How to Workout at home!

After college I moved to Pennsylvania for a few months to be a nanny.  When I got there the family I nannied for graciously got me a membership to the YMCA.  It was so expensive!  Even though I wasn't paying for it, I swore to myself that I would get the most out of that membership and go to the gym at least 3 times a week!  I surprised myself by sticking to that promise and have never looked back!

Before I starting dating Andrew (which is basically a full time job) : ) I had the time to go to the gym after work.  I kept that up for a while, but it was just too much crammed in at the end of the day.  I decided to start working out in the mornings instead, and workout at home instead of the gym.  I have been doing this for a few months now, and it works so much better with my crazy evening schedule.  I also squeeze in a gym class 2 times a week.

These are my favorite home workouts.  They are free.  Which is awesome.  They aren't super long.  Which is awesome.  And I can fit one in whenever I have the time to spare.  Another thing that keeps me working out is planning when I am going to workout the night before.  Each day is different, so before I fall asleep at night and set my alarm I always factor in when I can workout the next day.  If I don't do this the day quickly fills up and my workout gets pushed aside and forgotten.

All you need is some free weights (I have a 3lb set and a 5lb set), a computer, tablet, or phone - and you are good to go!

1.  Jillian Michaels 30 day shred

This is a good, quick, and manageable workout.  It is only about 25 minutes long, and I always break a sweat and feel like I got in a good workout.  There are 3 levels to this workout, and the first one is available for free on YouTube.  If you want all of the levels you can buy it on Amazon for $6.99.  If I get bored of her workout moves I just swap in my own that fit into her categories of strength, cardio, and abs.  I also like to mute out her talking and play my own music which isn't annoying after watching it a million times.

Jillian usually uses the circuit mentality in her workouts which I really like since it keeps me on my toes.  She also has a few other full workout on YouTube which are great...just longer.

Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism 55 minutes
6 weeks to a six pack 35 minutes
No more trouble zones 56 minutes
Shred it with weights - level 1 28 minutes


2.  Abs

I am sure most of you have heard of the brutal workout series P90X?  This is is quick and painful ab routine.  My little sister is really good at it - me - not so much.  The key is to stick with it and do what you can.  If you keep doing it soon you will be able to do it all!  Just search for ab ripper x on YouTube - there are some copy cat version that are good...looks like they removed the original one.

Rebecca Louise also has some good abs workouts too!

3.  My circuit

I started my home workout routine with the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred videos.  I really liked that they were only 20-30 minutes long, but I quickly got bored of them.  I decided to keep her idea of circuit training going, but play my own music, set a timer, and have a list of exercises to choose from for each category.  So I pick one from each category - cardio, arms, legs, and abs - do them for one minute each and then do 6 circuits of different exercises from the list.  I also downloaded a Tabatha timer on my phone and on my laptop that can do 1 minute increments, 5-10 second breaks, and includes a buzzer and countdown as well.

Check out my list of exercises for this circuit here.

4.  Seven minute workout

This is a nifty little app I have on my phone.  It is a circuit of exercises for 7 minutes.  So on days when I just can't get a solid workout in - I do this workout 2-3 times through.  Just search for 7 minute workout on your phone and it should come up.  My niece likes this workout, and she can get through it just fine!

5.  Ballet/ Barre Workouts

Recently I have been doing these Ballet/Barre inspired workouts.  I did ballet for 7 years as a kid, and love the graceful beauty of ballet.  The workouts are a combination of yoga, pilates, cardio, and strength.  Really feels good after completing these ones.  Some of them are more chill then others, so on your off days they are a relaxing workout option.

6.  Be Fit

Be fit has a lot of great workout videos online.  They pretty much have a workout for every body part, and desired workout time.  These are some of my favorite ones:

7.  Cardio Workouts

Billy Blanks is old school Kick boxing extraordinaire - he actually has lots of videos on YouTube for free...check him out if you are looking for a fun cardio workout!

Quirky but fun!  30 minutes
Jessica Smith again!  26 minutes
Tony Horton from P90X 34 minutes

Jessica Smith is one of my new favorite exercise video maker...I like how she uses not so typical moves, and how they all flow so nicely.

Hope you liked my collection of workouts!  The most important thing is to just start moving!  Also, get outside when you can.  Go for a walk or bring your lap top outside and do these workouts in the sun.  Better yet, find a workout buddy - either a friend, family member, or even your kids - it will make the workout even better!