Fit at Home

The home gym is advantageous for anyone of any fitness level. A home gym can be especially useful for someone who is self conscious or unable to afford a gym membership. There are also advantages for someone who, like me, is recovering from an injury.

An injury and/or disability may require supervision of a gym membership, as advised by a professional. With the supervision of a qualified personal trainer, a home gym can prevent feelings of inferiority and comparisons with gym peers- when rehabilitating from an injury it can be very discouraging and even dangerous to work out side by side with people in who are able bodied. A personal trainer can help design an individualized workout routine to do in your home.

Before I sustained an injury, I was in fantastic shape. This changed drastically when I became disabled- I have had to resist comparing myself now to my fitness level before my injury. It could be even more discouraging if I were comparing myself with my peers at a public gym. Working out at home makes it easier for anyone of any fitness level to strive for his or her own personal best and to avoid judgment or comparison with peers. At home, I listen to my body, focus on feeling better, and rebuilding my own strength. If I had to drive all the way to the gym, I might be inclined to push my body too far- at home, I can stop when I need to and do what is healthy rather then making my workout worth the travel. I can also workout in torn and tattered sweats if I feel inclined.

The advantage of a home gym is you can personalize it to your needs, goals, ability, space and budget. You can also continue to add to it over time.

A home gym is private, free from judgment and based on personal best. Even with my high self-esteem it is impossible not to compare myself to others at a gym- for example I a couple of years ago, I enthusiastically tried the stair stepper at my local gym. I had fun workout and I was so proud of my ten minutes! The woman next to me was on the stair climber so long she had to keep jumping off and on again; I think there was a thirty minute. She was on the stepper the whole time I was at the gym. I comforted myself with the thought that could not be good for her knees.

Again, the importance of consulting with a professional cannot be under emphasized.

The best way to start is to identify your workout needs, goals, workout likes, and dislikes. It is also important to consider your budget, including how much you can spend initially and how much you are willing to spend in total. If you had a gym membership think about the kind of exercise, you enjoyed the most. Personally, I find resistance training boring, but I also know how important it is

For resistance training it is very important to create a regime with a professional, especially if you are recovering from an injury as I am. The investment is worth the expense for getting on the right track. There is a vast difference between working out for rehabilitation and working out to stay in shape.

Here are a few other personal favorites, also user friendly and relatively inexpensive:

Suggested Tools and products to get started: These tools are also ideal if you have limited space or trouble lifting and setting up heavy equipment.

1. Resistance/Weight Bearing- Regular weight bearing exercise is listed by the National Osteoporosis Foundation as one of "five steps to bone health and preventing osteoporosis"

• Resistance Band: This glorified rubber band is inexpensive, weighs nearly nothing, fits in a small purse and can be utilized for nearly as many resistance exercises as elaborate expensive equipment that are heavy and take up space. $1

• Free weights- It is not always necessary to invest in expensive weights that take up space. You can take an empty plastic bottle and fill it with sand. You can then adjust the quantity, as needed, or when fitness level advances. As you become stronger, you can add more sand with a bigger bottle. After my injury, when one pound was too much for me so my chiropractor suggested I use soup cans.

2. Twist Board: For less then $20 it does nearly as much as a large expensive fitness apparatus and it fits in a small suitcase and weighs less then a pound. The best feature is that the twisting motion is not only fun to do but works muscles in a way that daily activity and even other kinds of exercises do not achieve. It works the midsection area from back to front and is much more fun then crunches! When I use my twist board, I feel it working my entire core.

I also use the resistance tubes on my Twist board. You can use the resistance tubes before you do your "cardio -twist." The twist is fun and you can hang on to the resistance tube to add the arms to the aerobic challenge.

Since the Twist Board is lightweight and compact it can be brought to an office job, which is a great way to break up repetitive motions of a computer. If I had this kind of a desk job, I would use the twist board every hour for five minutes at a time.

3. At least three good workout DVDs: There are likely hundreds of thousands of workout DVDs and the variety is fabulous- from spiritual workouts exotic dance. I bought a wonderful DVD for a religious friend of mine call "sweating' to the spirit" We all know that Richard Simmons can help us all Sweat to the Oldies. I have a more then modest variety of workout DVDs that means that I can always do something different, which keeps me motivated and accommodates whatever mood I am feeling. My favorites are dance workouts. There is a wonderful variety to short intense workouts, some only 8-10 minutes with wide appeal for folks with busy schedules. These short workouts and the above mentioned twist board are also idea for the coffee break during a long day of labor or desk work.

