How can I workout in my home?

How can I workout in my home? I get this question regularly. When I first meet with potential clients I explain the benefits of in-home personal training: saving time traveling to and from the gym, comfort, freedom for leering gym rats, using your own shower, etc. Not to mention saving money on gym membership. The comment I always get in return is that the person does not have a "home gym".

In this post I will give you the best way to outfit yourself for a home workout. If you've trained with me you know my philosophy is to do total body exercises, use a circuit format, do a lot of repetitions, do them in rapid succession, basically be efficient with your movements and your time. Many of my clients work primarily with their own body weight doing differing versions of the four base exercises: squats, pushups, pullups and lunges (more on these in an upcoming ActiveBlog post. Even many of my athlete clients do complete killer workouts without touching a weight. I have trained several clients to reach or maintain their body weight on the bench press without ever doing bench presses.

But it isn't realistic to think that you can reach all of your fitness goals without some resistance training using more than your body weight. So what equipment do you need. Here are the basics:

- Set of adjustable dumbbells. These resemble one single dumbbell but can be adjusted in increments of 2.5 or 5 lbs starting at 2.5 lbs and going all the way up to 100 on some models. They are made by Bowflex, Nautilaus, Weider, etc and come in sizes between 20lb max and 100 lb max. The beauty of these is that they have the footprint of one dumbbell so they can be stored under the sofa very easily. They are also easy to adjust. The 20lb variety are approximately $100, the 50s are $500 and the 100s are about $700. Keep in mind that 20lbs can go along way to building a solid fitness base for most people.

- Stability Ball. You've seen these large, brightly colored, inflated balls at your gym. Have you used them? The stability ball, or Swiss Ball, can replace an expensive bench in almost all situations. Using a ball rather than a bench forces your body to utilize muscles to support itself rather than letting the bench do the work. It makes for remarkable improvements in core strength which leads to strength gains on all exercises. Plus the ball costs about $25.

So how do you do cardio? That can the tough part. Having grown up in Buffalo I know the problems with getting cardio in during the winter months. Running, walking or biking are tough with snow on the ground or a howling wind blowing. And snow shoveling, while effective cardio, is no fun at all.

Many people I meet with have a treadmill or elliptical in their basement gathering dust. I could start a museum with the stuff I have stumbled upon. But the reality is that a properly structured workout routine can encompass cardio benefits and calorie burn without using an expensive treadmill or stationary bike. Don't believe me. Try this out for size but only do it if you are an established exerciser. Remember, it is important for you to have a doctor's clearance before performing any exercise routine that involves vigorous activity.

Perform the following circuit in sequence with no rest between exercises (rest only as needed):
5 Burpees (start standing straight up, place your hands on the ground and kick your legs back into a pushup position, perform a pushup, jump your legs forward, stand up and jump)
10 Turkish Getups (Lie face up on the floor, pull your feet toward your butt and crunch your upper body forward, use one hand to help push yourself up to a standing position)
15 Pushups
20 Chair dips
25 Full Military Situps
30 Body Weight Squats
35 Jumping Jacks
40 Walking Lunges
45 Jump Ropes

What about resistance bands?
I am not a fan of bands at all. The resistance is far too variable. Generally the tension is much to light at the beginning of a movement and much to heavy at the end. They are great for rehab but not for serious strength training.

What other types of equipment do you use at home? Add your thoughts to comments.

Paul Dziewisz
Active Personal Fitness
"You give us the effort...we'll get you the results."
www.ActivePersonalFitness.com
www.ElevationBootCamp.com
267.626.7478