My lifestyle is very inactive and it's showing on my waistline..... What sort of simple exercises can I do at home, without any equipment, that could help to reduce it? Bearing in mind that I haven't done any proper exercise for many many years, I assume I need to start off gently.
If you have stairs, you could walk up and down the stairs a few times, and gradually increase how many times you go up and down. I've been told stairwork is some of the better work you can do except that it's hard on your joints, so if you have bad joints you might not want to do a lot of that. If you can do situps or pushups or any of those kinds of things, there's always stuff like that... Jumping jacks. XD Bending excersices are supposed to be good and easy on the joints. Sorry I can't be of more help, I myself have trouble with this sort of thing... those are just some of the things I've done though.
All i did this summer was Walk. Walking to work and back helped me alot *Picks up falling pants* lol. these used to be tight! XD Damn, now i need a belt...Oh! I also did some situps and stuff! that helps also!
How about rope jumping? I know that you are looking for something you can do without any equipment but it doesn't cost a lot nor takes a lot of space and easy to use(obviously I mean you just jump a rope) I thought it would be good. And I think the reason why many boxer do rope jump is that it can be very good exercise and good way to lose weight. My dad lost some weight by doing situps but I don't know if it's the fastest way to lose weight.
Paul, I've taken up jogging this year. That, combined with watching what I eat a bit better, has resulted in my losing 15 lbs. I've been up to as many as many 19 lbs lost - but I'm consistently hovering around the 15 lbs mark. The key was to start really slow, and do some proper stretching. 'Proper' stretching is nothing like what I thought I was supposed to do. It needs to be really subtle, and I was referred to a book called 'The Stark Reality of Stretching' by Dr. Steven D. Stark. The other thing is having the proper shoes. I was assessed at a reputable running shoe store to ensure I had the right support. Good shoes aren't cheap, so it's not comletely without investment in 'equipment'. I would walk for 4 minutes, and jog for just 1 - for 25 or 30 minutes. When I'd done that for 2 or 3 weeks and was comfortable with it, I moved to walking for 3 minutes and jogging for 1. Right now I'm walking 1 minute and jogging for 2. I've been really slow to work up to this, but have managed to avoid any serious injuries and therefore keep doing it. I'm out 3 times a week. It was recommended that I stretch every day, even if I only get out jogging 3 times a week. This was because at my age (36) and having a desk job, the muscles have very likely shortened up over time and its important that they be stretched back out. Otherwise you're straining them as well as the tendons that attach the muscles to the bone, or the ligaments that hold the joints in place. Good luck. I feel SO much better! I'm hoping to take another 15lbs off in the fall. (!)
Walking is an excellent exercise and doesn't require special equipment. Work up to an hour if at all possible (begin with 20 minutes). The idea is to walk fast enough to get slightly our of breath but can still carry on a conversation with someone. Other forms of exercise is what is called floor exercises, push ups, tricep push up (chair, place hands on seat and hold yourself off the edge and let yourself down to be even with seat, then push back up) ab crunches, leg crunches, lunges, squats, calf raises (using book or cut off 2x4 to place ball of foot on) Bicep curls (using books or other heavier object that is easy to handle) use an old broom handle between two chairs and laying on floor, grab broom handle and pull up, good for the lats. There are others. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a book out a number of years ago about body building and in the back of the book was a section devoted entirely to floor exercises with minimal equipment required. Coupled with exercises should be diet considerations: limit carbohydrates in the form of simple forms (refined flour, sugars, pasta, etc) and add a bit more protein (legumes, meat, nuts) but the biggest thing to do is don't diet per se, use portion control. Eat what you want, but instead of a dinner plate, use a salad plate. Another method is eating up to six small meals a day, evenly spaced out. Good luck.
I have to second the walking suggestion, although I didn't actually lose much weight walking, just toned up. Some other suggestions are simple stretches, marching or running in place, basic calistentics jumping jacks, situps, pushups, that sort of thing. If you have a pool nearby, swimming is great exercise and easy on the joints.
I struggle with my weight too. Here are some simple things I do to help myself. 1. Walk. It's a simple thing to do, but it can help a lot. 2. Check your hunger. Before you eat anything, ask yourself, "Am I really hungry?" If the answer is no, don't eat. 3. Avoid bad ingredients. Check the ingredients list of the food you buy. Avoid the following at all costs: -high fructose corn syrup -corn syrup -hydrogenated oil -partially hydrogenated oil -monosodium glutamate (MSG) That's a basic list. I have a more extensive one if you want it.
i'd have to say just start with the basics. Pressups, Situps, V Sits, Ankle Touches, Dorsal Raises and Ab Crunches. All add to your general abdominal and upper body fitness, can be done at home with no equipment and can be easily graduated so that one day you may do 10 of each, the next 15, 20, etc
If you are concerned with putting on weight, I'd certainly follow Jayhew's excellent advice first. Once you have begun to reduce the fat via cardio based excercise and sensible eating, the "strength" type excercises could be used to tone up if you wish to do that.
I play college volleyball. we do 3 stair laps, then we do some jumping stuff and then sprints and then we do volleyball stuff then lift after practice. eat healthy too, dont eat junk food during the day eat plenty of fruits and veggies. I've gotten a heck of a lot more toned. it works really well. sit ups and push ups are good to do when you can. if your watching tv just do some situps while your watching
Hey Paul I'm right there with you I definitely don't exercise nearly as much as I should, in fact all I do is walk and by that I mean just your normal everyday walking because its not possible to make stuff come to me I have to get up to get what I want. if I could move things with my mind I'd be set I'd never have to get up and walk again (no I'm not huge but I am lazy!) sorry if I just offended someone.
I would suggest jogging. Take a small MP3 player (with a flash-based memory) filled with upbeat songs and some headphones, and you're ready to go. I guess this type of exercise is somewhat dependent on where you live, though. It's probably not suited for completely urban areas...but if you live in the suburbs or in a rural area, you can tour the scenery while you jog. Since you might not be used to jogging, you should probably start with short distances, like a quartermiles (about four hundred meters) or halfmiles (about eight hundred meters). Eventually, a two-mile jog will be no problem. Push-ups and "The Plank" help develop muscles in your torso....hm...what else is there? I don't really know. If you have any sturdy bars sticking out of your walls, you can use them for pull-ups. Haha...
paul i like surfing but dont drive and walk a lot also. i can eat any sort of food and dont put on weight though. my 2 brothers and dad are like this but mum can put a bit of weight on if she eats to much but. i hope you lose the weight you want soon
Every now and then I have an exersize burst where I do weights one day and cardio the next. However right now im too lazy and busy to do it. But I want to get back into it. If people want to lose weight I suggest they eat alot of healthy food and do alot of exersize. Thats the best way to lose weight, none of this not eating anything crap.
I find it hard to keep the motivation of exercising at home, if you're not naturally active to begin with, because it's way too easy to get distracted in the middle of a set. Anywho, I have a 30 minute Yoga DVD that I try to follow once a day. If I set the time aside, the video adds structure that I don't get trying to do stretching on my own. I picked my video up for not very much at a bookstore. I also highly recommend walking. I enjoy walking a lot and looking at stuff.