I have collected second hand and at overstock stores many wonderful workout DVDs and books that are relatively inexpensive. Most of the workout DVDs I have found have been at Ross. I find cardio-dance style workouts highly motivating and fun. I have also acquired some real nice yoga DVDs at my fitness level. I always read the cover very carefully to make sure that the demonstrator has fitness and training experience. It is a gamble because you do not know when you buy the DVD if the workout is any good or if it is too advanced or not challenging enough. For good measure, I am also very conservative about how the workout can help or hinder my disability issues. For example, the Boot Camp boxing DVD from the 10-minute solution series meets my needs because it helps safely work my upper body, the injury effect part of my body. This DVD is short ensuring that I will not overextend this part of my body, if I am careful with the movements and will facilitate rang of motion and circulation where I need it. Coming from a dance background, the "Perfect 10 Dance" workouts are also helpful for the same reason. (I personally recommend this one for someone with a strong dance background) My absolute favorite short is "Daily Quickies, Bellydance Workouts" It includes three bellydance workouts and two extremely vigorous heavy calisthenic workout that they call hip-hop.

I recommend the following DVD workouts: 1) a fun workout that is also challenging 2) a shorter simple workout for when you are less motivated. If you are like so many people and have no spare time to workout there are great 10-minute workouts. Many of them are quite vigorous and get the heart rate up without consuming a lot of time. 3) one or two flexibility workouts preferably Yoga and Pilates.

I likely have many more workout DVDs then I need, but I am glad because I have an incredible amount of variety, so my workouts will always be fresh, motivating and never boring. It is also important to note that with a home gym you can pop in the DVD or do the workout that you are in the mood for, as opposed to what is on the schedule at the spa across town.

4. Balance Ball: many of these have an exercise chart or video and pump enclosed. I recommend using caution with the neck. A balance ball helps me to modify exercises that put too much strain on my shoulders and hands. It is important to get one that is the right size for your height. I recommend Gaiam Balance Ball DVD. This DVD is extremely well produced, comprehensive, thorough and complete. The slow pace is comparable to yoga, giving time for the stretches and safety.

5. Core Disk: This is an odd one but it is fabulous. Standing on the core disk and balancing has increased my circulation significantly relieving leg cramps. The core disk comes with a workout DVD shows wonderful variety of exercises; many more then I imagined. It has a flat smooth side and reflexology knobs the other.

6. Easy Shaper: This simple device has a complete routine of weight bearing exercise. Compared to other equipment it is lightweight and compact. It is also simple to use and works a variety of muscle groups. It has the most exercises for the legs. To make resistance training more fun, I use my Easy Shaper and free weights during my favorite television programs or CD.

7. Stepper: I found a set of two steps at a thrift store. They stack and one is higher then the other. It can do basic step routine; anything more elaborate would require the fancier large rectangle product.

8. Body Wedge 21: I bought it as a neck and shoulder support for Pilates. It actually has 21 exercises printed on the wedge and on a separate poster as well as demonstrated on included DVD. The greatest feature is that you can do resistance training inverted. The inversion creates a greater and varied resistance. It is also useful for inversion stretching, which can be very relaxing and restorative after working out or sitting for a long time.

Finally, I recommend having a pedometer. This requires a small investment, often under $10. My pedometer counts steps for all different kinds of movement. The instructions that came with my pedometer recommend 10,000 steps a day. It is a good idea to work up to it- that is my left knee talking. Depending on your fitness level and advice from a professional, you can start with 3,000-5,000 per day and work up to 10,000. One thing I have discovered about the pedometer, however, is that yoga, Pilates and resistance training don't constitute all that many steps on a pedometer, even though these workouts are still of value. A pedometer is best for cardio. For example, my daily 15-minute yoga routine only shows up as 80 steps on my pedometer. Fifteen minutes on my Twist board would show up as about 3,000 steps. If I do an extensive flexibility or resistance-training workout, I give myself a break on the steps, depending on what my body tells me.

In addition to a home gym, an affordable option that allows for socializing and professional supervision is dance and exercise classes found at your local YMCA, community college or community center. Many chapters of the Y have special financial modifications based on income.

Disclaimer: These suggestions are based on what has worked for me- please seek advice from your doctor and/or practitioner about the best regime for your needs. This is especially important if you are recovering from an injury, are working out for the first time, or resuming an exercise routine after a long time of absence. Please have your blood pressure and heart rate monitored often, as this is an essential tool in building health and fitness.