Turn Your Living Room Into a Home Gym Without Spending a Fortune

Working out is one of my favorite ways to spend my time, but let's face it-gym memberships are expensive! Not to mention the amount of willpower it takes to actually get up and go to the gym in the first place. I shudder to think about getting up on cold mornings and going to the gym to work out before I open the doors to my practice. So that's why I recommend to anyone who likes their warm house much better than a cold car or a drafty gym that they turn their living room into a home gym.

You can spend thousands of dollars on gym equipment if you want, but you don't have to. A set of dumbbells, some hand weights, a jump rope and a couple of workout videos will do the job just fine. Try and go with a circuit workout, moving from one exercise to another without pausing in between. There are many trainers out there with this type of program-you might want to make them your first stop when you're shopping for exercise videos!

With a little practice (and a good eye for exactly where the light fixtures are) you can get the same workout in your living room that you can at the gym for a fraction of the price.

Fun, Easy Exercises for You to Do This Weekend

I read a quote this morning from a well respected comedian that said a weekend wasn't worth anything unless you spent at least part of it doing nothing. As you've probably gathered from previous blog posts, I'm a big fan of taking it easy on the weekends! That doesn't mean I spend all of my days sitting around in front of the television though. My weekends are usually packed full of fun, fast physical fitness. Give some of my fun, easy exercise techniques a try and reap the benefits of improved physical fitness that didn't leave you tied for hours to the gym!

1) Mowing the lawn. I didn't realize until I bought my first house just how much of a workout mowing your lawn really was-especially if you happen to own a push mower! Spend this weekend enjoying some landscaping, working up a sweat and making your spouse very, very happy they don't have to do it!

2) Hiking. There's nothing like blending physical fitness with some quality time with Mother Nature! There are hundreds of places across the U.S. with great hiking trails, so take advantage of them and watch your muscle tone build and your waistline slim down while you enjoy a taste of Mother Nature.

3) Swimming. With summer coming to a close, I try to spend as much time in the pool as possible. Aside from the fact that it's fun (especially if you forget swimming laps and take the kids in for a little splash-along!) swimming is a great low-impact workout.

4) Running. Find a flat road and an iPod and you might be surprised to discover exactly how much fun a half an hour or so of pounding the pavement can be! I love to run on the weekends. Not only does it offer me a great workout, it also gives me some peace and quiet before I come home to the Saturday chaos that makes our weekends memorable.

5) Renovations. TV stereotypes aside, it's very rare to find someone working professionally in construction who's out of shape. Why? Because construction is hard work! If you're a dedicated do-it-yourselfer, spend your weekends getting around to all those home improvement projects you've been putting off for years. Your house will be transformed, you'll get back in shape and you'll have a great time doing it!

Cardio Training? Do I Have To?

Last week I started talking about the merits of exercise. That's something I want to pick back up on this week. Why? Because not only is regular exercise great for helping to keep your body in shape and operating at peak efficiency, it also goes a long way toward relieving burnout and depression and giving you the energy you need to get through your day.

In other words, exercise is the original holistic cure-all!

When you start exercising there are two types of exercise you want to focus on: Cardiovascular training and strength training. Today I'd like to talk about cardio training, and why it's something you need to do on a regular basis. Cardiovascular refers to the heart and the systems that carry blood from the heart through the rest of your body. Cardio training forces the heart to work a little harder, and like all your muscles your heart is going to work better if you force it to get some exercise every once in a while.

Most experts recommend that every once in a while be at least thirty minutes, five days a week.

The good news is, anything that gets your heart pumping a little faster is great cardio exercise. Jogging is a great cardio exercise. If you're looking for something a little more low key, walking and swimming are great not only for your cardio strength but also to keep you moving, since you don't tire out as easily.

Have you done your cardio today?

Exercise is Still Fun!

Exercise is one of my favorite topics when I talk to my patients. Why? Because it's fun! Do you remember when you were a kid and the greatest thing in the world was running around playing hide and seek on the playground or hitting the ball at the park softball field? Somewhere along the way exercise becomes a chore rather than something to enjoy, something you have to do if you want to stay in shape instead of something you can enjoy doing on a summer evening.

Needless to say, most of us get pretty lazy about exercising. Who can blame us? It's boring to spend the day at the gym working out on the machines by ourselves, or jogging by ourselves, or sitting at home working out to endless workout videos. Do you want to know what the key difference between the exercising we did as kids and the exercising we do as adults is?

When we were kids we did it with friends.

Think about it. When we were kids we used to spend hours at the playground with our friends. When it was just us we could usually be found camped in front of the video games or in our rooms playing with our action figures. It's just more fun to be wild and crazy with friends!

When you start planning out your exercise routine, look for ways to do it with other people. Convince a friend to come running with you, and join an exercise class rather than hitting the gym alone. Join an adult basketball league! With someone to laugh and talk with the will fly right by, and you'll find yourself healthy, in shape and having a great time working out before you know it.

Working Out at the YMCA

When i was a kid the YMCA was everywhere-literally. I didn't know anyone who wasn't involved in something at the YMCA. As I got older and high priced gyms and programs like Curves became more popular, the YMCA kind of dropped off the radar.

There are only two reasons that people don't work out. They either don't have time or they can't afford the membership fees at those high priced gyms I was talking about earlier. The YMCA takes care of both of those problems. How? First, let's talk membership. Membership fees at the Y are only a fraction of what it would cost you to join a gym with more equipment than people on it, and that includes regular classes and programs.

Personally, I recommend their Zumba classes. I haven't tried them myself, but I hear good things.

The other nice thing is that joining an exercise program at the Y doesn't leave you with a lot of wiggle room to decide you don't want to work out after all. You've made the commitment, and when you're there you don't have telephones or laptops or televisions sitting in front of you begging you to find other ways to spend your time. It makes the time for you, forcing you to step out of your busy schedule and keep your commitments.

Really, what more could you ask for? And since there's a YMCA in almost every county in the United States there should be one just a stone's throw away from wherever you happen to be.