Hi everybody,

I know it's the oldest excuse in the book to say, 'oh I didn't work out because I didn't have time' but I really do have a hard time finding the time to be active other than running. I was just wondering if any of you have some suggestions for 'at home' workouts that you do that you have found really work. Any suggestions would be helpful!!!
Thanks!

Even if you just do a few push-ups and crunches in the morning when you get up or right before you go to bed, it will help out a lot. Also, if I have a lot of cleaning to do or just stuff around that I need to accomplish, I put on the iPod and dance while I'm doing it. I figure being active is at least better than doing nothing.

As for specific at-home exercise stuff, there are a lot of great DVD's out there that offer 10-minute exercise routines. I've used a dance/aerobics dvd before, and it was a lot of fun and could do it right away in the morning and I did notice an improvement in my muscle tone and a slight weight loss - I did not use it as religiously as I should have, though.


Hope that helps!

Warning - thread crasher present. I'm hardly a 20-something, but I am a very busy person that used my schedule as an excuse for a long time. I have bought several of the 10-minute solution videos and use them several times a week. They help in 2 ways - first, they have 10 minute segments that you can use individually or together so that you really can do just 10 minute routines as often as you can fit them in. Secondly, since no time really was more of an excuse, I often said to myself - I will do AT LEAST 10 minutes and cue up one of the routines. Often, I had time to cue up one or two more and actually get a decent amount of exercise in.

Busy days - a routine or two in the morning, another couple after work, but before evening activities - and then end the day with a flexibility-stretching routine (found on almost all of their videos).
They have been a Godsend!

This is from Smoothie King's website:

Anytime exercise
In the kitchen?
Do standing pushups while you wait for dinner to cook. Stand about an arm's length from the kitchen counter and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to strengthen your arms and shoulders.

Waiting for an elevator?
Take the stairs when possible, and if stairs aren't an option work your abdominal muscles. Stand with your feet parallel and your knees relaxed. Contract the muscles around your belly button, then elevate your upper torso and release.

Watching TV?
During commercials, jog in place. A 150-pound woman can burn up to 45 calories in 5 minutes. During the show, do leg lifts with small weights.

10-minute workout
0:01 – 1:00 — Walk briskly in place to warm up your muscles.
1:01 – 3:00 — Perform as many squats as you can in two minutes.
3:01 – 4:00 — Rest for one minute.
4:01 – 6:00 — Perform as many half-squats as you can in two minutes.
6:01 – 7:00 — Rest for one minute.
7:01 – 9:00 — Perform as many lunges (both legs) as you can in two minutes.
9:01 – 10:00 — Cool down and stretch.

10-minute cardio exercise
Pick several of these and perform each for :30 – 1:00:

Jumping jacks
Jogging in place — lift your knees and pump your arms to get your heart rate up.
Plyometric lunges — begin in a basic lunge position. In an explosive movement, jump, switch legs in the air and land with bent knees back into lunge.
Ski hops — with feet together, jump from side to side, landing with knees bent. The wider you jump and the lower you squat into the jump, the harder you'll work.
Jump rope
Skipping
Step jumps — stand in front of a step or platform and jump onto it, landing with both feet (harder), or a staggered landing (easier). Step down and repeat.
Squat hops — stand with feet wide apart. Lower into a squat and hop forward 4 times, keeping feet wide, legs bent into squat. Walk back and repeat.


10-minute strength training
If you only have 10 minutes, focus on your large muscle groups to maximize your workout. Add weight and slow your reps down (i.e., 4 counts up, 4 counts down) to really challenge your muscles. Do these moves while you watch TV, before work or whenever you have the time:

Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Pushups
Tricep dips

If you can't find time for formal exercise right now, then just look for ways in your day that you can be more active. There are some suggestions here:
http://www.easy-weightloss-tips.com/exercisetips.html