11/1/13

Getting Fit On A Budget

Are you interested in creating a home gym? Or simply hoping to add variety to your fitness routine? 

If you really don’t have a lot of money to spend on your fitness routine, here are a few simple ideas on free ways to get started:


  • Use soup cans, water or milk jugs as dumbbells
  • Trade fitness videos with friends/neighbors
  • Trade fitness equipment with friends/neighbors
  • Do body weight workouts: Do push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges and chair dips. Perform 1-3 sets of 12-15 repetitions of each exercise.



How should these exercises be done?

Push ups – Perform this exercise on a solid surface. Position yourself so that your hands are directly under your shoulders. You can perform the push ups from your toes or from your knees. Lower yourself by bending your arms to a 90 degree angle with elbows even to your shoulder and return to start by pressing upward. (works chest, shoulders, triceps, back and core)
 

Sit ups - Laying on a carpeted floor or soft mat place your hands lightly on the back of your head. Using your abdominals, curl up until your shoulder blades come slightly up and off of the floor. Using your abdominals, slowly return to the start position. (works abdominals)
 

Squats - In a standing position with feet slightly wider than hip width apart, squat down to where the mid-line of the thigh is parallel to the floor as though you are sitting down into a chair. Your knees should not move over your toes. Press through the midsection and heel of your foot while extending the hips, thighs and knees back to the starting position. (works gluteals and quadriceps)
 
 I use an app called Squat to do squat challenges, but you can follow the one in the chart below

Lunges - In a standing position, take a long step forward with your right leg. Bend the right leg to a 90 degree angle with your knee over your ankle, then press back to a standing position and alternate legs. (works gluteals and quadriceps)

Chair dips - Dips can be performed in a stable chair or with a coffee table or bench. Sit on the edge of a chair and place your hands at your sides. Slide off the edge of the seat and lower your body with your arms. Lower yourself just so your elbows are bent to a 90 degree angle. You can adjust the placement of your feet closer to the chair for less resistance or further away from the chair for more resistance (works triceps and shoulders).


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