularly vulnerable to diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis (brittle-bone disease) and heart attacks in their middle years if they have been leading a sedentary life, sitting slumped in front of the television, losing muscle tone and even bone mass.

For health insurance reasons you owe it to yourself to take care of your one and only body – your working machine. It is after all one of the few areas in our lives over which we have control.

By the age of 50, around 44 per cent of women are overweight, compared with around 21 per cent of 20-24 year-olds. Are you a health risk?

Before we take a look at the right fitness plan for you let’s look at the physical benefits of regular exercise:
1. The biggest muscle in your body is your heart. Getting the circulation going ensures you are helping to efficiently pump gallons of blood around your body.
2. Bone-strengthening exercises like running, aerobics, skiing, swimming, brisk walking and dancing all help to maintain bone mass. Osteo­porosis is a painful disease and causes broken bones and humped backs in 1 in 4 women.

How many of us like our bodies, are confident with the body shape we possess? We assess and evaluate a person on an initial first impression – this includes their whole body image. If you are trying desperately to cover up your body, this will reflect not only in the way you dress but how you move. So how can exercise help?

1. Too often we only look at our faces in a mirror. Exercising in front of a mirror encour­ages us to take a real look at our bodies and get to know and control them better.
2. The sheer pleasure of enjoying the fun of exercise is reflected in our mental well-being.
3.Confidence increases. The way you move, sit and stand will show you have a greater body awareness and pride. Your body language will speak volumes about your happy state.
4.Inhibition decreases. When you are not in harmony with your body, you learn to be less tactile, less physical – learning to ‘reach out’ as a form of communication becomes second nature when you are used to exercising. •
5.As the body tension is eased out by working out the body, muscles relax and a good sleep induced.

Tired of buying workout equipment that don’t work with a darn but waste your money? Don’t fall into the hype of these so-called latest and greatest pieces of workout equipment as they can be time wasting, wallet burning, and last but not least make you more discouraged to workout. The very last thing you want to do aside from wasting your hard earned cash is to get discouraged from working out. Getting discouraged can be one of the leading reasons why most Americans aren’t consistent with their workouts.

For one, it’s obvious that we want to see results as fast as possible. And number two, when it comes down to it, getting the physique you desire takes time and patience. I know this site is dedicated to working out without fancy workout equipment, but there is one thing out there that I would suggest buying. And no it won’t cost you $500. I suggest you get an exercise ball.

An exercise ball or also known as a stability ball can be used as a fitness tool to help better tone your belly and lose that muffin top of yours. Normally you can buy an exercise ball depending on the size for about $20-$30. Trust me, that $30 will go a longggg way too unlike that fitness abdominal workout piece of junk you got sitting in the corner of your basement.

It has been proven through numerous studies that certain movements using an exercise ball can actually twice the amount of muscle fiber within your abdominal region when compared to Pilates or crunches. By doubling the toning power of these moves, fitness experts and scientists give a lot of credit to the ball’s natural instability. To boost the amount of calories you burn even more, I have twisted this home workout routine with what I’d like to call a “Cardio-Calorie Blaster.” Sounds nifty doesn’t it? Trust me, once you get going with this workout routine, you’ll burn away that muffin top in no time!

For each exercise move, do about 12-15 repetitions per exercise set. When you finish your set, go ahead and follow up with the Cardio Calorie Blaster circuit which includes: jogging in place for 30 seconds, followed by 30 jumping jacks, followed by 1-2 minutes of jumping rope. Do not rest in between the exercises within the Cardio Calorie Blaster Circuit, as it plays a major role in burning as many calories as your body can burn with a set time.

Reverse Crunches: With your arms at your sides, lie faceup with your calf muscles resting on the exercise ball. As you press your legs into the ball, start squeezing it between your thighs and calves. While pulling your knees into your chest, lift your hips 3 to 6 inches off the floor while contracting your abdominal region at the same time. (12-15 reps) Right after the set, follow up with the Cardio Calorie Blaster Circuit (CCBC).

Tips: If you would like to make this exercise more challenging to you, lift your shoulders and head off the floor as you raise your hips while also keeping your neck in line with your spine. Hold this position and then release by lowering both your hips and upper body. If you’re having a hard time with the given set, keep your hips down and just lift the ball off the floor with your abdominal region contracted at the same time.

Ball Curls: With your feet together, position yourself by first sitting on the ball. Next, walk forward using your feet and roll your torso downwards until the bottom of your buttocks is just a tad off the ball while your lower and middle back are on the ball. Next, place your hands behind your head while leaning back pressing the ball into your upper back. At this point exhale, tighten your ab muscles, and curl in a forward motion until your your upper back lifts off the ball. Hold this position for 1-2 seconds, lower and inhale. (12-15 reps) After this exercise set, continue onto the Cardio Calorie Blaster Circuit (CCBC)

-Tips: If you’re having difficulty with the set directions above, for more stability, place your feet wider apart and cross your arms over your chest area.. If you would like to make it even more difficult, extend your leg outwards until it’s parallel to the floor while balancing yourself on one foot. Do half the reps for one leg, and then switch legs to finish out your corresponding repetitions.

Rock and Rollin: With your legs about hip-width apart, position yourself on your knees. Next, place your hands on the ball in front of you and form a fist. Next lean forward and roll onto your forearms while keeping your body in line from knees to head, and your abdominal section tight. Continue with the Cardio Calorie Blaster Circuit.

-Tips: If you would like to make it more difficult and challenging, straighten out your legs and press the balls of your feet into the floor to form a straight line from heels to head while keeping yourself balanced on your forearms all at the same time. Hold this position for about 20-30 seconds and then repeat. To make it easier for you, instead of keeping your body in a straight line bend your hips as you roll onto your forearms. Or you can even roll half way on your forearms while keeping your body in line.

Pikes: For this exercise, start yourself in a skier-like position. Keep your body in line from toes to head, keep balanced on your hands, your legs together, and ball kept under thighs. Next, lift your hips up to the ceiling with your legs straight and tightening your abdominal section, and roll the ball onto your shins. Followed by CCBC workout routine. (12-15 reps)

-Tips: To increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can roll to the tops of your feet with the ball under your shins and lift up your hips so that your torso is as vertical as possible. Pretend like you’re doing a hand stand.

Skier: On all fours, lie on top of the exercise ball. You’ll want to roll the ball under your thighs by walking forward using your hands. Your legs should be close together, your abdominal region contracted, and your body should be in line from head to toes. As for the first step of this exercise, bend your knees pulling them to ball toward your right shoulder. Hold for 1-2 seconds and do the same to the left side and keep on switching. (12-15 reps) Followed by a CCBC workout.

-Tips: To increase the difficulty of this exercise and to make it more challenging for you, position yourself with the ball under your shins and as you draw your knees in, let it roll to the top of your feet. If you have hard time with the default directions, to make it easier on you, position yourself in starting position. Keep your body in line with your head to toes, keep your abdominal muscles tight and contracted, and hold this position for 20-30 seconds.