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Aerobic exercises at home are easy: You can walk, run, walk up and down the stairs, jump rope, do jumping jacks, and more. But what about strength building, muscle growing exercises? These are probably the hardest to do if you don't belong to a gym and don't have fancy home exercise equipment. In this article, I will talk about basic strength building exercises and how they can be done at home, with little or no equipment.

The three major strength-building exercises are: The squat, the deadlift, and the bench press. Of course, there are infinitely more strength-building exercises, but concentrating on these three exercises covers nearly the entire body.

The Squat is typically performed by using a barbell placed across the shoulders and "squatting" down as if about to sit in a chair, then coming back up. When performing a squat, it is important to keep your heels on the ground and your back straight. Of course, if you don't have a barbell this can be a little tough! So here are a few alternatives:

* Use anything around the house to add weight. You can use, for example, a box full of books on each shoulder (be sure the boxes are equal in weight) to add weight.
* Use our children! Placing a child on your shoulders adds weight and is a great way to spend time with your kids.
* Add a jump to your squat. If you can't add weight, squat low then "explode" upward, launching yourself into the air to add additional impact. Warning: This will add additional strain on your joints.

The deadlift is performed by placing a barbell on the floor in front of you and lifting it by extending your knees and hips while keeping your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Again, this can be difficult without a barbell, so let's look for some alternatives:

* Find things from around the house to lift. A cinder block or a basket filled with rocks will due.
* Do it one-legged, with your arms above your head (sounds silly, I know). Using only one leg at a time puts more strain on one side of the body. Putting your arms above your head adds resistance by using gravity and leverage. Doing a deadlift this way will also improve your balance over time.

The bench press is probably the most popular strength-building exercise there is. A typical bench press is performed by laying on a bench and lifting then lowering a barbell above your chest. The obvious alternative to the bench press is the push-up. Unfortunately, push-ups may not provide enough resistance to meet your goals, so

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