Advice for quick effective home workouts

millie740

Hi! I'm trying to get back in shape (ex college track athlete and just had a baby). I'm struggling with motivation as I am exhausted and sleep deprived. I work full time, am a full time student and am raising my son. I don't have time or energy to go to the gym on top of everything else. I really need some quick and effective at home workouts. I was doing my old track ones but I need equipment for those. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

dmansmom

I found Jillian michaels to have really great workouts. I can't stand most at home things but her's worked well for me. Plus you can get some cheap or free through several streaming services

Vex3521

I'd check out daily burn, if nothing more than the 30day trial offer. the 15 min workouts have been a handy way to get a little increase to activity in overscheduled days for me and I like the variety between programs

RebelDiamond

A super easy "formula" I use for quick home work outs is this;
1. Pick 5-7 exercises
2. do as many reps of each for a minute each
3. repeat 3-4 times

Easy exercises to do at home
- lunges/jumping lunges
- squats/jumping squats/ wide squats
- mountain climbers
- push-ups
- burpees
- tricep dips
- skipping
- sit ups/ leg raises
- plank
- high knees
- box jumps
- hip raises

shortiequinn

Fitnessblender.com has a ton of free videos that can be done at home with little or no equipment. There are also a couple YouTube channels that have good quick videos.

jasperdog52554

Check out Ruthless by Weider. $30 at Walmart for 20 - 20 min workouts. I am about 1 month in and seeing results. I sneak it in while my 3 month old is happy or napping. Bonus - all body weight workouts, no equipment needed.

Eleanor_82

Try the BeFit channel on YouTube, it has a huge variety of cardio (like the first level of Jillian Michael's Shred) pilates and strength workouts:

https://www.youtube.com/user/BeFit

tdbernrd

Blogilates.com is free. Casey Ho has a fun personality.

eangel1023

Ditto on what everyone has said before, I would just add getting a set of bands to add some resistance to the workouts and keep a motivational journal.

jim180155

Bodyweight exercises can be done at home without equipment, and with a good routine you can get progressive resistance or overload, which is what you need to build muscle and strength over time. I'm using a variation of this routine: startbodyweight.com/p/start-bodyweight-basic-routine.html

MomMaggie

I like the Jillian Michaels as well, most are 30mins. Also, maybe not right now depending where you live, but a long walk with the baby in the stroller is great for both of you. Good luck!!! Don't burn yourself out, you have a lot on your plate.

kshadows

fitnessblender.com!

jvs125

After having my babies, I got back in the swing of things with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. 27 minutes, 5-6 days per week... My kids loved watching me doing it and I would play with them at the same time (lay them under me when doing push ups and give them a kiss every time I went down, using them as weights when doing squats press, etc).

After that first month, I was able to take on longer workouts and Ripped in 30 was great for that: just a few minutes more, more challenging.

We also have a spinning bike, so once I was ready to take on longer workouts, I'd watch a 45 minutes tv show while spinning one day, then a quick video on the next day.

If you like more cardio, you can look into Insanity. I loved it but it was hard on the knees. These days I enjoy Rushfit, spinning and kettlebells training at home.

I used to go to the gym a lot, but it's more time consuming and costs more money than training at home so I actually prefer home workouts now.

You Tube has lots and lots of free workout videos that you can use.

williams969

jim180155 wrote: »

Bodyweight exercises can be done at home without equipment, and with a good routine you can get progressive resistance or overload, which is what you need to build muscle and strength over time. I'm using a variation of this routine: startbodyweight.com/p/start-bodyweight-basic-routine.html

+1 for bodyweight training. I follow YAYOG (You Are Your Own Gym, actually, I started with his Body By You program, moved up), and strength training has been the #1 most effective (what you're asking about, OP) exercise to get fit. 3 days a week for 30-40 minutes is all it takes.