Exercise –Start Building a Home Gym

by Bob Lachniet
President - Fitness 4 Home Superstore

Have you been thinking about adding resistance training equipment for your home gym, but not sure where to start?

Purchasing a home gym can become quite a daunting task. But, it’s actually very easy to start – and you can do this with a few simple pieces of equipment!

First, get a high quality adjustable bench. An adjustable bench will replace the need for an incline bench, a flat bench, and a decline bench, saving you space. An adjustable bench is highly versatile and can be used in almost any exercise.

Next, pick up a set or two of dumbbells. Again, since your home doesn’t have the same room as a gym, saving space may be a priority for you. Rather than starting with a full set of weights, dumbbells are an excellent place to start, as dumbbells have long been hailed as the better choice among strength training equipment. Dumbbells are extremely versatile as well. Almost every exercise incorporates the use of weights. And, a wonderful alternative purchasing an extensive set of dumbbells, is to consider PowerBlocks, as they give you the same versatility of a full set of dumbbells in 18” x 22” of space. (Visit a Fitness 4 Home Superstore to check them out!).

Finally, get a burst-resistant stability ball. These are excellent for abdominal work because they support the spine, while isolating your stomach muscles. Unlike the expensive ab-machines you see on late night infomercials, a stability ball is inexpensive, and itl works the abs more than a crunch or sit-up could ever dream of.

With these simple pieces of equipment, you can start your home resistance training routine without taking up a lot of space in your home, and if you find your equipment needs increase, all of these pieces of equipment build a great foundation to a more extensive gym down the road! Just one reminder, though – don’t risk hurting yourself – if you find that the weights your lifting might be a little heavier than you’re used to – have someone act as a spotter so you don’t run the risk of injury. Just start slow, at a lower weight, and increase your weight as you get stronger!

Exercise - How To Guage If Your Workouts Are Making Progress

Sure, maybe you've been working out for a little while. But, how can you be sure you're making any progress? What are the signs that you're doing things "the right way"?

If you asses your progress exclusivly on the basis of lost pounds, or on inches, you might be missing out on other important signals that could be fueling your motivation. Here are a couple other measures to consider:

Pace - As your fitness improves, you should find that the time it takes to run a mile, either on the road, or on the treadmill, will gradually decrease, And, you should also find that you can maintain speeds that used to be a challenge, with less effort and heart rate than before.

Heart Rate Recovery - Remember your first workout? Remember that feeling that your heart was going to keep beating fast - forever? Well, as your workouts improve, you should find that your heart rate will now drop or return to normal much quicker than before. A good post workout heart rate recovery of 25 to 30 beats in one minute is considered good, and 50 to 60 beats per minute is excellent.

Strength and Endurance - If you can run three miles now, where before you could only run two, or lift a weight more easily than before, it's a sure sign your becoming fit.

Getting fit is more than just loosing weight, or loosing inches. It's about improving your endurance, your stamina, your strength. As you replace fat with muscle, your weight may not drop, but as muscle takes up less space than fat, you'll feel slimmer, toned, and stronger - and those are the measurements that truly help keep you motivated!

Exercise - Ignite Your Metabolism!

The harder you work out, and the closer you come to achieving the leanness you're looking for...the harder it seems to be to loose the last bit of fat you're looking to burn off. As frustrating as it is to try to loose weight, keep in mind that this is your body's way of self-preservation - your body is designed to protect your fuel reserves from running too low, just in case food becomes scarce. This was a nice biological feature in the past, but here in the 21st century, this "feature" is hardly necessary! How do you get around this problem? By igniting your metabolism! Here's some ways to make that happen!

1. Skip the long runs. Distance running doesn't enhance your fat-burning. It's much more effective to do short sprints of thirty seconds, interspersed with a slow jog.

2. As time goes on, the same amound of activity burns fewer calories - your body adapts to your level of work, causing you to keep "upping" the workout to achieve the results you were having before. For example, University of California at Berkley scientists found that to avoid age-related weight gain, runners needed to "up" their weekly mileage by 1.7 miles each year. So, think beyond your last workout - and think about what you can do on your next!

3 When weight training, do eight to 15 repititions of each set. This stimulates an increase in fat-burning hormones, compared to less or more rep's. Just make sure you use weights that challenge you. If you do eight repititions with a weight you could do 15 rep's with - you're not having an effective workout. Try to give 90 to 100 persent of your full effort for any given repitition range. If you struggle on your last repitition - you're in the zone!

4. Do two to four sets of each exercise. Yes, the more you do, the better...but only up to a point. Beyond 4 sets, you might be increasing your strength, but for fat burning, the extra sets above 4 don't really help! So, start with two sets as you start working out, and work up to four as your conditioning improves.

5. Keep your rest periods between sets no more than 75 seconds. Keeping your rest periods shorter builds lactate in your blodstream - and high lactate levels are associated with an increase in the release of fat-burning hormones. Resting too long lets your body process out the lactate in your bloodstream, negating the positive benefits.

6. Lift slow, not fast - and alternate between two exercises. Taking your time puts the stress on your muscles (which burn fuel) and off your tendons (which not only don't burn fat, but also can become injured from that stress). And, follow with a set that works a different muscle group. Not only does this help you limit your rest periods (keeping your lactate levels high), but also helps you offset fatigue!

7. Work your whole body. Work multiple muscles, rather than isolate specific muscle groups. And, the bigger / more muscles you work, the greater the benefit. For example - doing squats will elevate your metabolism far better than working your biceps - and working all your muscle groups in a workouut means more muscles burning fuel. And, as your muscles keep burning fuel even after a workout - up to 39 hours afterword! Plus, a University of Wisconsin study found that doing a full-body workout with just three big-muscle exercises (bench press, power clean, and squat) - you'll burn a greater percentage of calories from fat compared with only targeting a couple of small muscle groups.