Don’t like working out at a gym?
Let’s face a fact: Some people are too scared to exercise in front of others. For those who already exercise at a gym, it’s not a problem for you. Maybe you’re already fit; maybe your personality allows you to not care about what others think. But for others, sometimes working up the courage to exercise is more work than actually exercising.
Let’s face another fact: You don’t need to go to a gym to exercise. This is great news for people who prefer to keep their exercising to themselves. Here are some ways someone can get into shape at home without feeling social pressures.
1. Buy an XBox Kinect or Wii.
Already have one? Perfect. Fitness games are a fun and exciting way to do exercise in your own home. Many games like Just Dance have exercise modes that help you calculate your calories burned. Now, of course, it’s not perfect, but it gives you an opportunity to have fun while moving. This is a great one for people who have space in their bedrooms or when they have the house to themselves. It’s also fun and entertaining when you do it with your friends.
My recommendations:
Just Dance
In October, Just Dance 2015 will be coming out for everyone to enjoy! It has brand new songs, including “Happy,” “I Love It,” “Burn,” and “Love Me Again.” They even have Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” and Love Letter’s “Only You,” which features a slow dance for a couple! Keep in mind that it’s focus is not a full body workout, but it still helps you work up a sweat and get your heart rate pumping! Click here to see this song.
In October, Just Dance 2015 will be coming out for everyone to enjoy! It has brand new songs, including “Happy,” “I Love It,” “Burn,” and “Love Me Again.” They even have Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” and Love Letter’s “Only You,” which features a slow dance for a couple! Keep in mind that it’s focus is not a full body workout, but it still helps you work up a sweat and get your heart rate pumping! Click here to see this song.
Zumba Fitness
I LOVE Zumba Fitness, especially World Party. It is a challenging workout that helps me learn new dances, music, and helps me burn just as many calories as I would spending twenty minutes in misery on the elliptical. What I love about Zumba Fitness World Party is that they use real instructors instead of animations. This seems like a small detail but it really makes a difference in the quality of the game. Click here to see a live demo.
Harley Pasternak’s Hollywood Workout
Mr. Pasternak is a famous trainer for actors, dancers, models, and everything of that sort. He’s also a trainer for normal people like you and me. I’ll admit, many of the exercises overlap in the different focus areas, but it’s a great way to track the progress you’ve made. The workouts are only 25 minutes long, so they’re great for busy people. Harley Pasternak created a Harley Bar for easy traveling which can be utilized in the game. It also gives you an option to add weights or have no weights, which will affect the calories you burn! Click here for an entire single workout example.
Mr. Pasternak is a famous trainer for actors, dancers, models, and everything of that sort. He’s also a trainer for normal people like you and me. I’ll admit, many of the exercises overlap in the different focus areas, but it’s a great way to track the progress you’ve made. The workouts are only 25 minutes long, so they’re great for busy people. Harley Pasternak created a Harley Bar for easy traveling which can be utilized in the game. It also gives you an option to add weights or have no weights, which will affect the calories you burn! Click here for an entire single workout example.
2. Download a mobile app to help track your dieting and fitness.
This can really help you realize what you’re eating, how much you’re exercising, how many calories you’re burning, and how active you might be. You might be more active than you think you are! If tracking isn’t your thing, I would still try a free app for a month so you can see data on what you’re eating and doing!
My FREE recommendations:
My FREE recommendations:
Nike Training Club
The best part of #NTC is that you have so many workouts to choose from. They do a great job tracking progress, creating workouts, and customizing fitness for you. This is geared towards women, but men can certainly benefit from these exercises as well.
The best part of #NTC is that you have so many workouts to choose from. They do a great job tracking progress, creating workouts, and customizing fitness for you. This is geared towards women, but men can certainly benefit from these exercises as well.
Fitbit
This is a beautiful app. The general look of the dots are really wonderful and clear. You can track your fitness, diet, personal goals, and even sleep! The best part of this is that it syncs up with MyFitnessPal (which has a larger food database). You don’t even need to own the $99 Fitbit Wristband, but in case you do, it syncs up easily with this app.
Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal
This is an incredibly simple app that simply helps you log food, exercise, and calories burned/gained. You can enter in your weight and set a goal weight and it gives you a calorie allowance. I love finishing a log for the day and having it predict where I will be in 5 weeks if I do what I did that day. It’s a great way to reflect and prepare for what you can and should eat. The best part about all of these apps is finding a yummy low calorie food unexpectedly!
Human – Free
This is a pretty incredible app that tracks your movement and pushes you to do at least 30 minutes of one exercise a day. Most sedentary people tend to be able to get in at least 30 minutes of movement each day, so that alone is motivating in itself. The best and worst part of this app is that it keeps going all day. Great for tracking, bad for your battery. Make sure you charge your phone every day for reliability!
3. BOSUⓇ
Did you really think I wouldn’t list the BOSUⓇ? The BOSUⓇ offers a COMPLETE body workout without ever stepping foot inside a gym. The little blue half ball is the perfect package of fitness.
Here are three great videos that show how to use BOSUⓇ in your home:
BOSUⓇ App
In addition to helpful videos, BOSUⓇ has a helpful fitness app as well as many helpful tools online. Although the BOSUⓇ app costs $1.99, it is packed with quality videos of complete workouts for any part of your body. It even includes a reminder to switch up your routine if you spend a lot of time doing one workout!
BONUS:
This is the sneakiest way of exercise: Doing everyday tasks. Glamour has a great list of ways to add exercise to your daily routine.
This entry was contributed by Shannon Bolen, a Public Relations and Marketing intern at Hedstrom - Ball, Bounce and Sport. She recently graduated from Bowling Green State University in music education and currently listens to Matt and Kim in her car.
