Exercising at home

myriddian
myriddian Posts: 186 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,
Money is tight and I have 2 small kids but would like to know how you get some exercise in while at home. I'll be working one less shift this year to fit around my son's kinder times so would like some ideas about what I can get done cheaply and without having to leave the house or needing to arrange care for my kids.
Cheers :)

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    There are a lot of great workout DVDs out there - Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, and Kickbox FastFix are all about 20-30 minutes each. Grab some dumbbells and go for it before the kids are up for while they're down for a nap.

    If you've got a smart phone, the Nike Training Club app is free and has heaps of workouts from 15-45 minutes long, variety of cardio and/or weights, you can mix and match workouts depending on your focus and time available. If you don't have any weights, dumbbells are on sale in a lot of stores right now to catch all the new year's resolutioners - Target had them on sale, not sure if that one is still going, but you can them up for a decent price there, or at Wal Mart, or even TJ Maxx & Marshalls

    I've done all my working out at home over the past three years - no gym membership and not a lot of equipment - you can do it!
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Take the kids to the park, chasing them around will get your heart rate up.
  • nikki_zav
    nikki_zav Posts: 320 Member
    Search YouTube for easy at home workouts.
    There are tons of sites like this: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/workouts/
    Workout DVD's were on sale on Amazon recently too.
    Like notes already, Nike Training Club has some awesome workouts.
    Throw the kids in a stroller and find some hills to push em up!
  • deannajf4
    deannajf4 Posts: 223 Member
    I feel your pain!! I have 4 kids under the age of 5, and for a while I really struggled to find an exercise I could commit to that didn't get interupted by the kiddos.

    I tried an early morning class that I could go to while hubby was still home, but to be honest, I hated getting up so early when I was up a lot of the night wiht my 9 month old.
    I tried exercising during nap time, but I really liked that down time to read a book, tidy up without the kids underfoot, or sometimes eat my lunch in peace. Also, my 5 year old doesn't nap anymore so the day's he was home from school, I'd have to keep him occupied, and it got to be difficult too.
    I talked to friends about doing a babysitting co-op where one friend babysits, while you go for a run, then when they want to exercise, you watch their kids - but we never got around to it - good idea though.

    FINALLY!!! I got a Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, and found the sweet spot in my day is RIGHT after the kids go to bed at 7pm. I'm exercising by 7:15, it's 30 mins start to finish (10 mins of warm up and cool down, so not too bad to get yourself broken into the routine). Shower and I'm ready for the night by 8pm! I've been doing it every night for 9 nights, and I'm PUMPED - I've never stuck to something like I'm sticking to this!! If my husband is home from work, he just hangs out online while I work out, and sometimes he has night appointments, so he's not even home until I'm all done! I LOVE it!! :)

    Next i'm going to do RIpped in 30 by Jillian Michaels, then my husband and I are going to do Insanity together - def going to be more intense, but I'm hoping that after 60 days with Jillian, I'll be ready for a bigger challenge!!

    GOOD LUCK!!
  • myriddian
    myriddian Posts: 186 Member
    Thanks so much for your replies,
    Managed to play the wii with my 3 year old this afternoon for 1/2 an hour while my daughter was sleeping which was nice. I do have the shred DVD but haven't made it past level 1 as I cant do it daily...
    well haven't organized myself well enough to do it daily!
    Zumba night tonight and i'll defiantly check out the nike app!
  • davem91933
    davem91933 Posts: 2
    Use the baby as your weight set. There will be bonding time AND the baby will increase in weight over time as your strength improves.

    A gallon of milk that you would have anyway is about 5 pounds each...do curls. Put them on a broomstick across your shoulders and you have a bar. When the tyke goes down for a nap, use a $2 cinder block from Home Depot.

    Stretchy bands kick my butt! VERY cheap at discount stores.

    Improvise and overcome!

    D
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
    I always workut at home or go running- I hate gyms. I agree with figuring out what types of workout dvds you like the most and then getting a good variety. I've got a good dozen workout dvds to choose from so that I don't get bored. I like cardio kickboxing dvds, jillian michaels, michele dozois, turbo jam/fire. You just have to figure out what kind of workouts you enjoy and then get lots of dvds! Ebay's an excellent place to find them cheap.
  • Keeda
    Keeda Posts: 21 Member
    I try to take advantage of food prep time. I do squats and lunges on the way to the fridge and back or when I'm vacuuming. I realize it's not a hard core workout, but on a big baking day my legs kill me. Also I try to do my stairs as many times as possible. Just a few small ideas to help you out on days when it seems impossible to get a DVD workout done.
  • Goodbye_Thunder_Thighs
    Goodbye_Thunder_Thighs Posts: 91
    YouTube is my friend. When I'm time poor I squeeze in Tiffany Rothe, her workouts are around 10 minutes long.
    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tiffany+rothe&oq=tiffany+rothe&gs_l=youtube.3..35i39l2j0l8.172.5506.0.5949.13.11.0.2.2.0.751.2095.3j0j3j0j1j0j1.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.VC1wl3B5Li8

    Class fitsugar are also around 10 minutes long
    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=class+fitsugar&oq=class+fitsugar&gs_l=youtube-reduced.3..0l4.3458.5956.0.6261.9.5.0.4.4.0.283.919.1j1j3.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.QR4PPskeDSA

    Squeeze a couple of them together throughout the day.

    For a really kick *kitten* session I pump out some good old Billy Blank Tae Bo
    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Tae+bo&oq=Tae+bo&gs_l=youtube.3..35i39l2j0l8.93636.94656.0.95126.6.6.0.0.0.0.251.1029.2j1j3.6.0...0.0...1ac.1.oHPc-UmVj90

    Or some Fitness Blender
    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fitness+blender&oq=fitness+blender&gs_l=youtube.3..0i10j0l2j0i10j0j0i10j0j0i10l2j0.37151.40165.0.40326.15.13.0.2.2.1.327.1691.7j1j3j1.12.0...0.0...1ac.1.Fb3IRFWLREE


    Hope these help
  • CBrook04
    CBrook04 Posts: 107
    I'm home all day with my 14 month old & I do the 30 Day Shred while she is down for her afternoon nap. I just bought Zumba for Xbox Kinect so I will start that too. I also do some crunches before bed. I lotted out gym time 3 days out of the week when my boyfriend gets home so he can stay home with our daughter.

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