FitSugar

Too Cold to Run? Burn 250 Calories With This 30-Minute Circuit

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:37:13 PST

When it's too chilly to even imagine donning all the layers needed to run outside, you need a simple indoor workout to fall back on that will get your heart rate soaring and work your entire bod.

Here's a five-minute circuit workout you can do at home using set of stairs, a jump rope, and an exercise ball. If your house or apartment is only one floor, just use a sturdy low bench in place of the stairs. No jump rope on hand? Use your imagination and pretend; just jump in place without it. Using the exercise ball for push-ups and crunches makes these two moves more challenging, but if your home gym doesn't have one, just do those exercises on the floor. Crank up your favorite workout tunes and keep an eye on the clock, repeating this circuit one time through:

One minute walking up and down the stairs: 8 calories burned
One minute strength training (30 seconds push-ups, 30 seconds crunches): 5 calories burned
One minute jumping rope: 11 calories burned
One minute skipping around your house: 10 calories burned
One minute fast-paced jumping jacks: 8 calories burned

Total calories burned per round: 42

Repeat this five-minute circuit five more times for a total of six rounds and you'll burn 252 calories. This indoor circuit can be done at home, in a hotel room when traveling, or even at the gym (if you don't feel silly skipping in public!).

How to Create a Serene Yoga Spot

FitSugar — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:05:31 PDT

September is National Yoga Month, and if you're unable to take advantage of the free classes yoga studios are offering, don't fret. With a little elbow grease you can transform a corner of your home into a dedicated yoga zone. I learned a few things while recently converting part of my guest bedroom into a yoga space.

It would normally take me a while to tackle a home project like that, but turning an empty space into a serene workout area was much easier than I anticipated. Mostly because the task involved clearing and cleaning. In hardly no time, I transformed the area into the perfect meditating spot. Come check out these easy steps that will have you breathing and stretching easier in your own home.

The Gym-Free Interval Workout

Health — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:24:23 PDT

We are pumped to share one of favorite stories from Health.com here on FitSugar.

From the editors at Health.com

No time to rush to the gym for your daily workout? We've got you covered. From fab abs to thighs of steel, these easy to try-at-home exercises will have you looking and feeling great. This fun, 20-minute, equipment-free interval workout was created exclusively for Health by Crunch Gym’s regional group fitness director, Marc Santa Maria.

Hoppers
Hop from leg to leg and then hold your jump on the third hop: hop, hop, and hold; hop, hop, and hold. Continue for one minute.
After a 30-second break, repeat two more times.

Power Push-Ups
Start standing, bend at the waist, and put your hands flat on the floor. Walk your hands out to regular push-up position, do the push-up and walk your hands back to your feet. Stand back up. Repeat 10 times.

Health.com: 30-Minute Workout, No Gym Required

Step-It-Ups
Find a raised surface like a bench or stairs and count how many times you can step up and down in one minute. Be sure to alternate which foot steps up first. Repeat for a total of three sets, and try to beat your number of steps each time.

Touch & Squeezes
Get in push-up position. Bring your right knee up to touch your right elbow, and squeeze your abs in. Hold for a few seconds and do the other side. Repeat each side 10 times.

Health.com: The 7 Best Fat-Blasters

Chorus Line
Stand on one leg, raise the other leg, and bend at the knee, making the thigh parallel to the floor. Straighten the raised leg and hold. Repeat 10 times, making sure to point those toes. Then do the other side. For more stability, put one hand on a wall.

Check out the rest of the workout after the break.

Coach Potato Fitness: Exercises For TV Time

Heather Dale — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:05:14 PDT

If only I spent as many hours exercising as I do watching TV, my body would be bikini-ready in no time! Looks like I'm not the only one who has an array of favorite shows - Nielsen's Q2 2010 State of the Media fact sheet shows that the average American watches 143 hours of television per month. If you do the math on that, that's about five hours of TV per day!

Now that Spring is here, I highly advise taking workouts from the indoors to the outdoors, but if you just can't bear the thought of missing an episode of American Idol, here are some quick and easy exercises you can do from the comfort of your living room.

Couch-Tricep Dips: Get in a sitting position in front of your couch and put your hands on the edge of the couch. Move your butt out a bit so your pelvis is hanging out in the air. Slowly use your arms to lower your body to the floor and slowly bring your butt back up. When you do this, your legs should be at a 90-degree angle (in the start position your body will look like a human chair). You should feel the burn in your arms. Do two sets of 15, giving yourself a rest in between each set.

Keep reading to learn some more TV-friendly exercises!

A Reader Review: Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD

Fit Community — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:50:04 PDT

Enter to win in the Get Fit For 2011 giveaway by completing any challenges you may have missed, like FitSugar reader oatmealrunner, who shared her review of the Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD for the eighth challenge of our Get Fit For 2011 giveaway.

I've decided in an effort to stay fit and save some cash, I am going to try a variety of DVD workouts (via Netflix) and give you my review. This way you know what videos are worth renting/buying and which ones you can leave on the shelf. Now onto the review.

