Working out at home

Written by: Jeanie Chang


Photo via videofitnessgames.com

Now that school has started and I’m back to some sort of a routine, I’m heading to the gym on a regular basis. The gym I go to (Lifetime Fitness) has a wonderful childcare center, but yours may not. Or you may have an infant/toddler at home and you just can’t make it to the gym. That was me for years. Exercise is tough to fit into a busy day, but you don’t have to belong to a gym to work out.

You can be creative at home and there are some inexpensive options. For example, I remember doing this when I was pregnant and I was eager to get the baby out. I just ran up and down the stairs as many times as I could. Climbing stairs is a great workout! Another great workout from home is using the Wii. Wii Fit is a fun way to workout and trust me, you can work up quite a sweat. Have you tried that hula hoop game or any of the balance exercises/activities? They’re challenging.

Also, I enjoy working on my core by doing push-ups and sit-ups at home. And of course there are a plethora of exercise DVDs available on the market including the P90X workout which is an intense home fitness workout program which I have heard provides awesome results. (Though I’m not sure I’ll be doing it anytime soon!) One useful item I have that I highly recommend is a yoga mat. You can do all your workouts on your yoga mat in the comfort of your own home with your baby napping nearby.

I also recommend having light weights (either 5 lb or 8 lb weights) which you can purchase or make you own. I wouldn’t have thought of making my own weights until I came across this great article called “Fitness Trends 2010” on www.about.com that offers inexpensive and at-home workout ideas. Some of the ideas it talks about are filling up large water bottles (like 32 oz) with water gives you 2 pounds of weight. If you fill them up with sand or rocks, that will provide more weight. Or, you can fill up old milk cartons or orange juice jugs with sand, change or water for weights with ready-made handles. Very creative!

At least there are options for you moms out there who want to exercise but aren’t as mobile and can’t get to the gym.

Please share how you get your exercise! We'd love to hear from you!