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I have never had a membership to a gym, and I don't plan on getting one anytime soon. You can get a great workout just sitting at home watching TV. That's right, I said you can actually workout while watching TV, and you don't even have to be watching one of those exercise shows either. Getting a good workout in has nothing to do with going to a central location where you can watch people sweat, and brag about how strong they are, or try to pick up a girl. Working out is all about moving, and with a little imagination you can make your own workouts at home.

You can get a good workout at home by just using a five pound weight. You see, gaining muscle isn't all about the amount of weight you use. Sometimes it isn't even about gaining muscle at all, sometimes you just want to tone an area, or just make it look better than it is right now. If you do the exercise properly, and do it for long enough, you can get a good workout, just like the guy who lifts 300 pounds.

All you need for a good lifting session is a bar, and some weights to put on that bar. You also need a flat surface to use as a bench, so that you are laying properly on the ground for lifting. You can get a weight bench for about 20 bucks at some places, or you can find one at a garage sale, but if you don't want to buy one you can always make one at home. I have used picnic benches, park benches, just anything that I could lay flat on, and was off the ground somewhat.

When lifting, you should try to aim for your body weight or more after awhile. You may have to start really small, like 50 pounds or so, but if you do enough repetitions, you can build your strength up.

If you don't feel like lifting, you can always buy a treadmill for running. If your yard is big enough, you can just run laps around the house, or run up and down the stairs in your home or apartment building. Whatever it takes to get your heart-rate up, and keep moving, which is what enables your body to burn fat, and lose weight.

If you don't feel like moving, you can always do crunches. All you need is to lay on the ground, and lift yourself up a little bit. I always imagined it was invented by some guy who couldnt reach the remote, but didn't want to get off the couch either. You can do crunches, sit-ups, push-ups, or almost any other kind of working just sitting down, or on your back. What could be easier than that?

If you are going to do sit-ups or crunches, I would recommend three sets of ten repetitions to begin. You can do more as your body adjusts to the stress put on your stomach, but don't overdo it at first or you may hurt yourself.

Working out has nothing to do with going to a gym. If you use your imagination, you can do all kinds of workouts, and get in shape without having to go the gym. You can find all kinds of workout routines just by typing those words into Google, or Yahoo. You can always get advice from a place like GNC, or go to your local YMCA if you need tips on how to start working out. Good luck, and above all make sure you do it right, so that you don't get hurt. Stay safe, and happy exercising.

Learn more about this author, Cody Hodge.
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