I purchased the Yoga Meltdown workout DVD sometime ago but have not thoroughly reviewed it. Being an fairly dedicated yogi (6 years of practice and counting), I was curious to see what Jillian was going to do - yoga and yelling don't exactly mix if you ask me - but I was willing to go into it open-minded.

The DVD consists of 2 workouts: level one and level two. I felt that level one focuses a lot on arms, whereas level two is more about the legs and abs. Each workout is approximately 30 minutes, which is great if you're strapped for time.

See the review when you

Get Glowing With YogaGlo

Michele Bell — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:30:38 PST

In my little utopia, I'd have a little sunny yoga deck off my bedroom where a personal yoga instructor would help me with my practice in privacy. Sadly that is not my reality, but I have found a pretty darn good substitute. It may not provide the sunshine, but YogaGlo does just about everything else.

Branded as "everyone's yoga," YogaGlo offers something for everyone - without all the boredom that some find in DVDs. For $18 a month, which is about the going rate for one studio class, subscribers can pick from over 600 classes. Unlike my local gym, which only offers a few versions of 55-minute classes, YogaGlo serves up sessions for folks who have five minutes, 15 minutes, 45 minutes, or 210 minutes. And it's not just basic yoga. Anusara, Hatha, Kundalini, and Yin are just a few of the versions offered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Want to learn more about it?

Review of Personal Training With Jackie: Xtreme Timesaver Training

Susi May — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:00:43 PDT

I use the exercise mantra "You can do anything for one minute" on myself frequently and often to a good effect, but Jackie Warner pushes the envelope on the notion in her latest DVD Personal Training With Jackie: Xtreme Timesaver Training ($10). The 32-minute workout is chock full of compound moves. Meaning you're working multiple body parts simultaneously in each exercise, making the boredom factor low and the muscle exhaustion factor high. And you do each multi-joint exercise for a whole minute - moves like: curtsy squat with a side kick and punch, which works your glutes, shoulders while challenging your sense of balance; deep plié squat with biceps curls targeting your bum, hamstrings, and arms; and bridge with pec flys for the glutes, back, and chest. I found the workout wonderfully challenging and can't wait to do it again.

The workout moves at a fast pace, after a brief warm up you dive into the belly of the program, which works all the major muscles groups and then some, from quads to triceps to core. I burned 220 in a little over a half hour, and my arms felt a little like jello as the closing credits rolled. Jackie offers modifications for all the exercises, and you can still get a lot out of the workout even if you don't use hand weights. My 5 lbs. felt too heavy in many exercises at around the 45-second mark and would love to try the workout with 3 lb. dumbbells next time. Although I felt the need to add a few more stretches to the DVD's cooldown, this is an efficient all body workout that fits into your living room.

Here's a little video preview:

Fit Tip: Don't Put Workout Gear Away

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:30:49 PDT

Whenever I finished strength training at home, I used to stash my dumbbells in the closet. But I realized that if they were visible, I'd be more likely to pick them up and use them later. Same goes with my yoga mat. Instead of keeping it under my bed, I keep it out on a shelf. Seeing it there when I wake up reminds me to start every morning with a set of stretches. A friend of mine keeps a portable StairMaster under her couch to use whenever she watches TV, and I keep dumbbells in my kitchen to use on baking breaks. I also keep my running shoes by the front door so I can throw them on whenever I'm heading out. Morale of the story? When it comes to workout gear, don't clean up.

But if the idea of dumbbells sitting out on your coffee table is unsettling, meet this idea somewhere in the middle. Find an area of your house that you can designate as your "home gym," and keep your gear stored neatly there. Having a fitness corner in your house is still a good visual cue to keep moving!

Late-Night Exercise Ideas

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:42:13 PDT

You overslept and missed your morning workout. And you couldn't make it to the gym because of a late meeting. Before giving up on working out completely tonight, try one of these ideas you can do at home instead.

Strength train with dumbbells. Do some half boat with bicep curls to work your upper body and your abs, or dumbbell squats to target your quads and glutes. And bent over lateral raises are great for toning your upper back.
Strength train with no equipment. Do some push-ups, work your core with scissor abs, or tone your backside with lying butt lifts.

What else can you do at home? To find out,

The Truth Behind Exercising at Home

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:00:00 PST

One simple way to fit exercise into your busy week is to work out at home, and if you have an elliptical or a treadmill even better. In reality though, it is not that simple. Just living in the same house as a cardio machine or being in the same room as a set of dumbbells does not guarantee you will get exercise. Workout gear provides the challenge; you provide the motivation.

This dilemma of not exercising at home even when you have the exercise equipment has been the subject of some recent studies. The conclusion makes sense: Setting unrealistic goals, then not meeting those goals creates dissatisfaction, the dissatisfaction keeps people from working out regularly. The trick is to set realistic goals and to also realize that exercising, even at home, means you have less time for other important activities like watching TV, sleeping, or surfing the Internet. Yes, there are trade offs, but when you rally you feel so much better.

Now tell me honestly, how often do you work out at home?

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