Make you own home gym!

 

You can spend thousands on a home gym or nothing at all. You can use gallons of drinks to simulate weights and use items around the house. However you will have more fun and use the gym more often if you have the below items to get going.

An exercise or stability ball, costs about $15+. Make sure you get the right one for your size leg/weight. Make sure it is the right size or you won’t feel comfortable using this.

Dumb bells are good for a home gym, you can choose a lighter weight and a heavier weight to get started. It is easier to add to this when you get fitter.

Exercise bands/ropes come in different strengths and it is easy to pick up a multi pack in a big box store for $15.

You need a cardio machine that you will use.  Do you like treadmills? How about the Elliptical? Or just go with a mini re-bounder for $30+ and step for cardio.

Work out videos or on demand tv or local trainer classes are a good bet to give you a good all round workout, getting all the major muscle groups.

For intermediate level you may enjoy:

An adjustable bench is a good idea, even if you aren’t a big weights person, a versatile one can be used for leg lifts, and incline. It can cost $40+ secondhand.

A chin up bar can be a cheap and easy to install in the frame of a door but make sure it is installed correctly as you may get hurt if not.

Look online for workouts, there are many but check with your doctor first.

@myHFjourney

Must get fit!

Dieting alone won't work long term, or at all, a fitness plan is required too. You may have gained weight because of overeating, but also probably because you aren't burning off as much as you eat.

You need to increase your activity, I've noticed that I clock 5,000 steps a day doing what I do every day. That isn't enough, and apparently is in the sedentary category. I had no idea that 5,000 steps is sedentary, I thought it was good. The goal is 10,000 steps and often more. But even 7,000 steps has marked improvement on your health.

How do you increase your activity? Well I'm sure you've read the ways to increase steps, park further from the store, walk to nearby stores, walk your pets or bike ride with your kids, etc. But you will also need to do a strenuous activity a few times a week as well as doing your steps. Perhaps a light jog/walk, or an exercise or yoga class in town, go to a gym, or bike ride around town. There are tons of different options for beginners and you can choose your favorite activity. Don't limit yourself, perhaps you like dancing, enroll in a class or two.

You can also do a workout from home by doing a DVD or you tube routine. There are literally tons of options these days. From on demand exercise classes, online website classes, videos/DVD's and more. Don't get stuck on only one option either as you may get bored or want a change of pace. If you change your workouts you will vary the muscle groups used and be fitter than if you only did one activity.

See if you can encourage your friends to do an activity with you, you get to enjoy their company and this will keep you active too. Perhaps see if your next friends get together can be a fitness activity instead of a restaurant or drinks.

You may also need someone to keep you honest and improving, if you are looking for a specific goal. Perhaps a doctor can monitor your progress. Go to weight watchers they have weigh ins, or find a weight loss buddy online or nearby.

Keep at it, every increase in activity is important and necessary. You will start to feel better, especially if you are also watching your meal plan/diet.

Any other ideas or comments on an easy way to incorporate fitness in your life?

@myHFjourney

REDcard sign-up

Save 5% and get Free Shipping at Target - Apply for a REDcard run dates: no end date

link:  http://goto.target.com/c/164534/99528/2092

How to focus on your health but not obsess, is this possible?

People are getting bigger and less fit and lifestyle accounts for many of today’s ailments. We know it is important to focus on your health. But health advisers suggest not obsessing over your health as too much focus on diet and weight may propel you to a binge or other eating disorder. If you focus on food all the time you may be hungry all the time too if you get hungry when you think about food.

What is the balance between focusing on health, and not obsessing over food? It seems to be a very fine line, which is why health professionals suggest making small lifestyle changes in the long term instead of short-term diets.  Do what ever you used to do but eat a little less or skip a snack (if blood sugar is balanced), eat lots of vegetables and some fruit, eat dessert only on the weekends or special occasions etc.  If you try to do all the suggestions all at once you risk failing and that failure and the obsession may make you less likely to want to try changes in the future.

In Stop the Insanity Susan Powter says that the obsession over food is the reason for the obesity and that if we stop forbidding foods that we can go back to our natural hunger pattern and be content with our shape and body.

Is it possible to calorie count and not obsess? I am not so sure. If you have to count calories then you are slightly preoccupied with your diet and it focuses on the calories you can’t eat.

In Scarcity:Why Having Too Little Means So Much, Eldar Shafir goes in to depth about how restriction focuses on the loss in a negative way. It claims that the best way to lose weight is to increase the frequency of meals to allow the feeling of abundance. How cans this work with initiating a weight loss? I have yet to find out but it is worth examining given that most diets fail over the long term.

Perhaps the focus could be on stopping binge dieting and emotional eating? I.e. we won’t abuse our bodies when we feel bad and eat too much ice cream. We won’t give in to a binge when we have overeaten a little, i.e. “throw the baby out with the bath water” just because we slipped up a little.  There are lots of resources out there for binge eating and overeating addiction, including overeater’s anonymous, online forums and more.

Of course we all know we should move more and often. Perhaps we could focus more on fitness, since fitness addictions are more rare than eating disorders. But yes there is a small minority that will overdo fitness too. 

@myHFjourney

Check out my sponsor  Sovaldi Generic mainly used for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment!