So often I have heard friends say that they would workout but they just didn’t feel like driving to the gym. It was raining too hard, they had to make dinner, etc. Yet, what too many people fail to recognize is that you don’t need a gym to get fit. Sure, fancy equipment and steam rooms are nice, but that’s all eye candy. If you’re motivated, you can create a tremendous workout in your own home that is on par with anything in a gym. All you need is a little space, a pull-up bar and a few light dumbbells.

This week’s workout focuses on your back and legs, two muscle groups that exist as independent of one another, thus making the training session intense because no real rest time occurs; the back muscles recover as you work your legs and vice versa. The best workouts offer little rest; and keep the heart rate up and the body sweating.

So, if you want to get fit in your own friendly confines, give this one a go.

Wide Grip Front Pull-Up: Palms facing away and hands more than shoulder-width apart. Go until you can do no more.

Lunge: On your toes, step out with your left foot, keeping the knee over the ankle. Lunge deeply until your right knee nears the floor. Repeat with right leg forward. Set of 20 repetitions.

Close Grip Pull-Up: Same as #1, but bring the hands in close.

Wall Squat: Lean your back and shoulders against the wall. Sit at a 90 degree angle. Hold for 30-60 seconds.

Reverse Grip Chin-Up: Palms facing you and hands shoulder-width apart. Do as many as you can.

Calf Raise: Place hands on top of your head and rise up onto your toes. Hold for a count of three and release. Set of 25.

Repeat this routine as you get more fit. Do two or three cycles through. Focus on good form and don’t let your ego take over. Be patient and you’ll be surprise at how soon you will see results.

Starting any exercise plan, even for a person used to working out, may seem simple on the surface, but there are some pitfalls you need to avoid. Enter your workout each day with a plan, and always, above all else, listen to your body. It will tell you when you’re overdoing it, and it will tell you if you aren’t doing enough. Relying solely upon a weightlifting book or some cardio plan may not be the smartest decision. Each person is different, so give yourself some flexibility and listen closely to how your body feels and reacts.

Keeping this idea in mind, check out the exercise “do” and “don’t” tips for the week. Each involves knowing your body, and each will make your workouts more successful in the long run.

The Do
Before you begin to workout, whether it be lifting weights or doing a long run, a comprehensive cardio warm-up is a necessity. Spending five to ten minutes doing kinetic, dynamic warm-up movements, jogging on a treadmill, riding the stationary bike, or hoping on the elliptical will let your blood flow and muscles begin to loosen up. Only after you have started moving and sweating should you stretch. Never stretch cold muscles. You’re asking for injury if you do. Then, once you have broken a sweat and stretched, start the routine you want.

The Don’t
Leave your ego in the locker room, and don’t think you need to impress people with how much weight you can press on the bench. Overdoing it with the amount of weight when lifting could end your workouts rather quickly. Even if your goal is to get big, lifting more than you are physically capable of makes no sense. If you do, you risk serious injury, as weights can fall on you or you can tear muscles. If either happens, you are out of luck. You’ll wind up injured and out of commission for a while, and completely unable to workout. Keep the weights moderate and within your range. Don’t worry, you’ll see progress over time.

There are a number of different ways to save money and still be healthy. In fact, there are even things you can do that are free. Whether it’s taking a walk in your neighborhood or simply cutting your portions, it’s important to know that healthy changes don’t have to cost a fortune or even a dime. This week, let’s talk about one of those free changes.

Downtime is something that Americans in general seem to have a problem with. We work all day, sometimes overtime, then come home and clean, help the kids, and sometimes work even more. Then it’s time for bed and it all starts over the next day. Some of us even feel guilty if we take a moment to read or watch a movie. The truth is though, downtime is important for a healthy lifestyle.

