If you’re anything like me, you hate going to the gym–and by going I mean the travel time to and from the gym. I’ve been a member of 3 gyms in my lifetime, only one of which was close to where I lived. In fact, it was a 5 minute walk from my house. The other one was about 10 minutes (one way) and maybe more during rush hour. The last one was about 20-30 min (one way) because it was kind of across town and there were a lot of lights. To some people it might not sound like a lot of time, but after a long day of working and a personal life, I felt that a 20-60 minute commute to and from the gym was a ridiculous amount of time to waste in a day. In that time driving, I would think of all the things I could be getting done: a shower, dinner, watching tv, meeting friends for dinner, cleaning, and anything else on the day or week’s agenda. As a result, I no longer belong to a gym.
So, how do I stay in shape? First, I bought some weights. Second, I searched the internet for workout videos and bought a couple. Then, I found the holy grail of home workouts: exercisetv.tv. They have 80+ free full workouts that you can stream from your computer at your leisure, plus many others you can buy and download or get shipped to you. I only use the free ones. (Haha, I’m cheap). All of them are awesome workouts by top trainers – Jillian Michaels, Cindy Whitmarsh, Kendall Hogan, Billy Blanks, Denise Austin and many others you haven’t heard of but are equally as good. I often mix and match a few of the workouts. For example, I choose a 30 minute cardio video, and pair it with a 10-20 minute strength video. Not only do these videos keep you on task, but there are so many different combinations that you won’t get bored. I could never duplicate these workouts on my own in a gym. Better yet, I can start when I want, and when I’m done, I walk down the hallway to the shower; no more driving 10-30 minutes to get home after a hard workout!
Tip: If you have OnDemand through your cable provider (Comcast, Cox, etc.), Exercise TV also has the same free workout videos it offers online on OnDemand. Look under Health & Fitness.
Although workout videos and group classes are largely utilized by women, I suggest that men also check them out. There are videos that are clearly geared toward men. It would liven up your workout, make you more efficient and give you another option when you don’t want to go to the gym.
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