In my opinion, don’t spend a dime on anything other than a membership at a gym that you feel comfortable attending, with classes that will keep you motivated to achive your fitness goals and trainer/instructors that have fantastic personalities and know what the hell they are doing. I am a member of the YMCA. I love the “Y”. It keeps me coming back for more. I love the classes. I love the equipment. I enjoy the people. I think the facilities are fantastic.

Watching TV you will see commercials about products that promise results without much effort. One of the latest is the “Perfect Pushup” gizmo. Supposely this device makes pushups more effective. Now pushups are definitely one of the hardest and best fitness workouts you can do for your upper body if you aren’t using weights or machines. But you do not need to spend $50 to do pushups. The typical pushup is simply effective. Want to make it harder? Put your feet, or hands, on a BOSU ball or exercise ball.

I get why a product like this looks appealing, like so many others that will be offered in the New Year. It makes the exercise seem more fun. Easier. But the reality is the exercise will still be difficult and it will not be any more fun than if you simply did the standard military style pushup anyway.

Granted there are some fitness products that are worthwhile. Maybe they will allow you to do something that you could not do before. Maybe you want to build your upper body. A bench and a set of weights would be nice to have. But if you do not walk or run around your neighborhood, buying a treadmill is not going to make walking or running any more appealing. It may look shiny and fun for the first week but it will not be long before it is probably being used more to hang up your clothes.

Fitness takes a commitment that many are unwilling to stick with. If you can get on a fitness workout program and stay on it for three or four months, if you are still going well into April, then fitness will begin to be part of your routine and you will not want to miss it. You will make time to go to your fitness class. You will make sure you make up the weight lifting class you had to miss yesterday for some stupid meeting at work. Not many people are going to have this mindset. The resolution will fade after a month. This does not have to be you.

To prepare, Dutch 23-year-old beauty Kroes, who says she normally eats what she wants because she exercises often, goes on a strict sugar- and carb-free meal plan and spends many extra minutes a day jumping rope. “For other fashion shows you can be skinny, but for Victoria’s Secret, you need definition,” says Kroes, 23. - By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP

I’m impressed. Like most lingerie models they recognize that they have to be fit. Note that she says that she “exercises often”. Even for models it takes effort to look healthy and fit. Like she says, other fashion models are skinny. They simply don’t eat and they don’t have a shape. I find that look unattractive. The VS models are popular because they are fit, shapely and sexy.

Listen to what Kroes says. She has a fabulous body because she exercises a lot, she goes on a strict healthy diet and she does extra fitness work. If you want to be fit and healthy, there you go.

Image by darmorrow via Flickr

So why would you want to start a home fitness program? For one if you get fit and stay healthy you probably won’t be taking as many visits to the doctor, which we all know is not cheap. Healthcare is expensive and taking care of yourself and getting in shape helps to reduce those visits to the doctor. We all get sick or hurt but a little health maintenance goes a long way to keeping your money out of the hands of your insurance company and doctors.

A home fitness program is convenient. You don’t have to travel to the gym. Yes I realize gasoline is now close to $2 a gallon which seems like a bargain when it was over $4, but it’s still $2. That adds up. As long as you can self motivate yourself, home fitness is a great way to get in shape and not leave the house.

Home fitness does not require expensive exercise equipment. A couple of dumbells, a BOSU ball, resistance bands and a comfortable mat is all you need to get a great workout. If I had to choose one piece of equipment for home fitness it would be the BOSU ball. There are so many BOSU exercises you can do for a full body workout.

But home fitness does not require any exercise equipment. Try walking. Just get yourself moving. Now I know many of us live in suburbia which has no easy or convenient means to “walk to the market” to pick up groceries. Walking as a mode of transportation just isn’t doable for anyone not living in the city. But you chose a home in suburbia for the space and the neighborhoods. Use them. get out and walk, Walk twice a day, before and after work. Home fitness doesn’t have to be any more difficult than simply moving.

I recommend developing a home fitness program. You don’t have to be a member of a fancy gym to get in shape. You don’t need expensive exercise equipment. You just need to be motivated and realize that being fit is important. Home fitness is attainable for anyone.

The Best Home Gym you will ever own - Terrell Owens Gym System by Bodylastics

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So here’s the deal. I generally start tapering off from riding my road bike around November. I can’t really get home and get a good road bike ride in because the days are getting too short. Also I have two nights of softball games with the kids. Plus they practice on Saturdays which typically take up most of the day. So for bike riding, I might hit the trails on my mountain bike on Sunday and on an odd Saturday. With my limited time to bike ride now, I decided needed to find something else to do to maintain fitness. I turned to fitness swimming.

