We know, we know: You want to get more exercise, but you just don't have the time. Between working, sleeping, eating, socializing, goat-shaving, competitive belching, and those four hours of required television viewing, you just have too much to do during the day to actually worry about getting some exercise. And besides, you're not really too keen on forking over a couple hundred bucks for a health club membership.

Good news for you: there are many ways to get a proper workout without having to spend major amounts of money or blow 3 hours of your day away. Just do it at home! As long as you have a carpet or mat-like floor surface, a few household items, a neon spandex leotard, and a body, you can construct a top-notch exercise routine.

Some things to keep in mind:

  1. We're here to help you plan an exercise routine that's easy on the wallet, but not necessarily easy on the heart rate. So just because you're doing it cheap and quick doesn't mean that you're not gonna sweat.

  2. As you should do before undertaking any new physical hobby, you should let your doctor know about your new exercise plan.

  3. While we'll teach you how to get a cheap home workout, it won't necessarily be free. You may have to buy something such as a ball or a jump rope. What, you thought it would be completely free? Who do we look like, Santa Claus?! At least you won't have to pay eight easy installments of $39.95 for a Thigh Master.

1. ASSESS YOUR FITNESS GOALS

Before you even lift a finger (much less a heavy object), you need to figure out why you want to exercise. There are different goals (and combinations thereof) that you may have, and your goals will affect what your routine will look like. So which is your primary reason for working out?

  1. You want to lose weight. Surprise, surprise. This, along with reason number 2 (see below) is the most common reason for wanting to get some exercise. If this is the case, you should take a gander at our article "So You Wanna Lose Weight?"

    If you want to lose weight, your exercise routine will consist mainly of cardiovascular exercises (we'll show you some in Step 3). You should also consider that for any cardiovascular exercise to be of any benefit to you, you must do it for at least 25 minutes.

  2. You want to tone or strengthen your entire body (or a specific part of your body). Are you sporting more of a one-pack than a six-pack? Whether you want to be sleeker and firmer, or huge and muscle-y, there are tons of things you can do at home without spending any money.

    For toning and strengthening, you are going to concentrate on lifting heavy objects (for toning, you do more lifting with a lighter weight; for strengthening, you do less lifting with a heavier weight). Again, we list plenty of suggestions in Step 3.

  3. You just want to feel better in an all-around kind of way. Beta-endorphins are your brain's "feel good" drug (it's kinda like legal crack), and any form of exercise gets those endorphins pumping through your body, making you feel better both physically and mentally. This is especially true if you exercise in the morning; studies show that substantial exercise in the mornings keeps your endorphin levels elevated throughout the day.

  4. You need an activity to help you relax and relieve stress. Ah, the "catharsis" argument. Some people feel that if they kick along with a Tae Bo tape, then it helps them to unleash frustration and anger, relieving stress in general.

Ideally, a proper exercise routine will help you accomplish all of the above. Exercising on a regular basis is bound to help you lose weight (as long as you're not scarfing down cheeseburgers 24/7), tone up, and feel better about yourself, and relax.

2. ASSESS YOUR LIFESTYLE

It's much easier to attack an exercise plan now that you know what you're doing it for, isn't it? The next step is to assess your lifestyle and figure out how much 1) time and 2) money you're willing to devote. Yes, a home workout means that both of these potential negatives will be much lower than if you had to go to a gym, but to create a proper regimen, you still need a general idea.

Time
Money

Time

Here's how to arrange a time schedule for your exercise routine:

  • Sit down with a daily schedule and pick out times in your week that could be devoted to exercising. The available slots in your schedule will determine what types of exercise you put into your routine. For instance, if you only have time late at night to exercise, you won't want to jog around your neighborhood as part of your routine.

  • Don't forget to consider those 10 to 20 minute lags in your day (probably the times you usually grab a snack). You can do stomach crunches in the morning while you wait for your coffee to drip. You can do a power aerobics session (such as jumping rope) after while you wait for your clothes to dry.

