Posted by:
Laura York, Department of Public Health
Laura is the Director of the Coordinated School Health Program at DPH and a NASM certified personal trainer.
Looking to get started with strength training but don’t want to spend money on an expensive gym membership? Just look around your home— your gym is right in front of you! You can use what you already have in your house or apartment to build muscle and get fit.
Strength training is an important part of overall fitness. Not only does building more muscle burn more calories (which helps you lose weight), it also helps keep your bones strong and makes your day to day activities easier to perform.
Here is a total body strength training program that you can do right in your living room. Do this routine two to three times per week. It should take about 20-30 minutes to complete. Make sure you rest for 2 days between workouts. And, as with any new exercise program, check with your doctor before you start.
Before You Get Started
Make sure you warm up for 5 minutes to prepare your body for the workout. If you have stairs, step up and down on the bottom one. If not, march or jog in place. For even more intensity, raise your arms up and down over your head during the warm up or add in some jumping jacks.
You’re going to do your exercises in “sets.” A set is typically made up of 8-12 repetitions or “reps.” A “rep” simply means completing 1 of your strength training movements. For example, completing 1 push-up means you’ve done 1 rep. Doing 8-12 push-ups is a set.
Go directly from one exercise to the next and then repeat the entire cycle a 2nd time. If you can do a 3rd, go for it! Your muscles should be completely exhausted by the end of each set. If you are new to exercising, you should rest for about 30 seconds in between each exercise. As you get stronger, try to move between exercises faster. Be sure to use slow, controlled movements and breathe out on the hardest part of the exercise. If you’re going to be doing these exercises on a bare or wooden floor, use a soft surface like a rug or thick towel for more cushion.
Chair Squats (legs): Stand in front of a chair with your legs a little more than hip width apart, toes pointing forward. With your weight on your heels and arms reaching forward, sit back as if you are going to take a seat. Stop right before you reach the chair and stand back up. When you are hovering right above the chair, take a quick look down at your knees. Are they sticking out in front of your toes? If they are, slide more of your weight back onto your heels.
To target the inner thighs, move your feet even wider apart and point your toes toward the corners of the room.
As you get stronger, try holding a gallon container of milk or water in each hand to add more resistance.
Push-ups (chest): Kneel down and place your hands flat on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder width apart. If you are new to doing push ups, stay on your knees. You can roll up an extra towel or sheet underneath your knees if you need more cushioning. If you are stronger, move your feet back so that your legs are straight, supporting yourself on your toes. Keep your body in a straight line and bend your elbows to lower yourself down until you are about an inch from the floor. Push back up to your starting position.
Side Leg Lifts: Lie on your right side with your body in a straight line and legs stacked on top of each other. Prop your head up with your right hand and place your left hand on the floor in front of your chest for support. Lift the left leg up as high as you can, flexing the foot and keeping the knee facing forward. Lower the leg back down to about an inch above the right leg. After 8-12 repetitions, switch sides.
Bent-over Rows (back): Grab 2 filled 1 gallon water or milk containers, one in each hand. Stand with your legs hip width apart, knees slightly bent. Bend forward until your chest is at a 45 degree angle to the floor, arms hanging in front of your body. To help support your back, squeeze your navel in toward your spine. Bend your elbows and lift the bottles up toward your armpits, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the bottles back down to the starting position.
Calf Raises: You can do this exercise either on a stair or the floor. Stand with your legs hip width apart, toes pointed forward. If you use a stair, place the balls of your feet on the stair so that the heels hang off the step. You can lightly touch the wall or stair railing for balance. Rise up as high as you can on your tiptoes, squeeze your calves and lower back down. If you want more of a challenge, try balancing your weight on one leg and do these one leg at a time!
Lateral Raises (shoulders): Grab 2 filled 1.5 liter water bottles, one in each hand. Stand with your legs hip width apart, knees slightly bent and abs pulled in. Hold the water bottles by your sides, palms facing in. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, raise the bottles up to the side until you reach shoulder height. Lower the bottles back down to the starting position. If you have back problems or are a beginner, you can try this exercise while seated on the edge of a chair.
"Supermans” (lower back): Lie face down on the floor with your arms stretched out straight in front of you. Keeping your neck aligned with your back, simultaneously raise your arms, shoulders, and legs up off the floor as if you are “flying.” Focus on a point on the floor about 6 inches in front of you, taking care not to crane your head or neck back as you “fly.” Hold for 2 seconds and lower back down to the floor.
Chair Dips (triceps): Sit on the edge of a chair and place the palms of your hands next to your hips, fingertips lightly wrapping around the front of the chair. Lift your hips up and walk your feet out in front of you (the further away your feet are from the chair, the harder the exercise will be). Bend your elbows to a 90 degree angle behind you, lowering the hips down in front of the chair. Make sure your elbows are pointing straight back and that your hips are almost brushing against the edge of the chair. Push back up to the starting position.
Bicep Curls: Grab 2 filled 1.5 liter water bottles, one in each hand. Stand with your legs hip width apart, knees slightly bent and abs pulled in. Hold the water bottles down by your sides, palms facing forward. Bend your elbows and lift the bottles up toward your shoulders, keeping the elbows right by your side. Lower the bottles back down to the starting position.
Crunches (abdominals): Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold your fingertips lightly behind your head, elbows out to the side. Curl your shoulder blades up a few inches off the floor, keeping your low back pressed into the floor and eyes looking up. There should be enough space between your chin and chest so that you could fit your fist in between them. Hold for 2 seconds and roll back down.
Twisting Crunches (obliques): Repeat the instructions for the crunch but at the top of the crunch, rotate your left shoulder diagonally across your body toward your right knee and then lower back down. Just like the crunch, be sure to keep your elbows back. After 8-12 repetitions, switch sides.
Reverse Crunches (abdominals): Lie on your back with your knees bent above your hips, feet parallel to the floor. Place your hands along the sides of your body. Bringing your knees toward your chest, lift your hips up about an inch or two off the floor. Slowly roll back down to the starting position. Be sure not to get too much momentum going with this exercise.
You’re all done! Congratulations! Now, take 5 minutes to stretch out all of the muscles you just worked. Be sure to hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds and don’t bounce. Stay tuned for a future blog and video demonstation on stretching.
If you keep up this routine, you should see results in about three months and feel energized immediately!
Let us know how working out at home works for you. What do you use for weights?
Thank you! I am now able to play the video. It is very helpful.
Amanda
Posted by: Amanda Stone | March 16, 2009 at 12:13 PM
The video will not play :{
Posted by: Amanda | March 04, 2009 at 05:28 PM
I made a New Year's Resolution to add strength training to my exercise routine, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Didn't know how to go about buying weights, or even how many pounds they should be. It's great to know I can get started without having to deal with all that!
Also, I LOVE the "superman" pose. I had never heard of that, and it looks a little silly, but wow, will that be great for firming up my jiggly glutes!
Posted by: charlie c | February 24, 2009 at 03:27 PM