How to Exercise at Home

Don't have money for a gym membership? Don't have a ride? Don't have a sitter? Exercise at home!

• Use a one-step stool for step aerobics. (Make sure it is sturdy, not slippery, and not too high.) Even if you don't have a step stool, you can do the same workout routine on level ground or a sidewalk curb.
• Do tricep dips on the stool, a chair, or the couch.
• Instead of using free weights, lift tote bags filled with canned goods or heavy textbooks, water jugs, or containers of liquid laundry detergent. The best exercise using bags is bicep curls. For water or detergent, the best are tricep and shoulder extensions.
• Get in the habit of always doing something physical while watching TV: stretch and do squats, calf raises, sit-ups, leg lifts, or push-ups. TV will make time go faster and distract you from discomfort.
• Listen to upbeat music you can dance to while cleaning. Music makes things fun and makes time fly by. You’ll end up cleaning more, which—along with the dancing—will make you burn more calories.
• Install a pull-up bar in a doorway for a quick, convenient workout every time you pass by that door.
• Buy a jump rope or do jumping jacks when you have little breaks throughout the day, such as during commercials, while the pasta is boiling, or while waiting for something to load on the computer. Those few minutes of exercise several times a day add up to big results!
• Take advantage of everyday opportunities to move: walk to your mailbox, give your kids piggy-back rides, offer to get drinks for everyone. Do anything but sit. A study found that even people who constantly shake their legs or tap their feet burn up to 300 more calories a day!