Weights at Home

I never felt comfortable using hte machines at the gym but wanted to build and define muscle so I got the 30 minutes to fitness dvd by kelly coffey-meyer. i love it! i never knew how to lift weights so its nice to have her walk me through each move and pace it out for me on tv. she has a whole series if you get bored of the one dvd.

I have a variety of weights: 10 lbs., 8 lbs., 5 lbs., 3 lbs. plus resistance bands, yoga mat, leg weights, and a pull up bar that fits in a door way. I have the P90X, other workouts by Beachbody, and the most recent program I bought is by Jillian Michaels, (Body Revolution). I personally would never go to a gym. I prefer the privacy of my house. I love all of my programs I use. I've done two rounds of P90 X and currently on my second round with the Body Revolution. I have outstanding results! And I'm a stay at home mommy of 4. I am busy but I make time to workout because it's important to me to be fit. The program by Michaels, they are DVD's and each workout is less than 35 minutes. Who doesn't have at least 30 minutes to work out? And you can adjust the workouts as you need to with ANY workout program.

I have loved all of the Jillian Michaels videos I have used. "30-day Shred" has three different 20-min workouts. All you need are light weights. I also have "Six week six-pack". She does a wonderful job of incorporating strength, with a bit of cardio and abs for a complete body workout. Good luck!

tbh I weight train (I run too) and you really can't beat the heavy weights if you want to burn 1000 calories at a time! That is the only reason why I have a gym membership. I can do everything else at home...all the dance classes, running, and yoga/pilates.

For example for my lower back, I do alot of barbell hip lifts (like on the Smith Machine). I've never found the equivalent at home with resistance bands. The only thing I could probably do is 100 pull ups and feel the same affects aka pain.

Sorry, I know that isn't what you want to hear. I'm just saying this from a weight lifting perspective.

Good luck.

I have 2 - 5 lb, 2 - 10 lb, 2-15 lb and one 20 pound hand weights. I also have an 8 pound medicine ball, a stabilizer ball and bosu ball. Oh, and a few resistance bands with handles. Of course picked up over time not all at once.

I struggled for quite a while, motivated and wanting to do something at home but like you wasn't sure how to equate what I had been doing at the gym to home. I did finally find a trainer who helped me develop a few home workouts and plan. Of course I paid her for our personal training sessions, but I was up front in telling what I wanted and why. She was amazing! And it is incredible what you can do at home with very little equipment.
There is also quite a few things on the 'net' but I browse Pinterest and get ideas too.

I am a wellness educator myself, and have been trying to find a trainer and set up a monthly checkin of some sort. I don't mind paying a small monthly fee just to have someone check in on me and ask me how I'm doing and what I'm doing. I contend that there are people who can't/don't/won/t pay for a gym and/or private trainer. But are motivated yet just need a little bit of accountability. I thought I had that in the trainer who gave me the home workouts, but no. Oddly, one of her partners and I have been conversing and she admits it takes nothing out of her day to send a quick text or email with a couple of tips, so I may have finally found it!

Good Luck!

Added: I know this is my own issue, but I just have to throw this out there. FOR ME - I will NOT buy anything Jillian Michaels endorses or is involved in. I saw her interviewed one time and a lady commented that it was harder after a certain age and asked if she had any advice for middle aged women. Again, IN MY OPINION, Jillian was very rude and flip and said basically that if women like Madonna and Tina Turner could do it so could she! I'm sorry, but Madonna, Tina, other stars have people to clean their house, pay the bills, take out the trash, nannies, drivers, hell even cooks and personal trainers! She clearly has no clue what 'normal' people have going on in their lives that sometimes interrupts their healthful good intentions.

OK, off my soapbox. Sorry for the digression.

I'm also a big supporter of Jillian Michaels videos. My new favorite is called No More Trouble Zones (or something). It's awesome because it's a full body workout and there are weights involved. I think mine are only 3 lbs. which is was she recommends because there are a lot of repetitions. This video is one of the longer ones of hers, about 45 minutes including warm up and cool down. If you need something shorter, I like 30 Day Shred or 6 Week Six Pack. All of them are full body workouts even though the titles may not sound like it.

S., my husband is a personal trainer and developed an at-home routine for me to do without using ANY equipment other than our living room steps and kitchen chairs. I love it for the mornings when he has clients and I can't go to the gym since the boys are sleeping. Let me know if you'd like me to send it to you!

I have 5,8 and 10lb hand weights and some exercise bands. You can get a great strength training workout at home with little equipment. You said you like to run, so go to runnersworld.com and you'll find strength and conditioning routines for runners. I find different workout routines and exercises online and make up my own routine, I get bored with videos. I also like to add some plyometrics to my weight routine for added strength and toning. Have fun!

You could use the exercise bands as opposed to dumbbells. That way, you have (usually) 3 different strength bands that can also be strength adjusted depending on how/where it is stabilized and gripped. Here's an example of what I'm referring to: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Mountain-Products-Resistance-...

Another option (in terms of not taking up as much space) would be something like these: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?produ...
That way you can have the variety of different weights without having to have (according to this particular product) 15 different pairs.

I also have 10, 8, 5, and 3 pound weights, plus a resistance band that came with a dvd. My weight routine is a combination of exercises I learned back when I took classes regularly. Plus I'll pick up a $3 DVD from Ross or Tuesday morning if I see something interesting. At that price, I'm willing to take a chance. I've also found some good exercise routines online, either posted by professionals or amateur youtube videos of exercise classes that I'll watch and follow on my laptop.