home workouts

No matter how active you are, everyone can use some relaxing time on the couch. But time spent in front of the TV doesn't have to be spent lying down. Here's how you can incorporate your fitness routine to make the most of couch time.

Roll: An active lifestyle can leave muscles constantly sore and tight. Rolling out knots can help, but it's not always on the agenda after a workout. That's why using a foam roller while you're in front of the TV is a good idea: you'll still be able to relax, all while massaging tired muscles and helping them repair. Watch our video on essential foam rolling moves that help massage your quads, IT bands, inner thighs, butt, and upper back.

Stretch: Much like foam rolling, stretching is an important part of a fitness routine that many people neglect. Enter couch time: you can stretch many joints and muscles without disrupting your TV-viewing enjoyment. This back- and ab-stretching pose, for example, may have you thinking you look ridiculous, but the results are effective. Incorporate some of these stretches for tight hips to further combat the effects of too much sitting.

Exercise: Feeling ambitious? These exercises will help tone a few muscle groups while you watch your favorite program. Using your couch to do tricep dips, for example, helps you target that hard-to-tone upper arm area, while doing the quadruped on your living room floor targets abs and butt. Learn how to do these couch exercises and more here.

If you're planning on indulging while you catch the glam at this Sunday's Oscars, then you can mitigate the effects of couch time with a little activity. Here are three workouts you can do before you settle down for TV viewing Sunday evening.

At home: Prepping for a party and don't have time to hit the gym? Do a heart-pumping workout without leaving the comfort of your home. These indoor equipment-free cardio workout ideas can be done in almost any space.

Detox: Make a preemptive strike with this detoxifying Pilates and yoga workout, which helps aid digestion and reenergizes your body.

Get outside: If you have the time and it's a nice day, opt for an outdoor workout. The Oscars can last for a few hours, especially if you tune in to catch all the red-carpet style. Get some fresh air before you hole up by taking a morning walk, hike, or run. Just make sure you bundle up smartly if it's cold where you live: here are tips on what to wear, how warm up, and more if you're exercising outside in the Winter.

Try this thigh-sculpting move in the comfort of your own home, and see it work some magic on your gams. This barre-optional exercise from Pure Barre helps shape the body without the need for any equipment. Try it tonight!

The Setup

If you don't have a barre in your home, find a doorway you can stand in easily.

• Stand straight with your heels together and toes slightly apart to form a V shape. Bend your knees and place your palms against either side of the doorway for balance.
• Picture the barre behind your lower back, which will help remind you to tuck your pelvis under and pull your abdominals in.

Step One

• Extend the right leg straight out in front of you, with pointed toes.
• Take two counts to lift the right leg up until the foot reaches hip height, then lower it back down for two counts. Repeat five times.

Step Two

• On the last leg lift, keep your right leg up. Try to hold your leg in the highest position you can.
• Bend your right knee, and then lengthen it back to straight. Do this 10-15 times.
• Remember to keep your left knee bent to help stabilize your body.

See the rest of the variations and cooldown after the break!

You may have tried scissor kicks, but this variation will provide double the burn. Using a ball between your hands, this exercise enables you to keep your abs engaged between curls. This do-anywhere move from Pure Barre is easily done on the floor — commercial break, anyone?

Setup

For this ab sequence, you'll need a small play ball or something that gives a little, like a bundled-up scarf or pillow.

• Lay down flat on your back with one leg straight to the ceiling and the other floating above the ground.
• Position your ball or item that you're going to hold behind your top thigh, holding it between your palms.
• Lift your shoulder blades off the ground, but try to relax your neck so that the work stays in your abs. Start curling your upper body up and then squeezing in on the ball with your hands. Each time you curl, go higher.
• Complete 15-20 reps of each curl and squeeze.

Switch Legs

• Switch legs, reset your shoulders, and begin to curl. Then squeeze on the second side.
• Complete 15-20 reps before drawing your bottom leg up to meet the top leg.

See another variation and soothing stretch after the break!

To build a strong core, it's important to strengthen muscles to work as a whole. This high curl position from Pure Barre works your front abs for that coveted six-pack, and then twists to work the sides of your core, or obliques. Feel the burn with this dynamic move, which sculpts your abs and inner thighs at the same time as you squeeze in on a ball.

The Setup

• Begin in a seated position with your knees up and a ball or pillow between your thighs.
• Tuck your hips by pulling your abs back and in, toward your rib cage. At the same time you tuck, squeeze in on the ball with your inner thighs. Do this 20 times.

