By Lynette 

We all want to be healthier, but do you find it hard to go to the gym?  I will walk you through some simple strength / resistance training exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home, or even when you travel!  Remember to always consult with your doctor before beginning an exercise program; it is for your health and safety.

With each exercise it is crucial that you keep your back straight and the core muscles engaged at all times.  This will help with any postural issues, and prevent any injuries.  It is also important to relax the shoulders, keep them away from the ears.  If you are straining in anyway with any of the exercises, either try lighter or no weights, or stop and take a break.  

  We will need the following items:  Exercise ball, mat, light/heavy resistance bands, light dumbbells.  All of these items are very inexpensive and can be used for so many exercises!  First and most important, we need to warm-up the muscles.  If you do not have the luxury of owning a treadmill or elliptical machine, walking or jogging in place, maybe jumping jacks, or any exercise to warm-up the muscles will be sufficient.  If the weather is warm, walking outside before beginning this workout program would also be sufficient as well.  Allow for at least a 5-10 minute warm-up.

  Now that we have had a good warm-up, now we are ready to get started.  We will begin by using the exercise ball and light dumbbells.  Place the exercise ball against the wall, with your lower back, (natural curvature of the lower spine), against the ball.  You want to imagine that you are sliding down a flat wall, so I want you to engage the core muscles by bringing in the naval towards the back of your spine, hold it there.  With the light weights, we will hold those, and as we squat down, (or imagine sitting in chair), we are going to press those weights over head.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.  Remember to perform each exercise slowly.

  Another 2-for-1 exercise is a Front Lunge with a Hammer Bicep Curl.  From a standing position, hands holding the light dumbbells next to the sides, we are going to step forward, (making sure that you step far enough to where your knee does not go past your ankle), dropping the knee towards the floor, and back to the start position, we will then switch legs.  In that same motion, we are going to curl the biceps towards the shoulders.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.

  Take either your light tube, or heavy tube and secure it on the top of the closed door.  Always make sure that the door is completely shut and tug on the tubes to make sure they will not pull away from the door.  We are going to perform a reverse fly.    As indicated in the picture, we going to keep the elbows, hands, and shoulder in alignment, as we pull the tube.  Imagine that you have an orange between your shoulders blades, and when you pull on the tube, try to squeeze the shoulder blades together.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.

  Now we are going to face away from the door to focus of the chest muscles.  Instead of pulling, we will be extending the arms out with press.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.

   The Lat pull with either a light or heavy tube.  Stepping on the tube, make sure the back and neck are straight, (shoulders relaxed), pull the handles towards the ribcage.  The elbows should be in alignment with the shoulders, and parallel to the floor.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.

  Now we need to grab the exercise ball and one single light dumbbell.  We are going to perform, (while working the core at the same time), a rotating tricep kickback.  Lightly place one knee on top of the exercise ball, and lightly one hand.  With the opposite arm we are going to make sure that the shoulders are relaxed, back is straight and arm is parallel to the floor.  We are going to extend the arm back, rotating, as we get to the top, (in alignment with the shoulder and elbow), and back down.  Perform 3 set of 10 repetitions slowly. 

  Now for some floor exercises.  We are going to focus on the glutes and hamstring muscles.  While kneeling on the floor, (again, relaxing the shoulders), we are going to bend one leg and with the heel of that foot, we are going to press it up towards the ceiling, performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions, slowly, on each leg.

  Now, the outer thigh muscles.  Get in a comfortable positions laying down on the mat, make sure you “stack the hips”, (Pilates term for making sure you are not leaning too far forward or backwards), and with the top leg we will slowly lift the leg up towards the ceiling, performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions on each leg slowly.              

  The legs won’t be complete without an inner thigh exercise.  With the top leg we will place behind the bottom leg.  Flexing the foot we are going to lift the bottom leg up towards the ceiling, performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.  Repeat on each leg.

  The Reverse Crunch, this is probably one of the most difficult exercises solely because it helps strength the lower part of the abdominals.  You want to imagine making “footprints” on the ceiling by lifting the hips off of the mat with the lower abdominals.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly.  If this exercise is too difficult, start with 1 repetition and each week work your way up to another repetition.  The quality of the exercise is far more important than the quantity. 

  Basic crunch, remember to support the neck, do not pull on the neck.  Keep the arms open, and crunch up towards the ceiling, bringing the shoulder blades off of the mat.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions slowly, or as many as you can correctly.

  Side-to-side crunch, focusing on the obliques, (sides).  While keeping the neck supported, arms open, try to imagine taking the armpit to the opposite knee, and alternating each side.  Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions (on each side), slowly.