Workout Without Equipment

It’s not unusual for people to feel that they can work out only if they have a fully equipped gym with a large assortment of equipment. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only things you need to work out are motivation and determination.

There are basically two parts to a workout–cardiovascular (or aerobics) and strengthening (or toning). Most people are under the impression that aerobic exercise should leave you gasping for air. The reality is that working out aerobically should actually feel quite comfortable. You can work out aerobically without equipment by (in order of difficulty):

  • Walking
  • Hiking
  • RunningIf you are just starting an exercise program, begin by just walking in your neighborhood and try to avoid any hills. As you walk you want to feel a little out of breath and be perspiring moderately (barring high heat and humidity). If you had to describe your level of exertion on a scale of 1 to 10, it should feel like a 6 or 7. Remember that this should feel like a level that you could comfortably sustain for 20 minutes or more.
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  • Fit For Life

    Motivation is the key to maintaining a lifelong exercise commitment. What will it take for you to make a permanent lifestyle change?

    Start by taking a good, long look in the mirror. Do you see the weight of everyone else’s problems? Your spouse’s job-related stress pads your thighs, juggling the daily day care and work commute jiggles under your arms, or possibly the pressure of your own career thickens your waistline. Maybe losing a few pounds would boost your self-image. Perhaps the weight you bear can’t be measured in pounds, but in the heavy expectations of being the woman you think you should be–bright, successful, self-sufficient, and at all times beautiful. Take time to focus on how you feel. Perhaps your stress is entirely your own, visible as the perpetual purple rings under your eyes and the tension you feel throughout your body. Now close your eyes, and imagine the ideal you–a woman who is physically and emotionally fit.

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    5 Keys to Better Fitness

    One of the toughest things anyone can do is start a fitness program after not being active for some time. Once you make the commitment to yourself, where do you go and what do you do? You know that aerobic exercise is good for your heart and burns extra calories, but the last time you went running, it was painful. And you only want to tone up, not have big giant muscles like something on an ESPN workout program.

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    In It for the Long Haul

    Sure, it’s more difficult to get back into an exercise routine after a long layoff–or even start one when you’ve never worked out regularly before. Once working out is a regular part of your life, it’s easy to stay in the habit of keeping fit and healthy. But the battle’s not over. Even the most diehard fitness buffs occasionally fight workout burnout and boredom.

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    Why Exercise is the Best Medicine

    Between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from headaches each year. Many of those headache sufferers often turn to medication or retire to a dark room waiting for the pain to go away. However, other headache sufferers are finding relief by taking a proactive approach. Before headaches strike, they engage in aerobic exercise.

    Their results are impressive: people who engage in aerobic exercise get fewer headaches, their headaches are less severe, and they have less of a need for serious drug-therapy programs. “People who regularly walk briskly or jog have reported dramatic improvements in their headaches,” declare Dr. Alan M. Rapoport and Dr. Fred D. Sheftell, founders and directors of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connect-icut, and authors of several books about headaches.
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    50 Tips to Increase Stamina

    Can there really be 50 ways to increase performance in your favorite sport? Twenty-five push-ups a day do not an athelete make, but combine those exercises you do for strength and endurance with a nutritious diet, aerobic conditioning, weight training, and a healthy lifestyle, and you can be at the top of your form-whatever your sport. Consider the suggestions below; you may be in for a few surprises.
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    Volkssporting: A Whole New Kind of Walk

    If last names had anything to do with predisposing one to a sport, I guess this would be mine. Although swimming, bicycling, snowshoeing, roller skating, ice skating, and cross-country skiing also fall under the “volkssport” heading, walking is the main event, and the majority of volkssporting events are organized walks (the walking segment is sometimes referred to as volksmarching).
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