Do you need expensive Gym machines to get fit? No- you don’t! These overly complicated machines are designed to make exercise easier when we all know the harder you work the more results. Plus, they don’t let you use all of your stabilizing muscles and they don’t take your body’s natural line into consideration.
Stick to exercises that are natural such as squats, you do this basic exercise whenever pick something up off the ground versus leg presses which use an impractical position of pushing a weight up in the air with your feet! Squats, pushups, chin-ups and other manual exercises have been around for hundreds of years for one reason, they work!
Squats:
There are several variations on squats, even daily things like weeding the garden, picking up toys in the living room or household chores that involve squatting down can give you a workout, especially if you are conscious of form. By performing squats and holding position for a few seconds while you are doing chores, you are working the muscles. Of course, it is easy to incorporate them as part of an exercise routine, if you don’t do much squatting in your daily routine.
Push-Ups:
Push-ups use your body’s natural weight for resistance to build muscle and burn fat. If you cannot do a full push-up on the floor, there are several variations that are easy to do. If you are on your hands and knees, it is still effective to do push-ups this way and they are not as difficult, since you are not supporting your entire body weight. Others practice standing push-ups, which you can do while you are waiting on dinner to get done. By standing against a counter, you can work arm muscles by putting your hands flat on the counter and raising and lowering your upper body.
Chin-Ups:
These might seem more difficult to do at home, unless you have a chin-up bar. There are several ways that you can easily work the same muscles. Some incorporate squats by squatting on the floor at the edge of their desk or kitchen table and pull themselves up with the burden on their arm muscles. Of course, if you have a chin-up bar installed, then it is that much better.
Other Home Workouts:
You don’t have to have expensive gym equipment and machines for effective workouts in your personal training. You can make your own weights from plastic two liter bottles filled with water or sand, for example and do arm lifts. Simple things like jumping rope, jumping jacks and other exercises are effective without machines. You can get a good workout using resistance bands, which are very cheap and turning regular household chores into exercise opportunities can be easy if you think of creative ways to incorporate a workout into your daily routine.
Adding sports and other recreational activities are ways to burn calories and tone muscle. Even walking the dog and incorporating sprints can be a fun and effective workout that doesn’t require special equipment and allows you to get some of your daily errands done at the same time.
Scott Hunt has been a Personal Trainer for over a decade and has personally taken over 20,000 Personal Training sessions. While his Gold Coast Studio, Fitness Enhancement has done hundreds of thousands of sessions.

