At Home Workouts

Morning!  How's your day going so far?  We're doing much better over here. :-)  Back into our routine.  I'm a routine kind of girl, so that makes me a happy Mama.

If you know me at all, you know fitness is a huge part of my life.  Its something I love to learn about, love to talk about and love getting as much of it in as I can make time for.  Being a new Mom, that can be a little trying sometimes.  I've found that having workout equipment in our garage has been a HUGE help.  If I'm on my own for the day, I can't just walk out the door and go to the gym whenever I feel like it.  If there is a class I want to take, chances are Tripp will decide he's hungry 5 minutes before it starts.  I don't always have time for a long workout and after getting 5-6 hours of broken sleep, chances are I don't really have the energy by the time Patrick gets home.  I like having a "gym" in our garage.  I can make my own workouts, I have a decent collection of DVDs (Chalene Johnson is AMAZING), and there are tons of free online resources when I want to switch it up a little bit.  Love me some BodyRock.

My workout apparatus:

Weights (2-15 lbs), 8 lb medicine ball, resistance bands, pull-up bar, yoga ball, yoga mat and a jump rope (not pictured: quality workout shoes, a heart rate monitor and the jogging stroller).  Additions on my (birthday) list: a BOSU, a 30 lb Body Bar, a 10 lb kettlebell and a new heart rate monitor (mine is about to hit the crapper after several years). 

You honestly don't need much though.  You can improvise with weights: soup cans, jugs of water, a backpack with books, the baby, etc.  There are a ton of exercises that can do a lot for you just using your own body weight:

pushups

 pullups (assisted or not)

squats

lunges

Plyometric moves get you a lot of bang for your buck: jump squats  (like a regular squat, but from the squatting position, press off and jump, landing in a squat again), jump switch lunges (same idea - from a lunge on one side, jump and switch your legs), speed skaters (see below - start on one leg and then jump to the other side)

Some people find that paying for a gym membership motivates them to get in there and actually workout.  If that's you, awesome!  You've found what motivates you and you get it done.  You're a few steps ahead of a lot of people.  If you're just getting started with fitness, having a few sessions with a personal trainer would be helpful so that they can coach you on your form to avoid injuries.  Everyone's needs and fitness levels are different, so find what works for you and make it happen.  What are you waiting for?!

xo
Shaina