I have no time to exercise. That’s the response when most people are asked why they don’t exercise. The last time I checked, though, there are still 24 hours in each day. Eight of those we should be sleeping, and that leaves 16 hours. This means if you want to get healthier, lose fat and firm up, you could work out 30 minutes a day, in which case you’d have 32 chances. If everyone would just invest 30 minutes a day, 4 or 5 days a week, we would look better, feel better and have fewer health problems.
Another excuse a lot of us use is — ‘I don’t have the time or money to go to a gym.’ This excuse is more valid than the first because some people do not have the money to join a gym. However, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a gym membership to get into shape. Buy an inexpensive pair of dumbbells at a store that sell used sports equipment, or Wal-Mart. You can even find them at garage sales. And dumbbells don’t take up much space, so it doesn’t matter how small your living space is.
If you alternate weight training with your aerobic exercise and give yourself a day of rest in between, you’ll have a good fitness routine in place. In case you’re not familiar with equipment, dumbbells are short-handled weights that allow for hand grips, and come in pairs. Weight training builds your muscles bigger and stronger, which in turn burns more fat and gives you more energy and endurance. Muscle is living tissue and must be fed, and in turn, it works at burning fat even when you are resting. And women need weight training as much as men, but there’s no need to worry that you’ll get all muscle-bound because women don’t have the level of testosterone that men do. Normal weight-training will give a woman a toned look rather than big muscles.
Aerobics involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body, and that promotes loss of body fat and increases the heart rate. Examples of this might be walking, running, jogging, riding a bicycle, dancing, or climbing stairs, all of which are cost-free. If you want to make a small investment, you can purchase a series of CD’s from www.cardiocoach.com, titled Your Cardio Coach by Sean O’Malley, a personal trainer. The workout is instructional and anybody at any fitness level will be challenged to meet their own levels. These CD’s provide the listener with personal coaching, encouragement, inspiration, and motivation by an experienced trainer. The CD’s cost approximately $15 each.
The benefits of combining weight training and aerobics a few times a week are vast. It improves your health, gives you energy, makes you look better, gives you more self-confidence, and has a positive effect on your mental and emotional outlook.
Want to know the best exercises for every part of your body? Take a look at these:
- Heart. The best exercise is continuous aerobic movement (running, biking, etc.)
- Chest. The best exercise is push-ups.
- Forearms. The best exercise is dumbbell wrist curls.
- Abdominals. The best exercise is bent-knee sit-ups.
- Thighs. The best exercise is front dumbbell lunges.
- Feet. The best exercise is walking on toes.
- Neck. The best exercise is freehand resistance.
- Front Shoulders. The best exercise is military barbell press.
- Biceps. The best exercise is front dumbbell curls.
- Obliques. The best exercise is seated barbell twists.
- Hands. The best exercise is hand gripper or squeezing a tennis ball.
- Peroneals. The best exercise is foot circles.
- Trapezius. The best exercise is dumbbell shoulder shrugs.
- Upper Back. The best exercise is bent-over barbell rows.
- Lower Back. The best exercise is stiff-leg barbell deadlifts.
- Hamstrings. The best exercise is cable leg curls.
- Rear Shoulders. The best exercise is military barbell press.
- Triceps. The best exercise is dumbbell kickbacks.
- Buttocks. The best exercise is barbell squats.
- Calves. The best exercise is barbell toe raises.
- Achilles Tendon. The best exercise is machine toe raises.