  • Longer slots of time can be used for slower-paced activities like walking or hiking. This is especially appropriate for weekends. Then you can claim to be outdoorsy too.

Chances are, the time is somewhere there in your schedule. The trick is to find activities that fit into your lifestyle and to keep it fun. Yeah, yeah, we know that there are probably a ton of other activities that you would consider MORE fun, but we guarantee you that as soon as those beta-endorphins start kicking in, you'll be hooked.

Money

We know that the title of this article is "So You Wanna Get a Cheap Home Workout," but "cheap" doesn't mean "free." So you may have to drop some cash for a couple simple items:

  • Sneakers. First of all, pretty much any exercise that you do will require a good pair of sneakers. Even though you're in the comfort of your house and you'd like to exercise barefoot and naked, you need to wear sneakers to save the wear-n-tear on your joints. To figure out how to buy the right pair, read our article "SYW buy a good pair of sneakers?"

  • Safety equipment. This is necessary if you you decide to go biking or rollerblading (e.g., helmet, wrist guards, etc.). If you're cheap/poor and don't want to buy the equipment, then just don't do those activities. It's OK to be cheap, but it's not OK to be stupid.

  • Exercise surface. If your entire apartment is hardwood floors, you'll have to get either an exercise mat or a piece of carpet big enough for you to work out on. It's just too hard on your body to do vigorous exercise on hard floors.

And that's pretty much everything. You don't need weights, ab rollers, or go-go dancers in cages; just sneakers, a mat, and safety equipment (if necessary).

3. PLAN A ROUTINE

Now we're at the nitty-gritty: picking some exercises and planning a routine. Think of this list as a menu of exercises that you can pick and choose from; feel free to add your own menu items. We're simply here to get your brain (and your body) on the cheap and healthy track to physical fitness.

Remember to stretch for at least five minutes before performing any of these exercises. Yes, even though activities such as power-walking and cleaning seem relatively harmless, stretching still warms up your muscles, allowing you to get the blood flowing more quickly.

  1. Power-Walk. Many people love to go jogging. However, jogging takes a serious toll on your knees, and doesn't necessarily do much more for you than a brisk walk. Thus, we recommend power-walking for exercise. Although power-walking doesn't burn quite as many calories as jogging, most doctors agree that power-walking is better for you in the long run anyway (it exercises more muscle groups).

    Here's how to do it:

    • As you walk, keep your elbows at 90-degree angles, and move them back and forth rapidly with every step.

    • Press from your heels as you walk, and you'll feel the burn in your lower thighs and butt.

    • Try power-walking in areas where you'll have to walk uphill. You'll burn more calories and tone your muscles quicker.

    • If you don't feel that your heart rate is up quite high enough, try alternating jogging and power-walking. You should be sweating and pleasantly red, but you shouldn't feel as if you've just run a marathon. Find the happy medium.

    • If you get a cramp in your stomach, slow down a little and breathe evenly. Most stomach cramps during workout sessions come from the exerciser not breathing properly. So fight the tendency to hold your breath while you work out. Take long, even breaths and the cramps should go away. And walk on!
  2. Jump rope. Don't smirk. Jumping rope isn't only for little girls in pink dresses and pigtails. Jumping rope is a fantastic way to get cardiovascular exercise while staying in the comforts of your home: five minutes of jumping rope has the calorie-burning power of jogging one mile. Of course, we're talking about REAL jumping rope action-going quick and not doing those little "double hops" in between each turn. If you don't know what we're talking about when we say "real" jumping rope, rent Rocky and learn from the master.

