Saturday, May 19, 2007 1:17 AM CDT
Exercise at home: grab a chair or a can for workout assistance
By COURTNEY KLEMM, Staff Writer
cklemm@herald-review.com
You don’t have time. You’re too tired. Your dog ate your running shoes.
Excuses, excuses, excuses. We’ve all used them in a lame attempt to make ourselves feel better about not getting off the couch.
Motivation is key when beginning a weight loss and healthy living program, and convenience is one of the biggest incentives to exercise.
For those who can’t afford a gym membership or don’t have the budget for a treadmill or other piece of machinery, exercising at home or setting up a home gym can be an inexpensive option and allow you the convenience of squeezing in workouts by your own schedule, including between household chores.
Privacy is one of the benefits of working out at home, said Becky Wolter, exercise physiologist and manager of the Decatur Memorial Hospital Wellness Center.
“Some people feel more intimidated in a gym setting,” she said. “Also, if you work out at home, you don’t have to plan around their hours of operation, and it’s obviously more cost-effective.”
Exercise videos are a popular option for exercising at home, especially for people who need a little guidance in their workout routine. Videos or DVDs are readily available, usually running between $5 and $20. The price jumps, however, for sets of videos.
While things such as resistance bands and exercise balls are common additions to home gyms, Susie Engle, health and wellness director for the Great Decatur Y, said those pieces should be reserved for people who have learned proper techniques and have built up the muscle and endurance for such exercises.
Common household items, though, work wonders for beginner and intermediate workouts, she said.
“The stairs are an excellent tool for exercise because you can walk up and down, as well as doing lunges,” she said.
To do a lunge, stand upright and take a long step forward with your right foot, leaving your left foot behind. Descend with the right foot until your left knee is touching the ground and your left foot is up on its ball.
Now, push up with your right foot back to a standing position. You can continue this exercise alternating stepping feet; lunges work your glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps of your legs.
“Lunges are good for the whole lower body,” Engle said. “When you bend, you want to be able to look down and see the front of your shoe. Never let your knee extend past your foot.”
A set of light dumbbells can be inexpensive as well, and as your body becomes accustomed to the exercise, like with walking or doing lunges, holding dumbbells provides added resistance and increases the intensity of the exercise. Don’t want to spring for a set? Larger canned foods can serve as a replacement for one-pound weights.
If beginners do have an exercise ball on hand, a beneficial move is to simply sit on it in front of the television or at your desk, Wolter suggested. This contracts muscles as you balance.
Or try not to sit very much at all. When making or returning phone calls, grab a cordless or cell phone and do laps around your house or up and down the stairs, Wolter said.
A chair also provides a simple means to getting exercise, Engle said. Calf raises can be performed by holding onto the back of a chair for balance and raising up and down on the balls of your feet, working the muscle between your ankle and knee on the back of your leg.
To concentrate on abdominals, sit with your back up against the back of the chair for support, Engle said. Place your hands on the chair and lift bended knees up either at the same time or one at a time.
Pushups provide great exercise for the entire upper body, Engle said, including muscles in the chest, triceps, upper back and shoulders. Beginners can use a wall by standing a little more than an arm’s length away and performing normal pushups vertically. Intermediates can choose to do pushups on their knees.
“These kinds of exercises are all going against resistance because you’re using your own body,” Engle said. “Muscle fatigue means that your muscles are getting denser. If you are combining diet modification with strength training, the scale may not be your friend at first because you are building muscle mass while burning fat.
“If you can do simple resistance exercises right in a row at home that work all areas of the body, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes, gets your heart rate up and is great exercise,” she added.
Contact Courtney Klemm at cklemm@herald-review.com or 421-6968.
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