I currently live in a studio apartment with no furniture. I've had a lot of friends and family offer me a big screen tv, leather sofa, dresser, etc, and I politely had to turn them down. Truth is, I love my open floor space, my apartment is my laboratory. When watching television on my laptop, I push myself through tabata intervals on my airdyne and enjoy the nice cool breeze of the fan wheel, then I'll get into a steady row on my rower and finish with some rebounding on my mini trampoline. This workout followed by a cold shower is a daily routine for me to get my day started.
I've always loved home workout equipment and have been buying it since I was 13 years old. It all started with a couple pairs of dumbbells and quickly progressed to the Total Gym 2000. I enjoyed many long workouts on the Total Gym as a kid and even used it occasionally later in my career as a personal trainer. After watching the infomercials I had to buy one. I mean if Chuck Norris uses the total gym... I heard when Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't move, the earth does... the Total Gym had to be the real deal.
Home exercise equipment has a bad reputation because most home exercise equipment lasts average people only a couple months before it begins to collect dust or ends up being sold to me on consignment from Play it Again Sports. To me, home exercise equipment is a solid investment that pays you back in health dividends as long as you are dedicated to use it. Home exercise equipment is great because when left out in plain sight, it will taunt you if you are being lazy. There is no excuse to not bounce on a mini trampoline or ride a stationary bike for a few 30 minute sessions every day when it is conveniently located by the television. This is especially true if you are like me and don't have any furniture.
If you are on a budget and can not buy a bowflex, or an airdyne, you can still have very effective and fun workouts at home with a couple peices of cheap exercise equipment found at any Walmart. Clear a little space in your living room and create an environment that is more functional for fitness. Here's what I suggest to get the most burn for your buck:
Mini Trampoline...$35
-Rebounding on a mini trampoline stimulates the lymphatic system into more efficiently clearing out the bodies wastes
-Easy on the joints. Rebounding puts about 1.5 times your bodyweight on your joints in a smooth bouncing motion while running causes about 8 times your bodyweight of joint jarring impact. This impact combined with dysfunctional postural alignment will undoubtedly cause injury.
-NASA uses rebounding to rehabilitate astronauts after being in space. Two weeks in space without gravity causes a loss of about 15% bone mass in astronauts. Rebounding is thought by NASA to be one of the best ways to quickly rebuild bone mass. This is excellent news for not only astronauts but people with osteoporosis.
-NASA has also found rebounding to be 68% more oxygen efficient than other forms of exercise. What that means is that you can exercise vigorously on a trampoline without feeling out of breath, but still gain the same benefits you would from jogging on pavement.
-Helps to strengthen your core (abdominals and lower back) when you bounce with good upright posture. Because of the fact that you must maintain good posture while rebounding, it is a great way to strengthen your overall posture. The gentle bounce along with some conscious effort to hold the shoulders and head back while maintaining neutral hips and straight feet, will help strengthen the muscles that are required to reinforce a better alignment.
-Improves balance and coordination due to the unstable surface and dynamic nature of the bouncing. Incorporates a greater percentage of the deep stabilizing muscles that are so important in injury prevention.
-Just like any other mode of exercise, rebounding will effectively improve your metabolism.
-Best of all, rebounding is fun, who doesn't like jumping on a trampoline?
You don't have to jump on the trampoline to get a good workout. Rebounding is as simple as maintaining good posture while gently bouncing up and down on your toes. Maintain a gentle bounce for 30 minutes and you will quickly realize how efficient the mini trampoline is as a fun mode of exercise. Advanced rebounders can run in place and jump more agressively, alternating single leg jumps as if skipping rope.
Exercise Ball...$15
Everybody knows what an exercise ball is and what it's for. Exercise balls are great for strengthening your core and have tons of great exercise possibilities. Here's a sample core workout of mine:
Full-Lever Sit Ups......25 reps
(full extension sit ups, let the back round around the ball all the way back and all the way up to sitting. No crunches!)
Back Hyperextensions....25 reps
(lay on ball, with fingertips by your ears, extend your back and lift your torso as high as you can, then lower and wrap around the ball)
Jackknifes.....10 reps
(hands on ground, top of foot on ball, drive hips straight up in the air while keeping your legs straight and rolling up onto your toes, then extend back down to the plank with feet on ball)
Knee Tucks.....20 reps
(hands on ground, top of foot on ball, tuck knees into your chest, then extend back to the plank with feet on ball)
Crunched Rotations.....50 reps
(hold the crunch position and slowly rotate side to side with hands together in front of your chest, can hold a medicine ball or dumbbell but not necessary.)
Reverse Plank.....Until form is compromised
(head and shoulders on ground, heels on ball, hold hips up and body straight)
Plank.....Until form is compromised
(feet on ground, hands on ball, keep hips up and body straight)
Circuit through core workout with minimal rest between each exercise, resting a couple minutes between each circuit. Adjust the exercise reps to your ability level and set a goal number of times to complete the circuit.
The addition of bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, squats, dips, pull-ups will make a well rounded full body workout that can be done in the convenience of your bedroom, in your underwear (personal preference), while watching your favorite television show or bumping your favorite music.
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