I used to be an age group swimmer so fitness swimming is something that I can do. I go during lunch twice during the week. I still lift weights on two days as well as take a couple of fitness classes at night. But fitness swimming is my main cardio activity for now. When softball ends I’ll take some boot camps at the gym. I’ve been enjoying swimming the laps so I may continue the fitness swimming as well.

I guess the point of this post is that you have to recognize when you need a change from working out. It serves no purpose to get burned out from doing whatever it is you do to keep fit. The only thing I haven’t been able to convince myself to do again is distance running. Being in my 40’s I’m just not interested in collecting all the shock that happens when you run. I want to keep my ligaments and muscles as supple as possible so low impact cardio workouts like swimming and biking will do me just fine.

I try and get 1,000 meters in each visit to the pool. I typical swim freestyle while throwing in a few laps of breaststroke to mix things up. Fitness swimming works damn near every muscle in your body. You will definitely feel it in your arms, shoulders and chest. It is fantastic for cardio as well. The faster you swim the harder you work. Distance swimming will also build your endurance.

If you aren’t much of a swimmer I would suggest you find someone who can teach you stroke lessons. If you aren’t performing the strokes correctly, swimming can be a drag. Literally and figuratively. If you do the proper strokes you will get way more out of your fitness swimming workout.

You can also target just your upper body with swiming equipment used to create drag like buoys. Putting these between your legs makes you work that much harder. Paddles for your hands will also force you to pull more water during your stroke, which also makes your muscles work harder. Kick boards will focus the workout on soley your legs. For now, I’ve been strictly swimming laps without any equipment.

Fitness swimming is a tough activity. There is no scenary but the bottom of the pool. You won’t be chatting to the person next to you. There is no TV to watch. Just you and the water. I find it relaxing and a very good fitness activity.

The workout is definitely not hard core. I think it is within the reach of most anyone who needs to get fit, lose weight and get in shape. Here is the workout plan from Yahoo titled “Get a Summer Bod in 4 Weeks”

1. Walk for 20 minutes at a moderate to intense pace, increasing your speed a little every five minutes or so. Then do one set of walking lunges (10 on each leg) bending deeply at the knee with each stride. Next, walk quickly for 5 minutes, and then repeat walking lunges. Repeat 5 minutes of fast walking, followed by walking lunges, 2 more times. Finish with two sets of 10 push-ups.

2. Do 10 abdominal crunches followed by 10 leg lifts on each side (lying on your side). Repeat three times. Then, do 25 jumping jacks followed by 30 seconds of running in place (kicking your knees up high). Repeat 3 times.

3. Walk for 5 minutes, jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 4-5 times.

4. Walk your heart out. Go for a 60-minute walk along the beach, in a lovely neighborhood, or hit the streets for an urban trek, but keep a steady, moderate-to-strong pace for the entire walk.

I still don’t think walking is all that great, unless you add hills or some other resistance. I like that the author says to walk with a moderate to strong pace though. There are many people this workout could benefit that can only walk so I can’t be too harsh about it. I just think that when people start walking they tend to take it easy when the intent is too really move it.

The thing I love about this workout is the walking lunges. I do a ton of those a  exercise classes like boot camp and during my solo workouts at the gym. Lunges are fantastic for your legs and glutes.

Don’t Take Off Running Just Yet, MU fitness Expert Says

It also is a vigorous exercise and isn’t for everyone, according to a University of Missouri Extension state fitness specialist. “It is unrealistic to one day get off the couch and decide to go out and run,” said Steve Ball, …

The good thing is most people start off walking to get themselves back into shape and to build up their endurance. This is perfectly fine but I’m not a huge fan of walking either. I think it’s a good place to start but if you want to get in shape you have to do more than a simple walk. I’m sorry but you have to do more. But it is a great fitness activity.

Get Fit With Fitness Walking

Fitness Walking is the Fastest Way to Walk Your Way to Fitness. Slowly, but surely, our world is becoming more and more overweight. With each passing year, the numbers of people who are classified with an above normal weight are growing …

That stuff is benefiting me too. I hardly ever work out my inner thighs. Or concentrate so heavily on my triceps. These seem to be a big deal to women and since the total body fitness classes I take are predominantly female, that’s what we end up concentrating on. Sure we still do exercises for the major muscle groups like squats and bench presses, but we are targeting smaller muscle groups too.

For those of you who play video games, have you thought about the Nintendo Wii fitness game? I don’t have that game system, nor do I intend on purchasing one. I’m just not sure what I think of this game. I guess I am a believer in whatever it takes to get someone off the couch. But just how effective will this game be for fitness? I don’t know. They are calling it more of a “holistic fitness” program.