As I’ve mentioned in previous entries, a schedule is essential for a healthy lifestyle. With a proper schedule, you can make time for everything that’s important to you. With even more planning, you can even determine what’s not important and what you shouldn’t waste any of your time on. More importantly, you can schedule some much needed downtime. It may be in the evening after work watching a movie or even a couple hours on Sunday morning reading the newspaper. The important thing is to make time for downtime.

Downtime allows us to relax and focus on ourselves. Even if you’re a parent, you need time for yourself. You need time to pamper yourself. Even if it’s just a few moments enjoying a cup of your favorite coffee, downtime can make a big difference in your life. The most important change you’ll see is a reduction in stress.

The reason downtime reduces stress is because it gives us a break. Instead of going and going and going, we actually have time to just stop and do absolutely nothing. If you’re constantly on the go, you’ll have a hard time enjoying life. The key is to take a break and enjoy all that you’ve worked for.

It seems like everybody wants to get fit, yet far too many people go about it the wrong way. They join a high class gym, buy the cool workout clothes, and then spend more time socializing than exercising. And, when they do finally get down to actually pushing some weight, they stop too early before the real burn begins. So, if you fit either of these two categories, check out the advice below to better your workouts.

The Exercise “Do”

When pushing or pulling your own body weight, never stop at a set number. Continue working until you cannot physically do one more. Thus, go until failure. This will maximize the set and exhaust the muscles, which is precisely what you want. Doing eight push-ups when you could have done twelve wastes that set, as you never let yourself reach the needed burn to grow the muscle. The last three reps should burn and make you doubt yourself. Concentrate on excellent form and maximum repetitions, and you’ll see results far quicker than if you limited yourself to a mere number.

The Exercise “Don’t”

While a gym can be a great place to socialize and meet people, do so at the juice bar or in the locker room. When the time comes to workout, plug your iPod in and get focused. Countless sessions are ruined each day by over-resting between sets. Your routine should have you working multiple muscles back to back, with rest coming for no more than the 30-second walk between the water fountain and the next station. People who stop and converse, who sit and daydream, destroy the potential of their workout. Keep determined, wave hello, and move on.

Waste no time and maximize each repetition. Plug these two philosophies into your training sessions and you’ll see the change shortly.

One of the many things people overlook when trying to live healthy on a budget is preventative health care. Most people think that not going to the doctor for checkups will save them money. This couldn’t be further from the truth though. In fact, preventative health care can save you money over the long run. Not to mention that preventative health care can save your life. This week, let’s talk about preventative health care and how it not only saves you money, but protects you as well.

A yearly checkup at the doctor’s office is not a waste of money. In fact, these regular screenings can help patients become aware of conditions they may not have known about. For example, high blood pressure usually has no symptoms. This means that many people don’t even know they have it until the go to the doctor for something unrelated. High blood pressure, if left untreated, can cause strokes, heart attacks, and even death. With preventative health care, patients become aware of the condition and can take measures to treat it before it’s too late. The same goes for many other conditions, including high cholesterol and high blood sugar.

How does preventative health care save you money though? After all, you’ll have to shell out a co-payment at the very least. But, preventative health care saves you money by treating diseases and conditions before they get too far out of hand. For example, becoming aware of border line blood sugar levels can prevent you from getting diabetes. If you know you’re pre-diabetic, you can take steps to lower your blood sugar levels. By taking the steps to prevent the disease, you’ll save thousands of dollars down the road by not having to buy insulin and make multiple trips to the doctor.

Preventative health care just makes sense. If you want to be healthy, and stick to a budget, don’t wait until there is something wrong to see your doctor. Make it a point to get the checkups and screenings you need to prevent major diseases and conditions.

One of my personal favorite yoga poses is the Cobra pose – and all of you who have tried it probably know why. The Cobra pose has to be one of the most relaxing poses involving upper body stretching that I have ever indulged in. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go.