Tabletop

• Lift one of your legs up in a tabletop position. Repeat the tuck and squeeze motion 15-20 times.
• Repeat on the second side with your opposite leg in tabletop position.

For More Challenge: Release Hands

• To challenge yourself even more, you can release your hands with your palms facing in.
• Complete 15-20 reps on each side.

Side Rotation

• Extend one of your legs from tabletop position and twist toward that straight leg. You can reach past your top thigh and grab underneath with both hands for support.
• Repeat the tuck in your hips and squeeze with your thighs 15-20 times. Complete the opposite side.

See a special bonus move after the break!

In many ballet-inspired classes, the barre is used in most exercises, including ones that work the abs. The flat-back exercise, one of our favorite moves because it targets the deep abs (the transversus abdominis), usually requires a barre, but this prop-free version from Kara Kokorelis, owner of the newest Pure Barre location in San Francisco, means you can now work your low, deep abs and build a stronger core at home. This variation without a barre is more difficult than the original but all the reason more to try it! "The key is to engage your abs and pull them back and in," says Kokorelis. "You are using your abs and entire core to lift your legs while using a forceful exhale with every movement. Core work is a huge element of Pure Barre."

The Setup

• You can try this exercise either against a wall for more support or in the center of a room for added challenge. Think about sitting tall against a wall so that your lower back is straight. Then, hinge your shoulders forward for more leverage. Do try to keep a flat back with the exception of your shoulder blades, which are at a slight angle forward.
• Open your legs into a diamond shape so that your toes touch and your knees open apart. By pressing your toes together will engage your inner thighs a bit as well. Keep your heels lifted for the duration of the exercise.

Cupped Hands

• Open your fingers away from each other and press your fingertips into the floor, making a cupping position with your palms.
• Try to keep the weight evenly distributed between all fingers for balance. Engage your abs by pulling them in toward your spine to prepare for the exercise.

See the exercise after the break!

Your new workout regimen may be off to a great start, but if you like to exercise at home, investing in home gym essentials may be a gradual affair. In the meantime, get an effective workout sans gym equipment.

1. Chair workout: Using a chair in your workouts challenges your core and turns toning into a total-body calorie burn. This chair workout from a FitSugar reader and certified trainer will strengthen your body all over without the need for weights.
2. Stair cardio workout: What to do when it's too cold to run outside and you don't have a treadmill? This butt-toning stair workout makes it possible to sweat it out in the comfort of your own home. The workout includes strength-training moves that can be done anywhere; dumbbells are optional for some of the moves but not required.
3. Towel workout: A small hand towel is all you need for this creative towel video workout from Madonna's trainer, Nicole Winhoffer. Use it as a resistance band, slider, and more for a home workout that's anything but boring.
4. Wall workout: These two moves using a wall will help strengthen your legs in no time.
5. No equipment workout: For the ultimate in do-anywhere workouts, follow along to our 10-minute no-equipment workout video. All you need is your laptop and your living room to work your entire body.

If used right, fitness DVDs can be a convenient and cost-effective way to stay in shape and introduce yourself to new exercises — but first you have to avoid distractions! From the clutter to your cell phone, there are several reasons why the gym may seem more appealing than your living room. But if you're looking to avoid the crowded gym (especially around the first of the year) or simply find that a home workout fits better into your budget and schedule, then consider these tips for getting the most from a DVD workout . . . and then press play!

• Remove distractions: To get the most from your workout, it is important that you have a space free from clutter and distractions. Because most fitness DVDs are designed for your living room, you don't need a fancy home gym, but you do need to make sure there is space to move. Remove the clutter, and push smaller furniture out of the way. Put technology like your cell phone and computer in another room to avoid disruptions and temptation.
• Wear workout gear: Although you are working out from home, still dress as if you are heading to the gym. This will help put you in the right mindset and keep you comfortable. Although it may seem efficient to stay in your pajamas, baggy clothes can be distracting, and your fuzzy socks may be a bit slippery . . .
• Designate a time: Treat a home workout as any other instructor-led class by designating a set time. Setting aside a specific time in your schedule will hold you accountable and keep you on track.
• Switch it up: Don't get stuck in a boring rut by doing the same workout over and over again. Although consistency will help you improve and see results, it is sometimes good to mix things up. Picking from a variety of DVDs will add more moves to your skill set, keep you attentive, and tone your entire body.

Keep reading for more tips!