Home Gym Tips - How To Build An Inexpensive Home Gym

Times are tough. Fortunately, exercise can be performed nearly anywhere. Many people are opting to work out at home, whether for convenience or due to the cost of gym memberships. If this appeals to you, before you race to the store and buy a trunkload of equipment, bars, and weight plates, I urge you to ask yourself why you want a home gym and answer honestly. Or better yet, if you invest the money, will you really use it? You don't want a $100 laundry hanger or $1000 dust collector, do you?

Once you commit to using your new gym, the next steps are to determine what room you will set it up in and how much space you realistically have. Look around the room. Many people with good intentions tell themselves that each time they use their gym, they won't mind moving the couch, the table and chairs, or the desk, but after a while, they start using this as an excuse not to exercise. Will having to slide a couch 4' out of the way be a deterrent? Is there is a television in the room? If so, do you have the self-discipline to not watch Oprah, Judge Judy, or a soap opera instead of working out? Can you control the temperature in this space? If not, can you add a fan? Once you start a, you will probably need it. Who else uses the room? Will there be conflicts? Will someone move your equipment or think it is a toy for them to play with? Don't be intimidated by these questions. Working through them shouldn't be that difficult or time-consuming, especially if you let your family or roommates know what you are doing.

Now the excitement begins because it's time to get started! A simple and inexpensive home gym can be built with five pieces of equipment. They total about $100 and are easy to find and transport home. You can buy them from local exercise stores, online, or perhaps used on your community's Craig's List. Following each is a few of their possible uses.

1. Exercise Ball abdominal and core stabilization, upper body exercises)
   
   
2. Resistance Bands (one full set of resistance bands can give you a total body workout)
   
   
3. Yoga Mat (push ups, abdominal/core work, stretching, pilates, and of course yoga)
   
   
4. Pull-Up Bar - some can be installed in doorways or follow the traditional installation method (back and limited bicep work, abdominal/core work), and
   
   
5. Jump Rope - if you have ceiling clearance (warm up, cardiovascular work).

Also, use what you may already have available in your home:

• Move a chair without wheels or arms into the area (decline push ups, tricep dips)
  
• Run the stairs (cardiovascular, leg work)
  
• Stairs (standing calf raises)
  
• Wall mirror to check your form
  
• Radio or headphones to play your favorite music, and
  
• Television or monitor with DVD player for taped routines

If you aren't sure how to start, meet with a personal trainer for a couple of sessions. It will be money well-invested because you will be given a program based on your family history, exercise history, and your goals, you will understand how to properly use your equipment, and you will have learned proper form and technique which reduces the chance of injury.

And as with all exercise, you should wear appropriate shoes and comfortable clothes. Bring a bottle of water and a towel, and get to it!

Quick Exercises For The Home Or Office

These workouts can be done at home or even in your office. With this workout plan, you can work out for just a couple minutes at a time, several times throughout each day, 5 days/week.

This consists of only bodyweight exercises done for about 2-3 minutes, 6-8 times per day, throughout each day. Now obviously if you work a normal office job, you are going to have to not be shy about doing a few exercises in your office and having your cube-mates watch you. Actually, even some people that have tried this have actually gotten their co-workers to join them.

If you work from home, or are a stay at home mom, there's no reason you can't fit these in throughout the day while at home. If you end up having a busy day with meetings and so forth, and can only fit a couple of these 2-minute workouts in, then so be it, but try to get as many done each day as you can.
If you're on a normal 9-5 office schedule, I recommend doing your 2-minute workouts every hour, on the hour, with the exception of lunch. Try doing these at 9am, 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm.

Some of the bodyweight exercises that are the best to focus on are:

* bodyweight squats (and variations)
* pushups (and variations)
* forward, reverse, or walking lunges
* up & down a staircase if one is available
* floor planks (holding the plank position from forearms and feet)
* floor abs exercises such as lying leg thrusts, ab bicycles, etc.
* one-legged bodyweight Romanian deadlifts

This list is not fully comprehensive, but I wanted to keep it relatively simple. If you know other good bodyweight exercises, you can add those to your routine also. If you want to keep it real simple and don't want to get down on the floor for anything, you can stick to squats, lunges, and pushups and still get great results.

Yoga Styles That Have Become Popular In The Western World

Hatha YogaHatha yoga, also called Hatha Vidya, was introduced in the 15th century in India where Hatha is introduced as a preliminary step of physical purification towards higher meditation.Hatha comes from two words, ‘Ha’ and ‘Tha,’ sun and moon, which are considered to be the fundamental channels of energy of the body that must be totally functioning in order to reach a state of concentrated meditation. One definition of 'hatha' in Sanskrit is forceful. Hatha yoga is the style most people in the western world associate with Yoga and most commonly practiced for mental and physical wellbeing. Hatha yoga class generally is applied to the traditional asanas and breathing techniques too. For one just starting Yoga, this style would be the practical one to follow as s/he is still establishing her/his tempo.Kundalini YogaKundalini yoga employs postures and breathing exercises different from other styles of yoga. In this adaptation, the goal is attaining a higher stage of consciousness in directing the energy via the body's chakras. In a book on Kundalini Yoga, it is depicted as "the body's latent spiritual potential.” Energy is portrayed like a coiled snake at the bottom of the spinal column.Kundalini's meditations involve chanting while it is being done. The breathing techniques include vigorous exhalations through the nose while most asanas are performed in a sitting position.Ashtanga YogaAshtanga moves are flowing and more exact at the same time, in contrast to hatha. The movements in Ashtanga is such that one sequence of positions is such that each change is in one breath. Vinyasa is the term applied to the synchronized breath-movement and longtime devotees perform these swiftly. The principle behind this style is the stimulation of sweat glands which facilitate toxin removal and body purification. The swift and flowing movements likewise help in blood circulation. It would take one who's used to the many postures to do this style properly.Bikram YogaBikram yoga is ideally performed in a room that is 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 40% humid. It is popularly referred to as 'hot yoga.’ The heat is important for the protection of the muscles being stretched and at the same time, encourages enhanced cardiovascular workout. Circulation is also cleared and toxins are expelled from the body. Since there is high level of heat and humidity, yoga newcomers should best come to class well hydrated.