Effective Training at Home or the Office

For many people, severe anxiety sets in at the thought of exercising with a group of people. As a personal trainer, I've heard this concern many times. Also, as a mother, I know how hard it is to separate time to drive to the gym, work out, then drive home and shower. For many this is enough of an excuse to not workout. Not working out should not be an option, as regular fitness is advised for everyone.

Does this mean you must 'suck it up' and go to the gym? No. Sure, the gym has machinery and classes that wouldn't be available to you at home, but when your are first starting out, those can be as scary as the audience.

My advice is to spend 4 - 6 weeks working out at home. This will have several benefits.
1. You get used to a schedule that includes time for fitness.
2. Your body gets used to this type of movement, making the transition to the machines and classes at the gym less awkward.
3. Your mind gets more comfortable with exercise. If you are comfortable with the movement you are less anxious if someone sees you doing it.

When working out alone at home there are some concerns you must face.
1. Cardio. You need two types of Cardio-Respiratory exercise a day. Endurance training. This means moving repetitively and continuously for 20 - 40 minutes at about 4 - 6 RPE*. This means, when working out at home, you must find a way of endurance Cardio. The most common is going for a walk, or bike ride, a hike, but you can also think of Grocery Shopping (pushing a cart with only minimal breaks), walking up the stairs at home/work etc. There are many ways to incorporate this into your schedule.
2. Equipment. Honestly you don't need any equipment. But, the challenge comes in that you will need to change up your workouts regularly. Without equipment, this is more difficult to accomplish. For a basic home workout I suggest:
1 set 5 lbs dumbbells
1 set 8 lbs dumbbells
1 55 - 75 cm Stability Ball.
1 4 - 6 lb Medicine Ball
1 set of Cables (they can be fitted into any door frame and are extremely effective)
Note: men should increase the dumbbells to 8 and 10 lbs.
3. Position. Keeping to the proper position through-out all movement is extremely important. For one it will work the proper muscles. Secondly, it will help your posture, alleviating things like low back pain. Finally it will help prevent injury. You can be injured from exercising incorrectly. So, maintaining good form and proper weight management is vitally important.
4. Plateaus. A plateau is a phenomena that occurs when you're working out regularly but no physical changes are occurring. There are a few reasons this could occur. Changing your workout regularly, preventing repeating the same workouts over and over, can help up the caloric burn, revving the effectiveness of your workouts.

*RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. Simply put, its how tiring an exercise is. It is a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being asleep in bed (not hard at all) and 10 being sprinting from an armed gunman. At the middle of the scale, where endurance training is, you should be out of breath only to the point that you could still introduce yourself without gasping. If you have to suck in a breath between each word, you're working too hard. But, yet, you should not be able to sing the national anthem either. You should be sweating lightly, and be slightly tired.

So, how do you workout at home? Here's a couple sample workout programs:

Weightless:
Cardio:
Walk outside 30 minutes.
Strength:
Lunge Knee Lift
Push-up
Plank
Arnold Press
Squat Set
Step-up Lateral Lifts
Core:
Hydrants
Crunch
Side Crunch

Reps: 15 ; Sets: 3

With Dumbbells & Stability Ball:
Cardio:
Up stairs / down stairs 30 minutes
Strength:
Ball-Wall Squat Curls
Lateral Raise Twists
Lunge-Curl-Overhead Press
Sumo
Ball Bridge Leg Curl
Ball Pullovers
Core:
Ball Crunch
Ball Crossover Crunch
Ball Twists

Reps: 12 ; Sets: 3

Exercise Descriptions:

Weightless:

Hydrants
Kneel on all fours, with hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under hips. Roll back your shoulders and tighten your abs. Lift one knee out to the side to hip level (like a dog doing his business on a hydrant ;D). Release knee back toward the mat.

Knee Lifts
Stand tall in Set Position. Hands can be wherever is comfortable (usually on hips or held at chin level). Lift one foot off of the floor bending the knee. Try to bring the knee as high to your chest as possible without sloughing. Lower foot to the floor and repeat with the other leg.

Lunge Knee
Set position - (I like my hands up at chin level for this one). Step one foot back about 2 1/2 feet. Lower rear knee to the floor until both knees are bent to 90. Without straightening first - push the lead heel into the floor to come up, balancing on the lead foot as you lift the rear knee to the chest. Release to set.

