Exercise at Home: Giving Home Improvement a Whole New Meaning

Working Out and Exercising at Home

There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of exercise books and videos that can help you get in shape without paying gym fees or driving to the nearest class.

Exercising at home is great because you can fit it into your day, when the baby is napping, or when you’re bored with work and feel your rear end falling asleep.You may need an exercise mat, and a good pair of shoes (bare feet tend to create slipping accidents, rug catches, and later on, foot problems).

Depending on the video you choose, added equipment may include steps, an exercise ball, stretchy bands (also called Dyna-bands), bikes, treadmills, or weight machines. You may even decide to add hand weights to your original weight-free workout.

It doesn’t matter what form of exercise you decide on: what matters most when you exercise at home is that the exercise video you choose keeps you motivated and interested enough to exercise three to five times a week. If the music annoys you or you don’t like the exercise leader, you probably won’t use the tape as much as you should. For that reason, you may decide to make a small tape collection, mixing up styles or at least leaders to stay interested. Three or four exercise tapes will still cost less than joining fees at most gyms.

Home Improvement Tip: When I mentioned to my husband I wanted to convert the guest bedroom into a home gym he was instantly on the Internet researching home gym equipment. Little did he know that the home improvement that he envisioned for his body would come more in the form of working out with a hammer.

By the time we were done he had to remove the closet doors, change the lighting, add air-conditioning to the room, tear out the carpet and replace it with a hardwood floors. Rather than spending his Internet time looking for the perfect workout he spent it on a website called AsktheBuilder.com. I don't know if you have ever visited this webiste, but if you are a home improvement nut, this place is amazing. In my next life I'm marrying Tim Carter. He's the builder at "Ask the Builder.".