Lying on your stomach, slowly straighten your arms until your torso reaches as far back as is comfortable for you. Keep your thighs, legs and arms engaged as you stretch backwards, not forgetting to breathe deeply throughout the length of the pose. Remember that while doing the Cobra you should concentrate on lifting your chest as you stretch back— so don’t arch your back, but lift your chest upwards. Keep your arms slightly bent, taking care not to lock your elbows tight.

Hold the pose for about 20 seconds, then retract back down to your mat. When you feel ready, go ahead and enter into the pose again, this time challenging yourself even further. See if you can deepen the stretch by reaching your chest higher. Remember that comfort is key here, and the moment any part in your body tells you to stop, your first priority is to listen!

After you feel satisfied with your stretch, lower your torso back onto the mat, place your hands folded in front of you, and let your head rest gently on your hands. Close your eyes, and relax as you feel the new found freedom that your back now can enjoy. As with all yoga poses, you should mark your progress as a personal achievement, and do not compare your results to what others are capable of doing. All of our bodies are very different, all of us have our own weaknesses and strengths, so just work at your own pace!

As you begin your yoga practices, its important that you have a comfortable mat that is thick enough to protect your body from the hard floor. Be sure to find a good yoga mat that has great traction, and that will let you concentrate on your pose without slipping.

When you hear the name Jane Fonda, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? It most likely involves workout videos, leotards and the 80’s. Jane Fonda released several different workout videos in the 1980’s but one of the best workout videos that will still have you working up a sweat today is called Jane Fonda’s Complete Workout.

This 80’s workout video is not called “Complete Workout” for nothing. In this video Jane will have you working your entire body from head to toe, beginning with the whole body warm-up and finishing with the cool down and stretch.

The workout video starts with an upper body workout aimed to get your arms, shoulders, chest, and back toned and sleek so you can look hot in your halter and sleeveless dresses. It goes through several different toning exercises for a complete upper body workout.

The next part of the workout is a fat burning aerobic workout. You have to remember that this is from the 80’s and an aerobic workout today and back then are slightly different. If you do not like to dance or are not very coordinated, then this part of the workout may be a little tricky for you. Jane Fonda likes to keep her aerobic workouts on the dance side and this is very evident in this workout video.

The third part of this workout consists of a lower body workout including the butt, hips, thighs, and the rest of the legs. Jane goes through a variety of different lower body exercises so you too can look good in your leotard for the next workout. The workout ends with a classic cool down and stretch, which is very important during any exercise.

Although the dance moves may be a little out of date for the aerobics portion of this 80’s workout video, it will definitely still have you sweating and burning some major calories. This video can be a great change of pace from your usual spinning or kickboxing class. If anything you will definitely get a kick out of the clothing and hairstyles!

Just like the bear crawl, the crab walk is a full body exercise that you may be familiar with from middle school gym class or from high school. It not only works your thighs and glutes, but is a great workout for your triceps and shoulders. It may sound easy, but just holding the crab walk position for some time will challenge some exercisers.

Here is how to do the crab walk:
1. Get on your hands and feet with your back towards the ground and your eyes up to the ceiling. This is a reverse push up position.

2. With your knees and elbows bent, start walking backwards on all fours. Be sure to keep your core muscles tight and your butt off the floor.

3. Continue going back for a certain count and then you can also go lateral or side to side with the crab walk to mix up the exercise as well.

One of the nice things about this exercise is that you don’t need any gym equipment or weights to do this strength training exercise. Not only does the crab walk give you a great strength workout, but it also works on improving agility and speed. This is important for people who play sports like football or rugby or who practice martial arts.

If you begin to think that the crab walk is too easy for you, you can also try it with some weights to add more difficulty. Simply place a weight on your lap as you do the crab walk or you can strap on a weight vest or belt to add some weight to your body. Adding weight to your body will make your muscles have to work harder, making your workout challenge your muscles even more.

The crab walk can be added to just about any type of workout. It’s a good exercise to incorporate into a circuit training workout as well as a strength training workout. Best of all it is something different that you don’t see done in all exercise routines and it makes your workout a little more interesting.