Don't have time to go to the gym but still want to lose weight? Here's how to put those muscles to work even when your eyes are glued to your favorite soap opera or sitcom.
- Start by lying on your back, head flat on the ground/couch/bed (ground preferred) and pulling your knee up towards your chin (they do not have to touch), then SLOWLY pushing it flat. Do not let your leg touch the floor. Do this 25 times each leg.
- Lie on your side, make your bottom leg straight and the top leg lifted a few inches in the air, bent at the knee. Now lift your leg up until it won't straighten any more. Do this 30 times each leg.
- Take the weights; depending on your strength, take one or two (five pound recommended; if you don't have weights, anything heavy like soup cans that will fit in your hands will do) and stand up and put your arms over your head. Bend at the elbows so the weights and your hands are behind your head. Do this 25 times.
- Lay down on your back with one weight in each hand. Start with your arms an inch or two over your chest. Lift all the way up and all the way to the sides (your left arm to the left and your right arm to the right). Don't let your arms touch the ground. Do this 25 times.
- Lie on your back and hold the weights to your chest. Lift your back several inches off the ground (do not use your head to pull yourself up--your back needs to be off the ground, not your head). Do this 25 times at least twice a day. If you cannot do 25 crunches in a row, then do three, take a breath, then three more. Do at least 10 sets.
Additional Tips:
- Doing this every time you watch TV will help, especially if you make a habit of exercising during commercials. Don't skip!
- Another thing you can do is find a good music channel and dance to every song that comes on. Dance with your whole body!
- You don't have to do every exercise; mix it up and do different ones during each commercial break.
- Don't eat while watching TV.
- Sit on a stability ball instead of the couch while actually watching the program. Bounce a little to keep your body warmed up between commercial breaks.
- Use commercial breaks as an opportunity to do pushups or other exercises that take your eyes permanently from the TV. Keep the volume on if you find yourself constantly looking to see if the commercials are over.
- Work yourself hard during the commercials, and then stretch for a short time when the commercials are over. After stretching, continue your standard excercises.
Megan, wikiHow.com
