Advice for quick effective home workouts

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millie740
millie740 Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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!

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  • dmansmom
    dmansmom Posts: 2 Member
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    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
    Vex3521 Posts: 385 Member
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    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
    RebelDiamond Posts: 188 Member
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    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
    shortiequinn Posts: 38 Member
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    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
    jasperdog52554 Posts: 115 Member
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    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
    Eleanor_82 Posts: 57 Member
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    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
    tdbernrd Posts: 510 Member
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    Blogilates.com is free. Casey Ho has a fun personality.
  • eangel1023
    eangel1023 Posts: 14 Member
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    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
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
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    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
    MomMaggie Posts: 16 Member
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    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
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    fitnessblender.com!
  • jvs125
    jvs125 Posts: 223 Member
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    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
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    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.

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