… involve getting a bike or having access to a pool. However, you’ll see better benefits if you mix up your aerobic exercises, as different workouts target different muscle groups.
• Sports. Competitive sports also can provide different levels of physical exertion, be it the long walk of a round of golf or the heart-pumping scramble of basketball.
Strength-training exercises also can be accomplished without spending money on weights or a gym membership:
• Do some squats. Lunges and squats can give your lower body a solid strength-training workout by using your own weight as the resistance.
• Makeshift weights. Use water bottles, cans of soup, or heavier items as resistance for bicep curls and straight-arm raises that work your shoulders.
• The old basic-training standby. Push-ups will work your chest muscles, biceps, triceps and back muscles.
• Work those abs. To work your abs, try the plank exercise. Get into the starting position of the typical push-up, but place your hands and elbows on the floor at a 45-degree angle between you and the floor. Straighten your legs, using your toes to lift your knees off the floor, making a straight line from your shoulders to hips to heels, holding yourself up with your abs. Maintain this position for 10 seconds, rest and repeat, not allowing your body to sag toward the floor.
If you think you need to join a health club to get your exercise, you’re wrong. These simple steps will keep you in shape.