Another Exercise Question

[Wheres Toto]

I need suggestions for inside exercises. We don't have a treadmill or exercise bike and have no place to put one. The weather is too cold now to continue walking outside with the kids. To be honest the slow, stopping and starting walking that I did with two young children isn't very good exercise anyway. In our living room, by moving furniture slightly, I can get an area about 5 feet by 5 feet cleared away. I can achieve about 8 feet x 4 feet in the kids room (which is right off the living room). Both rooms have tv's with dvd players.

 

Joining a gym isn't possible for financial reasons (even our Y is $80/month plus $4/kid/hour for babysitting). I can't walk without the kids until after 9pm due to dh's work and dd's work/dance schedule and our neighborhood has no street lights but lots of bears (I get scared walking in from the car).

 

I'm looking for suggestions for dvds or websites with exercises that can be done in small spaces. I have a Tai Chi dvd and a stretching dvd that I do ocassionally but I'm looking for something more vigorous. I've put on even more weight in the last month and want to do something before it gets even worse. I need to lose about 50 pounds, I'm over 40 and I have knee problems. Not to mention two little kids that are always under foot.

[NanceXToo]

Definitely get some of the Leslie Sansone/Walk Away The Pound DVD's! They're great! In-home walking using basic marching in place at different speeds, kicks, kick backs, knee lifts, sidesteps, a little bit of 'a few steps foward/a few steps back' and so on.

 

Then depending on which DVD's you get, some of them incorporate upper body stuff (using either the weighted balls with water in them, or resistance bands, or small handweights), some of them incorporate a little jogging in place or a few steps forward and back, some of them incorporate a few kickboxing moves and so on...

 

They're easy, don't require a lot of space, or expensive equipment, or a whole lot of coordination (like some of those 'dance step' kind of ones, I get totally flustered and lost, I just don't have that kind of coordination or grace haha), but the WATP ones are easy!

 

And the kids enjoy doing them with me sometimes, too!

 

:)

[Britomart]

I love exercise DVDs. They're my favorite way to stay in shape.

 

The ones I have that take the least amount of space are weight-lifting ones, like these:

 

Jackie Warner's Power Circuit Training

and

Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones

 

My favorite all-over get-in-shape DVD is Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It might take a bit more space for a few of the moves, but I think you could adjust to your space. (For all of these DVDs, you need enough space to do a push-up, as a minimum. So, at least your body-length.)

 

This Rodney Yee yoga one is another favorite; you again need the length of your body, but you're not going to see a lot of forward-and-back or side-to-side movement. You need enough space to do the warrior poses and downward dog.

 

 

You're going to have trouble finding a cardio DVD to do in that amount of space, just because they tend to have more back-and-forth movement. I love dance DVDs, but those probably won't work. This one isn't dance and so might work for your space, though you'd have to adjust a few of the moves. But a lot of them are up-and-down (it's very plyometric-heavy), and even if you have to skip all the back-and-forth ones, you'll still really, really get your heartrate up. Or, on your cardio days, just do a bunch of jumping jacks, running in place and squat jumps to good music, and you'll get a great workout. Then do the body-building ones on the other days.

 

The Jackie Warner one mentioned at the top is probably the most space-conservative of all the ones I linked to, and is a very good full-body conditioning routine. Anyway, hope you find what you're looking for! Exercise DVDs have made all the difference to me, in terms of making exercise a regular part of my life.

[Wheres Toto]

Thank you for the suggestions. The Leslie Sansone videos sound perfect to start. Something that doesn't require a lot of coordination is a good thing. :tongue_smilie: I always blame it on the interruptions from the kids but to be honest, I'm sure it's just me. ;)

 

I may actually check the library for a beginner kick boxing video. I did kickboxing years ago and found it a good (but not too complicated) workout. If I can make it work in the space, it would be a good way to mix it up.

 

I've looked at the Jillian Michaels shred. Definitely outside my comfort zone right now. I think I'd have a heart attack and a dislocated knee if I tried (yes I am THAT out of shape). I'm checking some of the others out from the library to give them a try.

 

Thank you. :)

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I need to do this too!

I've got DVDs.

I just need to USE them!

:tongue_smilie:

[EarleneW]

Walk Away The Pounds are great! I also love all The Firm videos!

[LizzyBee]

T-Tapp doesn't require any equipment and can be done in a small space.

[rawbanana]

Jump roping. You can burn close to 100 calories in 10 minutes!!

[alpidarkomama]

I LOVE my punching bag!!!! I got a few videos from the library to get the basics down. We turn on some fun music and use it like a drum. It's a great workout. That and medicine balls in different weights are great too. :)