  3. Use workout tapes. There are tons of good workout tapes out there, most of which are relatively cheap. The most important tip we can give you is to tell you to avoid celebrity or high-profile tapes (e.g., anything from Cindy Crawford or any other supermodel). These tapes usually get bad reviews from the experts. And yes, this means you should probably avoid those famous Tae Bo tapes as well (Tae Bo is very difficult to do correctly, and when done incorrectly, it can harm your joints). So try to find a tape with a lower-key veteran of the exercise world like Gilad or Denise Austin. You can pick up these tapes for less than ten bucks at most video stores. If you're super cheap, we suggest that you tape a few ESPN shows and use those.

  4. Tone up without those fancy home gyms. We want to let you in a little secret: Those home gyms (Soloflex, Bowflex) are pretty much a waste of money. You can get the same toning effects without fancy machines and without the guilt. Almost any kind of strengthening or toning exercise can be done by using your body weight as natural resistance (for instance, push-ups, squats, sit-ups). Gyms aren't nearly as necessary as you think.

    We're not going to get into the specific exercises in this SYW; there are entire magazines devoted to such things. So we suggest that you pick up a couple issues of an exercise magazine to develop a list of toning exercises that target your "problem" areas. Use heavy soup cans for exercises where weights are needed. You can also pick up a set of cheap rubber bands at a physical therapy office (they usually give them to their patients for free, so you can probably talk them into giving you a set for a couple of bucks). And for your abs, never forget our article "So You Wanna Tone and Flatten Your Abs?"

  5. Make use of your stairs. Free stairmaster. Might as well use 'em. So play some music on the CD player, and start walking up and down the stairs. Push from the heel, not the knee, and alternate between going up every step and skipping a step. And don't hold on to the handrail, cheater. Keep your heart rate up, but stop if you feel dizzy (the stairs are not the best place to collapse in a heap). As you advance, start walking up and down with soup cans.

  6. Dance. Blast the radio and enjoy! Stomp those feet. Flail those arms. Move to the beat. Don't worry-no one's watching. It's cheap, easy, and sweaty. How many other things can you say that about?

  7. Ride your bike or rollerblade. Again, don't forget what we said about safety equipment (be proud of that helmet hair!). Rollerblade to the market to pick up some milk. Bike your way to work and back. You'll save money on bus fare, AND you'll arrive at work with your beta-endorphins pumping.

  8. Take a hike. Get outta here! Again, make sure you have the right shoes. Unfortunately, there may not be places around you to hike, but there's no reason that on a sunny Saturday you couldn't hop in your car and head to a hilly outskirt of the city.

  9. Clean. You know you should have done it last week anyway. Besides, cleaning burns tons of calories. Chase the dust bunnies and burn the fat. Do your loved ones a favor and take a shower afterwards.

Don't forget to peruse all those exercise magazines in a bookstore to get some more ideas for cheap exercises. Once you've decided on the activities that you want to fit into your life, sit down with a piece of paper and plan out your exercise week based on the available times in your schedule. And you're all set! No more procrastinating.

4. STICK TO YOUR NEW ROUTINE

All of our wonderful advice is useless if you don't stick to your new routine. So here are some methods for not wussing out:

  • Write down your weekly routine, even if it's only a rough idea (e.g. Tuesday: Aerobics 5-6pm; Thursday: Sit-ups 8-8:15 a.m.). Laminate it and stick it on the refrigerator. Every time you accomplish an activity, cross it off your list with glee.

  • Give yourself guilt trips. Every time you consider skipping out on your schedule, berate yourself until you do it.

  • If you're extra busy one week, try to compromise. Combine exercise with things you have to do anyway. Run around the block a few times with your dog after he pees. Jog to the corner market instead of driving. These things are free, they're easy, and they'll help ease some of the guilt you'll feel from wavering from your usual routine.

  • DO NOT keep doing an exercise that you hate; it'll make you quit. Instead, switch to another exercise. And to keep yourself from getting sick of your exercises, vary your routines every couple of weeks.

So get off that couch. You're on the fitness train now. You may not be in first class, but at least you're not watching it whiz by. Full steam ahead!