Home Sweet Home!

When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, a little goes a long way. You don’t have to be the person who lives in the gym 25/8. As a matter of fact, it is advised you find a healthy balance in your workout routine and allow your body ample amounts of rest and relaxation. Working out nonstop, machine on machine off, isn’t a good idea; and contrary to popular belief, you do not have to live your life inside of a gym to achieve your fitness goals. Fortunately, with the right equipment and enough determination you can transform your body without setting foot inside of a gym.

For anyone who can’t afford a gym or doesn’t have time to travel to and fro, there is a plethora home workouts that can fit any budget and work around any time constraints. If you enjoy being outdoors and observing nature, I highly recommend lacing your sneakers and finding a nice natural trail. If you allow yourself 30 minutes of mildly vigorous walking/jogging/running on a nature trail you’ve burned approximately 300 calories FOR FREE; and because the natural trail never closes, you can work up a sweat whenever it is convenient for your schedule. Now please don’t be a crazy and try to catch a midnight run, visit nature trails and parks during safe, well lit times of day. Err to the side of caution and always be prepared to defend yourself from a predator. I always run with mace pepper spray or a small key lodged between my pointer and middle fingers (usually my house key). While my community is advertised as safe and I like to believe the safety notes publicized, I know I live in a dangerously wild world and crazy lives in every neighborhood. So, I stay protected and it’s recommended you do the same. If you aren’t a fan of the nature trails, find a jump rump and exhaust yourself for about 30 minutes. Jump ropes are exciting because they can travel with you anywhere.

Cardio helps burn calories and fat, but you also need to tone certain parts of your body. By toning your body you accentuate your natural curves. In my opinion, a woman’s most important and most attractive curves are her legs, hips, thighs, and glutes.  Squats, lunges, and stairs will pop those glutes and thighs like none other; and each exercise can be done without touching your homecoming fund or your weekly gas stipend. If you have a set of stairs at your school (football field is perfect) or near your home, run the stairs as hard as you can for 10-15 minutes. Once you’ve finished with the stairs, move directly into four (4) sets of 25 squats and 25 lunges (right leg lunge + left leg lunge = 1 lunge). In roughly 30 minutes, you’ve burned 300 calories and worked the largest muscle group in your body. The fun thing about working your legs is that because the muscle group is so big, you will continue to burn fat and calories throughout the day. If you feel like having a cheat meal, have it on leg day.

As a woman, I think I can speak for all women and say our most hated body part is our mid-section. We will starve ourselves for days on end, just to obtain a flat stomach. Now in your teenage years this shouldn’t be as big of a problem; but just in case, I want to leave you ladies with a solid core workout. Listed below is the Ab Ripper X workout from the P90x workout routine. The workout takes a little over 17 minutes to complete and targets nearly every muscle in your mid-section. This is one of my favorite ab/core workouts because it’s absolutely free, and can be done within the confinements of your own home.

Whether it is the complicated gym equipment or the excessive membership fee, don’t let these simple anxieties deprive you of a healthy, fit lifestyle. Research which types of workouts suit your personality and find ways to implement those workout styles in your home.  Part of loving and accepting yourself is loving and accepting your body and every(body) can stand for improvement. Hone in on you and do a little “at home”self-improvement. Spring and summer are right around the corner, show them both what you are made of!

Until next time ladies, peace, love, at home workouts, health and beauty!

-Heidi Thomas