Basic In-Home Gym Routines

When it comes to working out, there are many things to take into account. First, what kind of regimen would you want to establish? Is it an all-around exercise program? Will you work with weights and then finish with some cardio, or is it the other way around? Here's a fact that not that many people know: your body is one giant weight set. In some of the simplest exercises, you're actually lifting a part or all of your own weight. Second, how much time do you have to invest in your new plan? You may be working, or maybe you're going to school, and if you have kids, you can slice your free time into a small fraction of your day. Time is huge factor when it comes to working out. You can't just go to a gym on an occasional basis. You need to make a regular plan so you can get the definition and the stamina that you want in the time that you have. The third and most important factor to take into account is how much money are you willing to spend? There are corporate gyms that offer great membership discounts, but in the long run you need to make sure you're able to afford the membership.

There are privately-owned gyms, and independent personal trainers that charge more money in order to cover costs. These are options to explore as well. If you can afford it, then go ahead. Gyms have the best resources anyone can get, and personal trainers are the best people to see for reaching your goal. But the ultimate question is how can you get in shape while working around your busy schedule and your strict finances? One answer is that you can always exercise at home, and you don't need those fancy weight machines or a personal trainer to do it. There are many types of simple exercises you can do at home using nothing more than your body weight. These simple routines have the same effect on the body as the exercises it replicates in the gym. But just like every single type of workouts there are, there are beginning, intermediate and advanced types of exercises that will match the avid gym goers' needs. Some examples of the basic beginning workouts that can be done at home are:

• Bench Press: The bench press is a very basic exercise and one of the most popular on the gym floor. It tackles the chest muscles, anterior deltoids and the triceps. It's done by a person who lays flat on a bench and lifts a weighted barbell for the desired number of repetitions (reps.) while being spotted by another person. Dumbbells can be used for this workout as well. But if you have no equipment, and you're at home exercising, the best way to replicate this workout is to do push-ups. A simple push-up is done by putting your hands flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart, straighten out your back and only have the balls of your feet touch the ground. Bring yourself down to the floor without touching the floor, pause for a second, and slowly bring yourself back up. Repeat and continue until you reach your desired number of reps. Just by executing this workout, you're able to lift most of your own body weight. So imagine yourself at a gym putting that weight onto a barbell and you performing bench presses with all of that weight. Pretty impressive!

• Biceps Curl: The biceps curl is a basic, very easy to follow exercise. Just by keeping your arms to your sides with hands facing forward and then bending your elbows to where your hands reach your shoulders, your biceps and forearm muscles are in use. This is an exercise that should be done with a pair of dumbbells. If you do not have dumbbells but still want to build muscle, what you can do is you can use weighted objects such as filled water bottles or aluminum cans. However, if you do wish to purchase dumbbells, you can find a set that are not that expensive. Just get a pair of reasonably weighted dumbbells, a weight you know that you'll be able to lift for about 12 to 15 reps. If you don't want to use dumbbells, or perhaps you're out of town and you want to continue your regular workout plan where dumbbells are not readily available, you can simply flex your biceps and forearm muscles as you're making the curl motion, thereby adding stress to the muscles. Without the weights you're only performing a bicep "flex" curl, which will not build muscle, but it will absolutely give you better definition.

• Crunches: Everyone who has had a basic physical education course in high school should know the crunch. It serves only one purpose: to target the upper rectus abdominals. It's performed when lying on the floor, legs together and knees bent. With your hands behind your head, lift your shoulders and the upper part of your spine, feel your abdominals tighten, then lower back down slowly and repeat. Also, if you have it at home, a stability ball can help you with this exercise and give you more results. As you lay back on the ball your knees should be bent at a ninety degree angle. Same thing with your arms and shoulder, but when you lay back down, the ball will help your spine curve to the ball's shape giving you more full range of motion. Rise up, tighten your abdominals, slowly lie back down, and repeat for your desired number of reps.

• Squats: The squat is an innocuous workout. It hits Your quadriceps, hamstrings, guteal muscles and calves, every major muscle in the legs. If you do three sets of squats a week, you'll be seeing major results in the definition of your legs. The squat can be performed in a few different ways. The normal way is to take a barbell or set of dumbbells, put it over your shoulders, spread your legs to shoulders width apart, bend your knees and bring yourself back up. Another way of achieving this is with a leg press machine providing the same dynamic as the squat, but reversed. Instead of standing, you're laying back and putting a lot less stress on your back. This can also allow you to not only lift more weight but because it's done on a machine there's more stability. But unfortunately we all can't afford a leg press machine, financially or space wise, so what can we do if there's no leg press machine and no free weights to be found at home? There's always a wall; lean you against a wall, and put one ankle behind the other supporting ankle with that leg slightly bent. With that, put your arms flat against the wall for support and, keeping your back straight, slide down the wall putting pressure on the supporting foot that's flat on the ground. Get down to a ninety-degree angle and slowly raise yourself back up. Repeat the exercise until you reach your desired number of reps. Switch legs and do the same number of reps.

• Wrist Curls: The wrist curl is an incredibly easy exercise. All you need to do is sit down on a chair with a light weight, (Define lightweight. Is between 5 and 12 pounds?) And hold it up? With your palms facing towards you. Then just make simple flexing movements of your wrist. This will enhance your forearm flexors, giving you a nicely-defined muscle in your lower arm. If you do not have any dumbbells, just make a fist with your hands facing upwards and flex your. This will still give you good definition, but will not build muscle.

These six simple exercises done on the gym floor can also be done at home with no problem whatsoever. With very little equipment at all, this workout can help you reach your fitness goals. Also when working out, make sure to have a set plan. Usually three sets, eight to twelve repetitions per set is the standard for a regular routine. If you want to personalize or amp your workout, you can do your three sets but with the number of repetitions should descend in each set. For example, if you're performing push-ups and your first set is a total of sixteen repetitions, then your second set should be within the range of ten and twelve and your last set in the range of eight to ten. These are the basics to a good simple routine done at home where you can perform in the morning, after work or before bed and get in shape.