Need Ideas for working out at home

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10/7/12 12:34 A

I downloaded the 100 push-ups challenge app for iPhone.. and it is free! I haven't progressed as fast as they have it mapped out and have to repeat a lot of the days... but I am making some progress. During the 1 minute rest periods I do squats so I can use the time more effectively. Check it out if you have a smartphone.

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10/6/12 1:51 P

Try the Workout Generator at Sparkpeople: www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_plan_
generator.asp

You can pick out those exercises that you think are suitable for you.

Edited by: CHRISTINASP at: 10/6/2012 (13:52)

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10/6/12 1:22 P

I am an In-home personal trainer. I have used a lot of ideas from Brazil Butt Lift and P90x Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs to help my clients workout at home. There is so much you can do. The thing is to have a variety. Each month you should change your routine and challenge yourself more and progress. If you do the same thing day after day your body will not be callenged and that is where you hit plateaus.

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10/6/12 1:03 P

I just tried two of the chair workout videos on SparkPeople. I'm not confined to a chair nor do I have debilitating knee pain, but I was curious about how effective these workouts would be. I felt like I worked out! Try doing the chair exercises that Coach Nicole has put together and see if that doesn't get you going some!

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10/6/12 12:48 P

I started with different easier exercises from spark people web site....Try some if you are new to the exercise.I really liked 20 minute fat blaster from spark people web site.Now I am on Jillian Micheal 30 day shred.The best part is it is just 30 minute and you will see the results.You will also feel great. I hope you will find something that fits your routine and energy level.
Best of luck!

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10/6/12 12:47 P

Walk in the early AM, before breakfast AND walk in the late PM or early evening, after dinner.

Keep the count and amount (time invested in actual physical walking (or jogging of course) and log the distance covered (whatever it may be) and psych oneself for increase each week.

Walking twice a day is not as taxing on one's energy or drive or time . . . and one can work-up the distances and / or conditioning time surprisingly quick.

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10/6/12 12:22 P

There are some great videos right on this site that will help you get started at home. I use them when I can't make the gym. Also walking outside is a great way to start. You can do lunges, squats and pushups or modified pushups,planks, crunches. You can use a band for triceps and biceps, chest presses and lots of other exercises. Search some of the videos on this site and you'll find lots of ideas. Good luck. Start small and do more each week or day. Think of how much better you'll feel in a few weeks. It's worth it.

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10/4/12 11:11 P

Walking on up hill slopes...fast!

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10/4/12 8:47 P

I also have knee pain and have to be careful about the exercises I do. Here are some ideas that come to mind based on what you have on-hand....

Leg lifts - lay on your back and raise your legs - if you can't do both legs at the same time, then just do one leg at a time - if you can't keep the leg(s) straight, then bring your knee(s) to your chest as best you can - the point is to start building those leg and core muscles, use whatever method works for you now and build up - can also do leg lifts by laying on your side and raising one leg at a time to work the side muscles

Arm raises - standing or sitting with hand weights at your sides, raise your arms to over your head like you would do a jumping jack - if you can't keep your arms straight, bend at the elbow - do without weights if needed

Bicep and tricep curls (standard)

Shoulder press - standing or sitting with the hand weights held just at shoulder level (elbows in). Push the weights up towards the ceiling - do without weights if needed

"Push ups" (I saw this altered version on a workout video and was surprised at how much it still works the muscles) - standing or sitting, arms out to the side, bent upwards at the elbow - keeping the "L" shape to your arms, bring your arms to the front of your body (they don't have to touch) and return them to the sides - can be done with or without weights

Leg curls - lay on your stomach and bring your heel to your butt as best you can (don't use your hands, make your leg muscles do all the work) - if you can invest in a pair of ankle weights, you can increase the difficulty

Knee raises - standing up, bring your knee to your chest as best you can - difficulty can also be increased with ankle weights

