Like most entrepreneur bloggers, I envisioned the lifestyle of sitting at home, making serious passive income, and being able to devote my free time to pursuing my goals of doing absolutely nothing. Ideal life, right? Of course I had very little motivation to work out or stay fit, and began to spend my blogger income on pizza delivery, quick store trips for junk food, and it was starting to take its toll. Okay, it didn’t start to take its toll, it really took its toll as I swelled up like Violet from Willy Wonka. Maybe I have weight-gaining genes, either way, I needed to do a serious U-turn on the road my body was going down.
Everything Starts With Baby Steps
Being a couch-potato blogger with low motivation means I need to start small and preferably do just enough to stay average. I mean I could start a serious workout routine but really, who’s going to stick to it? Not me. I’d rather do a 10-minute workout video and finish it off with some extreme remote control lifts, while applauding myself for doing more than nothing. So that means I need most of my equipment to be in the vicinity of my couch-potato area.
High Intensity Intervals Taken to a Whole New Level
One thing to remember is that you need to get your cardio up for workouts to be maximally effective; usually I find jogging (or sprinting) to the fridge and back gets the heart pumping, and I can grab some yogurt on the way. This is ideal because yogurt contains most of my daily calcium, so I jog to the fridge many times throughout the day. I’d say on average I make about 10 jogging trips to the fridge per day, which adds up to approximately 200 feet per day. Now when you add in a few pushups and jumping jacks to the mix, I’m about two days away from being in the best shape of my life.
Building a Home Gym Without Building on an Addition to Your Home
- Free Weights And Dumbbells – Dumbbells are the ideal piece of exercise equipment for couch potatoes because there is a large variety of exercises that can be performed. Curls, rows and tricep presses can all be performed without leaving your couch.
- Resistance Bands – In addition to free weights and dumbbells, consider investing in some resistance bands to your collection of equipment. Resistance bands create isometric tension on your muscles as you pull them and slowly release. The difference between resistance bands and free weights are that resistance bands give you a constant tension as you raise and lower them, as opposed to free weights which are affected by gravity. If you’re steadfastly against exercise, simply think of your resistance bands as lengths of taffy and you’re a finalist in the World Championship Taffy Tug-Off.
- Thighmaster / Thigh Resistance Bar – To really shape and tone your thighs, buttocks and even arms, a Thighmaster can be essential. Many Thighmaster exercises can be done while sitting, making this an ideal piece of equipment for burning calories while watching Maury Povich put deadbeat dads in their place.
- Ab Roller – Little more than a wheel on handlebars, an ab roller is a very effective way to get a full-body workout, by focusing especially on the chest, torso and ab cores. Try elevating your feet on the couch for an even more intense workout, within a few weeks you should see some serious definition and improvement in overall physique.
It’s Better to be Safe Than Sorry
It’s important that you wipe your exercise equipment often, because sweat and moisture create an environment for a host of infections, including the very nasty staph. You should also always try to buy your equipment brand new, because used equipment (especially used gym mats) can host a viral fungus called ringworm. Ringworm is especially dangerous for children because it can infect their scalp and require medication which has very serious side effects for young people. Before you consider putting yourself at risk by buying used equipment, you should look at some reviews of exercise bikes so that you have a basic idea of quality equipment in your price range.
Freelance writer Rachel Cook admits to being a closet calorie burner. Meaning, if she has to workout in a closet to keep others from watching her pant profusely she will, so long as she can get full range of motion during her reps. She enjoys working from home because it allows her plenty of free time to exercise to her heart’s content without ever being witnessed. When she’s not busy sweating in secret, she can be found perusing the reviews at http://www.allexercisebikes.net with her cat, Patches.