Push-ups
Lay on mat on your belly. Place hands directly wider than your shoulders, legs outstretched with the feet hip width apart. Curl toes into the mat. Push your body off of the mat, balancing on your hands and toes. Tighten your abs to keep your spine straight and roll your shoulders away from your ears. Bend your elbows
lowering your chest toward the floor - only until your elbows are bent to 90. Don't dip your head or drop your pelvis toward the mat.

Opposite Arm / Leg Lifts
Kneel on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Roll your shoulders back away from your ears and tighten your abs. Inhale. As you exhale extend one of your arms overhead - straight out from the shoulder. At the same time extend the opposite leg, straight out
from the hip. Hold for a moment. Release and repeat. (I suggest you stick to one side through the set before repeating on the other side.)

Up Dog / Plank (Stability Ball optional)
FLOOR: Lay on mat on your belly. Place hands directly wider than your shoulders, legs outstretched with the feet hip width apart. Curl toes into the mat. TIGHTEN YOUR ABS (or you'll feel discomfort in your low back) Push through your palms to straighten your arms, lifting your entire torso off of the mat (including your pelvis.). Hold for a moment. Bend elbows to 90 as you push through your toes to lift your legs off of the mat. Hold for a moment. Release to lying on mat. BALL: Lay over ball with the ball under your lower pelvis. Toes curled under and in contact with the floor. Walk hands up the ball (With Abs VERY tight) until your upper body is lifted toward the ceiling. Hold. Walk the hands back down to the floor, arms straight. Lift both feet off of the Floor - keeping your legs straight. Hold. Release.

Wall Push-up Rotation
Stand about a foot away from the wall in Set position. Place hands on the wall at about shoulder height and wider than shoulder width. Lift onto your toes slightly (like your heels are on an air-hockey table). Slowly bend your elbows to bring your face toward the wall - stopping at 90. Keep your spine straight - don't dip your head toward the wall. Push through pals to straighten your arms. Slowly swing one arm out wide to point behind you - turning your whole body in the process to look down the line of your arm (Like a ballerina). Untwist, placing your hand back on the wall. Repeat. (OPTION: hold a basket ball against the wall with one hand)

Swimmers
Lay on mat on your belly. Arms outstretched overhead straight out from the shoulders, legs outstretched with the feet hip width apart. TIGHTEN your abs. Press your legs into the floor. Inhale. As you exhale Lift your upper body off of the mat, swinging arms out wide until they touch your hips. Keeping your torso lifted, swing arms back overhead. Lower arms and torso onto the mat. Repeat.

Seated kicks
Sit on the edge of a chair or bench. Place hands on chair slightly behind you for balance (gripping the edge slightly). Place your feet flat on the floor. Roll your
shoulders back and tighten your abs. Lift one foot a couple of inches off of the floor (keeping knee bent). Slowly Kick foot toward the ceiling until the leg is
straight. Release the knee back to 90. Lower the floor back to the floor. (*If you start to cramp in the hip joint, stretch then repeat without lifting the foot off of
the floor before kicking).

Squat Set (Narrow / Wide / 1-Leg)
Wide: Stand tall with feet wider than shoulder width. Roll your shoulders back and tighten your abdomen. Lower into a squat so your knees are over your ankles. Push through your heels to straighten your legs.
Narrow: Bring feet together. Roll your shoulders back and tighten your abdomen. Lower into a squat so your knees are over your ankles. Push through your heels to straighten your legs.
1-Leg: Lift one foot slightly off of the floor. Roll your shoulders back and tighten your abdomen. Lower into a squat so your knee is over your ankles. Push through your heel to straighten your legs.Step-up Lateral Lifts
Use a step, stairs or bench (heck you could even use the couch if you wanted to:)) Stand perpendicular to the step. Place one foot on step with the knee bent to 90, knee directly over the ankle. Press through your heel to lift your body up, balancing on the step. Correct your posture. With your dangling leg straight toward the floor - Slowly lift leg out to the side as high as is comfortable. Release leg, lower off of step.