Tips for lunges and squats...in case you ever decide to try them again (I avoided them for a long time). I finally discovered what I was doing wrong and what was causing my knee pain during these exercises....the placement of my weight. During a lunge or squat, keep all your weight firmly on the heel of your foot. If you feel the weight shifting towards the toe, you're out of position. If you feel yourself losing balance, you're out of position. Go SLOW so you can adjust before you cause damage. I can't keep up with the pace on videos and wind up doing about half of what they do, but I have to go slow to make sure I stay in position or I wind up injuring my knees. Also start with small dips and work your way towards larger dips as you get more comfortable with the position you need to maintain.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

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10/4/12 7:43 P

What is P90X2? Never heard of it. I used the Power 90 and the P-90X was not really made for women as you can see the ladies in the video's can't do the program as specified, so Tony has them show the easier methods. How do you have all this time to do these programs and work? That is my problem....and at 60, none if it is easy any more. LOL

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10/4/12 7:36 P

I would look for the Power 90 DVD, Not the P-90X one though. That on is too rough to start out and has jumping and stuff you can't do unless you worked another strength program first. I have both, but at age 60, I don't feel up to pull ups and jumping around like a bean in a bottle. Power 90 can be used over and over to obtain the results you want. Write me if you want. tnangel10@yahoo.com

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10/4/12 2:50 P

I also have bad knees (I tore my ACL in one knee a few years ago). And I work out at home now and I do mostly DVD's that I purchase or get from the library. I really like the Biggest Loser workouts because they give you a lot of different options for lower impact excercise. Jillian and Bob's solo videos are good too. You will want to do lots of squats and lunges (work up to doing it with weights) strengthening your legs will help the stability in your knees. I agree with walking regularly, it's good for the knee joints. Pilates are great too because it improves your balance, posture and core without the impact on your knees yoga can have.

I have found that using modifications, or figuring out a way to modify myself, I can do any video.

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10/4/12 2:30 P

For me, walking to the car is an exercise! When my two 2yr old grandchildren are here, they help me wrestle, which is a great way to exercise!

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10/4/12 1:19 P

For me, it's about doing it the moment I wake up. Recumbent bike, pilated DVD, whatever I can turn to. If I do it before I have my morning shower, I get it done for the day and feel all virtuous for the rest of the day.

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10/4/12 12:17 P

Treadmill, exercise bike, hand weights, jump rope, aerobics videos, etc...Or just put on your shoes & walk outside!

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10/4/12 12:43 A

you have a large room for exercising, even after putting in a tv/dvd. there are low cost exercise dvds at the thrift store, where you can also pick up hand weights and other pieces of equipment, but you will have to watch for them. if you do buy them used, check that they are working properly. i once bought a rowing machine that would bind up on the left side.

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10/3/12 11:19 P

Great suggestion!

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10/3/12 11:13 P

I suggest reading Dr. Sears 12 minute fitness revolution -you can get it used on amazon for around $7. I suggest this to you because I started this program and I'm now able to stop paying for my gym membership and do this at home (sometimes outside and sometimes in).

With this workout, you only need to find something -anything that will get your heart rate up and get out of breath to the point that you cannot talk for 45 seconds to 4 minutes. You could use a single step to step up & down, do jumping jacks, run in place, squats, lunges, run up the stairs -anything, as long as you get out of breath (create an oxygen deficit). What's great about this workout, is that you don't need more than 12 minutes of exertion and no more than 20 minutes total. It's ideal for home so that you don't have to have any equipment or anything and it is a short workout to prevent boredom (and it can be changed up).

The workout is similar to interval training, but it can be tailored for anyone who is severely out of shape. In the book, he gives example workouts such as this one: warm up for 2 minutes. Exert yourself for 45 seconds and then stop and recover (it doesn't matter how long it takes). Exert yourself for 90 seconds. Recover. 2 minutes. Recover. and finally 4 minutes, then you are done. (or there are other examples such as 6 sets of 2 minutes or starting with 4 minutes and ending with 45 seconds). He explains that by doing this and no more than this, that you will burn more fat for the rest of the day (he explains why this works).

I am on my 3rd week of this and have lost 8 pounds and can already see results by having a shorter recovery time in between sets. I started with only being able to jog (or do stair stepping) for 30 seconds, but I moved up to 45, then 90 -now I'm almost at 2 minutes. I never got that much progress from my long sessions on the treadmill & elliptical!

