When people think of exercise, the first things they think of are joining a gym or buying exercise equipment. While these options are nice, they’re not suited to everyone’s budget. Here are 10 great ways you can exercise at home without spending a cent.
Dancing
Dancing like no one else is watching! You can just dance for the fun of it, or dance around while you’re doing boring things like cleaning and laundry in order to make those chores more fun.
Jogging
Yes, you can job indoors. You can jog in place while you are watching TV or jog around the house while you’re cleaning. The trick is to keep moving and not lose your stride.
Jumping Jacks
This classic high school gym exercise is great for building up a sweat. Word of caution though, if you live in an apartment you might want to do your jumping jacks outside so the neighbors below you don’t complain.
Leg Lifts
Lie flat on your back, lift your legs up in unison and gradually lower them back down. Be careful though, they’re not as easy as they look. The trick is to do them very slowly.
Lifting
Yes, you can lift weights even if you don’t own a weight bench. Start out simple with canned goods and work your weight up to heavier objects like gallon milk jugs refilled with water or bottles of bleach. If you want to get really creative, carry your weights with you while you’re out walking. You may feel silly, but you’ll work both your arms and legs at the same time.
Push-Ups
Many people hate push-ups, but they good for toning up. If you find them incredibly difficult, start out by doing them on your knees so that you’re at least working out your arm and chest muscles.
Sit-Ups
This is the key to killer abs. If you find sit-ups difficult, don’t try to bring your head all the way up to your knees. You can just lift your head until the point where you feel your abs beginning to stretch – an exercise commonly referred to as the crunch.
Steps
If you have steps in your home, it’s a no-brainer that going up and down them can be turned into an aerobic work out. Even if you don’t have steps, you can accomplish the same thing with a step stool.
Squats
Squats can be difficult for some people and really strains their knees. If you find this exercise too tough at first, simply sit down in a chair and then stand back up. Do several repetitions of this in order for it to be effective.
Walking
Why buy a treadmill when you can walk around your neighborhood or a local park and enjoy the scenery. Local schools often have tracks that you can walk after school is let out as well.
They keys to exercising are consistency and repetition. You can accomplish almost as much at home as you would at the gym as long as you stick with it.
About the Author: Tommye Bruess is an ultrasound technician student with very little time to get to the gym. He often works out at home before or after school and work and feels better knowing that he’s doing something for his body.
10 Exercises You Can Do At Home Without Equipment
