[Elanajel]

It's winter here in Massachusetts, and I'm a sunshine girl at heart. If I didn't have my lightbox, I would hibernate each winter and probably gain 10+ pounds of carbo-eating. But the lightbox helps.

I could use some tips/strategies for keeping workouts interesting. Does anyone have a tape/DVD they use at home? I own hand weights, a resistance tube and a stability ball. I generally do my cardio and strength 3-5 times/week at the Y but some days are so yucky I'd be happy to get a decent workout at home (or the roads haven't been plowed).

I don't do any winter sports, other than hot chocolate drinking by the fire (which I have mastered!).

Any advice/ideas would be helpful.

Meg, I'm glad your surgery was successful. Best wishes for a good recovery.

[2frustrated]

You could try some stair running if you have a staircase available. I like the New York City Ballet workout tape (it makes me feel all slender) it used to be a real sweat but last time I did it, it was a sinch, but I suppose it depends on your fitness levels! It's nice for stretches and things and it really changed my rear end when I did it religiously!

Apart from tapes I tend to do my weight training at home, could you invest in some dumbbells so that you can still get that done when it's yukky outside?How about getting a rebounder? It's MEGA fun and you hardly notice you're exercising if you bounce around for the whole of your TV program!

Hope that helps

[Tani]

I actually envy your snow. If I lived somewhere where it actually snowed more than once a year, I'd love to try snowshoeing. I've been wanting to try it for quite a while, but I can't quite make myself *drive* in snow up to the mountains where I could do it. It would be nice if I could just snowshoe out the front door.

But since it sounds like you'd rather be in out of the cold, maybe a belly dance tape or some other kind of dance? Dancing is my favorite indoor workout, even though I'm a total clutz

[Mel]

Hi Elana,
You can do great workouts with resistance bands, a ball, and few dumbbells, and your own body weight.

Here's a resistance tube workout that Meg put together for a poster in LWL:

Hi Miaka! Resistance bands can give you a great workout while you're on the road. I have clients who travel with four of them (yellow, green, red and blue) and can do full body workouts wherever they find themselves.

Here's the workout that I put together for my clients - it covers all body parts except for abs. Those you can do with a million kind of crunches and no resistance at all.

Legs (blue band)
Squats
Lunges
Inner and outer thighs, butt kicks (band under a table leg)
Single-leg leg press / leg lift combo (lying down)

Chest (red band around a pole or doorknob)
Chest press
Pec flyes

Back (red band around a pole or doorknob)
Back row

Shoulders (yellow band)
Front raises
Side raises
Overhead press

Arms (green band)
Curls
Hammer curls
One-arm overhead extension

I bought my bands online at http://www.bodytrends.com/products/resistance/index.htm . It would be hard for me to write up descriptions of the exercises if you're not familiar with them (I spend an hour teaching this workout to clients) but there are books and videos available that might be helpful and you might be able to find illustrations on the Internet.

In addition, you can do all sorts of things with the ball. Lower back hyperextensions holding weights: place your feet against a wall and the ball under your tummy. "Droop" yourself over the ball with your arms outstretched in front of you, holding weights (or not). Use your lower back muscles to raise youre torso up and lift your arms up to shoulder level. Hold for a second, return to relaxed position. This also will work glutes and hamstrings.

Hamstring ball pulls: Lie on the floor facing up. Put your heels in the center of the ball. Do a pelvic tilt, and maintain this throughout the exercise. With your hips raised and your heels on the ball, bend your knees and pull the ball towards you. Think straight! Straighten your legs and rollthe ball back out. When this gets easy, try lifting one leg and doing it with only 1 heel on the ball.

Ball pushups: If you can't do full pushups, roll out on the ball so that your thighs are on it. Do as many pushups as you can. If you can do more than 15, next time roll out to your calves, then your feet. If you can do at least 10 real pushups, put your toes on the ball and do decline pushups. The extra effort that it takes to stay balanced makes this a killer core exercise as well as a chest exercise.

Ball Walks: Roll out on the ball so that your calves are on it. Walk your arms in a circle. Make little adjustments with your legs so that you don't fall off. Change directions. Get back on the ball and continue

The list is endless....

Have fun!

Mel