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10/3/12 10:33 P

To work out from home I use my belly-dancing videos, P90x yoga work out CD and a lot of yard work

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10/3/12 8:27 P

Grab your child and "wrestle" on the bed!

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10/3/12 6:42 P

I found that Pinterest has alot of workouts that you could do at home.

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10/3/12 4:33 P

In my opinion, Walk Away the Pounds is the best low-impact workout to do at home. You can get the DVDs on Amazon for $10. It's so simple and a great workout.

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10/3/12 3:17 P

I have minor birth defects in both knees, and have always had a hard time finding exercises which were gentle on the knees. However, I'll be honest: walk. Just walk. It doesn't have to be fast to start out with (you can build up the speed as you go), it doesn't have to be long distances to start with (you can build up to that, too). Just get outdoors and take a walk. (And for the record, I'm presently training for two half-marathons I'll be doing next year, one in February and one in September. Who says having body weaknesses stops you from doing what you want to do?) :)

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10/3/12 2:23 P

TRX with door anchor!

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10/3/12 2:10 P

I'm a big fan of Zumba Fitness for the Xbox Kinect. Definitely gets your blood pumping and you don't have to feel silly if you mess up because no one else is around except the dogs :)

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10/3/12 1:29 P

I really like the Tiffany Rothe workouts on youtube. Do you have a way to have a computer or laptop in your workout space with you? She has an entirely seated workout that's great for the upper body.

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10/3/12 10:48 A

P90X, P90X2, Supreme 90 Day, The Firm Express, Yoga Videos, Tae Bo, Kickboxing Videos, Running outdoors, walking, chins ups, using a exercise ball, pushups, sit ups jumping rope anything you can do at home almost stuff that we did as kids growing up ......

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10/3/12 9:04 A

Im going to agree with the youtube suggestion. Also, the low impact home workouts I like are: any yoga video, the butt bible, and walk away the pounds.

I had bad knees, but just from the excess weight. I started with the butt bible, which strengthened my lower body. Between that and yoga, I was much better off and able to do high intensity exercises.

The butt bible is great, and I lost a lot of weight doing it. Just watch your form. If you dork up your form, your knees will hurt way more.

I always focus on form first when I do a video, then when I am comfortable, I do it at the speed in the video.

If your knees are bad for another reason, just stick to the butt bible and walking vids. You can still lose a lot of weight with just those.

Edited by: DANAEBOYCE1 at: 10/3/2012 (09:10)

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10/3/12 6:34 A

I agree, dance videos really burn those calories! I have one for my wii, and as I watch my heart rate monitor, they are really burning!

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10/3/12 1:41 A

Dance Central if you have an Xbox 360 Kinect. Not only are you playing a video game but your burning calories. I know after an hour of playing, I was pouring down sweat.

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10/2/12 10:50 P

Walk Away the Pounds. It's cheap, very effective, and I used it for a month to build up my exercise endurance before going to Power 90. For strength training I really like the videos on this website. You can use hand weights or resistance bands and you don't need a ton of space!

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10/2/12 10:05 P

I love Katherine Freidrich for at home workouts, especially her weight training videos. It is like getting a personal trainer for way less than you would pay in a gym. After doing her DVD's for 6 weeks, I really noticed a difference.

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10/2/12 9:16 P

Check out YouTube there's a gazillion free workouts.

Good luck

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10/2/12 7:42 P

I bought a recumbent bicycle, which offers many options for a low impact workout.

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10/2/12 7:42 P

I think any of the Leslie sandstone workouts are great. They are not high impact,which with bad knees is what you want to avoid. When I first started working out I liked to do walk away the pounds with Leslie or beginner Pilates workouts, both are low impact.

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10/2/12 6:29 P

i have sore knees and i do a chair exercise tape.there are several dvds out there to buy.also have a toning band and a wii.the problem is getting them out and using.im glad im not the only one who doesnt want to do them in front of people.