EA making Wii fitness game

I’ll call [Wii Fit] more eastern fitness, where it senses weight and balance, like Tai-Chi. It’s more about holistic fitness.” The wise words of Peter Moore, ex Xbox boss, current EA Sports President. …

I’ll hold off making a judgment until I see the product in action. Personally it won’t keep me from making my rounds at the gym and riding my bicycle. But if you aren’t much into exercise but like video games, maybe it will the push that you need to make an effort at some level of fitness.

Core Workout

Obviously the first bosu exercise that you would be aware of is the abdominal workout. Sitting on the bosu and trying to get your balance while doing scissor kicks or crunches. Other core workouts include using a medicine ball and having someone throw it to you as you are seated on the bosu. You catch it, go back slightly, rotate side to side, then throw it back. That’s a killer. Or they throw to either side and you catch it. That bosu exercise really works the oblique muscles.

Chest and Shoulder Workout

In class we flip the bosu over and grip the edge of the ball, hands shoulder width apart. Then we do push ups. Think it’s easy? The bosu is unsteady forcing you to concentrate on balancing your core and obviously strengthening your arms, shoulders and chest. We also flip the it over to the flat side and place our feet on the ball and do more push ups. Additionally, we have used it to do standing shoulder presses. Simply grabbing it at the edge like a barbell and pressing up. It gets tiring after the doing it following the push ups.

Leg Workout

Lunges can be brutal on the bosu ball. Grab yourself a couple of dumbells or place a bar over your shoulder and do a typical forward lunge. Except land your leading foot onto the bosu. It’s not easy keeping your balance. In class we do a lot of squats standing on the bosu. Holding a medicine ball or hand weights. We also do squats holding the bosu over our head. That can be exhausting.

Bosu exercises are very challenging. I cannot say that I look forward to doing them in total body conditioning classes but at least when do I know that I will be getting a great workout.

So the topic of the night seemed to be getting in shape by May so they could wear summer clothes and swimsuits. I felt like a fly on the wall. But I thought it was interesting what motivated this group of women to workout. The thing is having a goal will help you continue to stay motivated to workout. These women know exactly what they wanted to achieve with their workout. Good for them.

Some women in these exercise classes I have seen over the last couple of years. They are regulars to the gym. I wonder about the others though. Will they simply quit once Spring arrives, having achieved whatever fitness goal they had strived for? Would seem a shame to work hard to get in shape, only to let yourself get soft as the Summer progresses, and then have to start over again in January. And from the sounds of it, that seems to be a tactic of exercising for some of these folks. It would be better I think to simply maintain.

As for me, I’m not certain what I will do when Spring comes. Indoor cycling classes will probably give way, as usual, to outdoor riding. I’ll try to attend as many group power lift and boot camp classes during the week as I can. I’m just unsure what to do on Saturday morning. I love the back to back boot camp then group lift classes. But I’m usually riding then. I doubt after those two classes I’d feel much like bike riding. Whatever.

Have a goal and get to the gym. Stick with it and maintain. Take some fitness classes because it’s fun, healthy and challenging. Simple little plan.

What gyms have to offer is motivation. You may think that is a small concern, one which good money might not need to be spent for. But, sometimes I need a pat on the back. It’s nice to get to know the instructors or trainers. They are always helpful and friendly. Encouraging. Yes you can simply exercise in front of your TV, but what is the fun in that? Who are you going to meet that shares the same fitness goals you do. I think it’s great to see a friendly face at the gym and see how they are doing. They always ask how I’m doing and that’s a nice feeling.

So you don’t care for the humanity of going to a gym. What else does gyms have to offer? Diversity. Equipment. I go to four separate exercise classes during the week. Total Body Conditioning, Group Weight Lifting, Spin Class and Boot Camp. If you are in a class with 20 other people something inside you is going to push you to keep up and get better. I also lift weights on my own. I could never have the variations in weight the gym has. They have 20lbs, 22.5lbs, 25lbs., for instance. I don’t have the room or money to be buying all this equipment. If I get sick of an exercise I simply find something else that the gym offers. If I’m working out at home then I feel like crap that I wasted money on this piece of equipment and I have to go out and buy more more stuff for my change in workout regimen. Convenience. That’s what gyms have to offer.

Also, if I bother to go to the gym, I’m going to work. Taking the time to drive over is a pain but it means that I’m serious about the effort. If I decide to workout at home it’s too easy to get distracted. When you go into a gym, it feels like a gym You are there to get fit. I have fun at the gym. I like being there. I like that I get to know people as they cycle in and out. I like to see people improve. I enjoy seeing people stick with it and lose the weight or change their body shape. It motivates me.

I’m pessimistic about many things, but finding out what gyms have to offer is not one of them. Getting fit and working out is something that I’m always excited about and interested in.