Floor Crunch
Lay on floor with feet a comfortable distance from your rear, hands behind your head with elbows wide. Inhale as you tighten your stomach. Exhale as you
lift your shoulders off of the mat. Inhale as you release.

Floor Side Crunch
Lay on floor with feet a comfortable distance from your rear, hands behind your head with elbows wide. Place both knees to one side. Inhale as you tighten
your stomach. Exhale as you lift your shoulders toward the ceiling. Inhale as you release.

Plank
Lay on your stomach, arms bent with elbows under you shoulders. Curl your toes under (like doing a push-up) Lift up onto your forearms and your toes. Roll back your shoulders and tighten your abs. Using your forearms push some of your weight into your feet. Keep shoulders away from your ears and your pelvic tilt in tight. Count slowly to 15. Release to the floor -- KEEP your breathing deep and even throughout movement.Weighted:

Ball Wall Squat Curls
Place ball between your lower-back and the wall. Walk your feet forward until you are leaning back into the ball. Hold a dumb bell in each hand. Roll your shoulders back and contract your abs. Slowly, lower the ball toward the floor bending your knees to 90 degrees. At the same time, bend the elbows to bring the weight toward your shoulders. Release the arms and straighten your legs.

Lunge Curl Overhead Press (Step / Bench optional)
Set position, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Step one leg back, keeping your hips and shoulders facing forward. Lower your rear knee toward the floor as you lift the weight toward your shoulders, in a bicep curl. Keep weight at shoulder height as you push through your lead heel to straighten lead leg. Lift the rear knee up toward chest into a balance position. Hold balance as you push the weights overhead. Release both arms and leg into set position.

Lateral Raise Twists
Stand Tall in set position, shoulders back and abs tight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lift your arms out wide to your side, no higher than shoulder level. Keep weights raised as you twist your torso to one side- Keep you hips facing forward. Un-twist your torso to again face front. Lower arms back to your side. Repeat on the other side.

Sumo
Stand Tall with feet wide apart, shoulders back and abs tight, toes pointed out to 3 & 10. (Option: hold a medicine ball at heart level). Bend your knees sitting back (like on an invisible chair). Push through one heel to straighten its leg - lifting the other knee up high outside of your body. Plant the foot back in the Sumo position and repeat to the other side.

Ball Pullover
Sit tall on stability ball. Walk your feet forward as you lay back until the ball is under your lower back. Hands to chest holding the weight. Inhale as you tighten your abs. Exhale as lift your shoulders up into a crunch positron. Hold position. Inhale as you lift the weight overhead with straight arms. Exhale as you pull the weight next to your hips (arms still straight). Walk back up to sitting after all reps.

Ball Crunch
Sit tall on stability ball. Walk your feet forward as you lay back until the ball is under your lower back. Hands behind head. Inhale as you tighten your abs. Exhale as you lift your shoulders toward the ceiling. Inhale as you release your shoulders back toward the ball. When finished with reps walk back up to sitting on the ball.

Ball Crossover Crunch
Sit tall on stability ball. Walk your feet forward as you lay back until the ball is under your lower back. Hands behind head. Inhale as you tighten your abs. Exhale as you lift your shoulders toward the ceiling. Twist one shoulder toward the ceiling then the other. Inhale as you release your shoulders to the ball. Walk back up to sitting after all reps.

Stability Ball Twists
Sit tall on ball holding weight to your chest. Walk forward till lower back is on ball. Extend weight above your heart. Roll back your shoulders and tighten your abs. Inhale as you lift your shoulders off of the ball in a crunch - Maintain. Exhale as you Twist to bring the weight next to one hip. Inhale as you bring the weight back to center. Exhale to repeat on the other side.

Toe Touches (Stability Ball or Medicine Ball)
Stand Tall holding ball overhead with feet wider than shoulder width apart. Tip over from the hip to bring the ball next to one ankle. Push through heels to bring ball back overhead - repeat on the other side.

Ball Bridge Leg Curls
Lay on floor with feet on a stability ball, hands by your side. Tighten your abdomen and roll back your shoulders, Inhale. Exhale as you push through your heels to lift your pelvis off of the floor. Keep hips lifted as you bend your knees, bringing your heels to your rear. Straighten legs (keeping knees soft) then lower hips to the floor.