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10/2/12 4:08 P

I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles to find ways to work out at home. Actually - I don't so much have a problem finding workouts as I do finding the time. I guess there's also a bit of vanity in there as I don't like anybody watching me - so I wait until everybody else is in bed before I'll start any workout. The problem? I'm usually totally exhaused by then.
I know I have no excuse - I have a gazelle, a Walk away the Pounds video, several pilates videos, 3 resistance bands and a Wii fit!!! I really have no excuse. LOL!!
These posts have given me motivation.
Thanks :-)

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10/2/12 2:50 P

I got on Youtube last night and found some old Billy Blanks Tae Bo videos. I'm very excited about doing one of them tonight!

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10/2/12 2:20 P

I love the sp videos, and I found out there are a TON of videos on netflix! I copy them onto my laptop so I can keep them. I LOVE Gilad... he's been around forever but his workouts are really effective and very motivating.

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10/2/12 11:46 A

I have been working out at home for years using DVDs. There are so many choices--aerobics, weight training, pilates, yoga, barre, etc etc. I highly recommend the Collage Videos website (www.collagevideo.com) for ordering DVDs. The prices are reasonable, the selection is huge, and I always receive videos quickly. Plus you have 30 days to return videos that you don't like.

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10/2/12 8:10 A

Totalfitnessdvd.com is a great place to get workout DVD's and the previews are long enough that they give you ideas if you don't want to actually purchase DVD's.

I'm personally a DVD girl. Have been since 1997. You can never have enough DVD's and options.

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10/2/12 12:11 A

Why short on ideas?
I live where I cannot attend a gym...and I have a TINY space in which to workout...but with SP VIDEOS there is no problem! They're fantastic...for every kind of need, every bodytype, every condition....adaptable for every age! I use different videos and workout in a space of 2mx2m.
Sparkpeople!

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10/1/12 7:57 P

Robin, I have a fitness chair. I can do resistance training for upper and lower body with little standing. I have failed low back syndrome and am rehabbing from a recent hip replacement. The chair is called the VQ action chair. Also water exercise, even just walking is great for building your leg muscles.

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10/1/12 7:34 P

As stuck as I am mostly in bed, I am constantly moving my upper body around, doing things. When I remember, I catch the PBS lady doing her chair exercises once in a while.

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10/1/12 5:14 P

I use the spark people videos and walk away the pounds DVDs as others have mentioned. I also love any of the Jillian Michael's DVDs. I have a treadmill at home and some dumbbells in various weights, which are well worth the money. I can just go downstairs and take a long walk or jog when the weather is horrible..no excuses

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10/1/12 4:58 P

Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Pounds". I have the 4 mile DVD which is broken up into 1 mile increments. I do the 15 min mile workout a lot of mornings before going to work

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10/1/12 4:24 P

I wish I had found this article sooner, but it may help you:
www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_artic
les.asp?id=363
It details some stretches and strength training to build up knee strength and decrease existing pain.

Some space, hand weights, and a yoga mat should be great for a start, but you can pick up resistance bands for less than $20 for a set that should keep you going for a while. Also, check yard sales and Goodwill every so often; I'm watching for a treadmill and/or exercise bike on the cheap for when you do not feel like flapping around to cheerful people on the TV (DVDs do not do it for me, though, I think I'm weird like that).

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10/1/12 4:10 P

BeFit in 90 is a great 90 day free program on YouTube, but it's not a ton of good solid strength training. Check your local library for DVDs, find a few favorites and rotate them. Get some resistance band from WalMart. They'll give you more resistance than smaller handweights.

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10/1/12 3:23 P

Check out the SparkPeople videos...there are a lot of different things to choose from to suit your fitness level and injury level! Good luck

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10/1/12 3:15 P

I have bad knees and have been a couch potato for the last few years... I have just cleaned out my junk room and have about a 10 X 10 room to try to do some work outs in...

I don't have a lot of money to buy equipment but I do have some hand weights and a yoga mat...

I need Ideas of that I can do with out major exercise equipment and that won't kill my knees and that I will be able to do to build up to being able to work out more.

I do have a DVD player the I can use and a public library that I might be able to get the DVDS at.

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

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