Need to start working out at home!

Hi,  I am in need of some advice!  I now have an extra hour in the morning to myself before my son gets up and we need to get ready for the day.  I dont have a fitness video but I would like to start working out every morning as I just started my diet yesterday and I really want to get in shape.  I am thinking of starting with 50 sit ups, 50 lunges and 50 squats.  Is there anything else that I can add for cardio..without waking up my son by me jumping around. 

Thanks in advance for any advice that you can give!

Jumping rope is really good and I don't think you will make too much noise with that?also Yoga/pilates would be good... If you don't have a work out dvd, try your cable network and see if you have on demand sports &  fitness, you can follow any routine w/o the sound... good luck! 

Congrats on the extra hour! Are you interested in buying a fitness DVD? I recommend Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. It's a great (and quick!) balance of cardio, strength training, and abs. I understand about the noise. I have downstairs neighbors, so when Jillian starts going into jumping jacks, I usually slip my shoes off and do it in socks.

If not, I would recommend some cardio boxing type moves: punches, kicks, jump roping. They get your heart rate up and help relieve stress!

For a little cardio boost, try jumping jacks for 30 secs then march or lightly jog in place for 60 secs. Repeat 8 times. Once you have mastered that and no longer are maxing on your HR...bring the reps up to 15.  This can also be done with a bench [step]. Run up and down it for 30 and step up and down it for 60. Repeat.  Simple form of HIIT [High Intensity Interval Training]. Great calorie burn, great cardiovascular workout and can be done in 20 mins!

If you don't have any weights in your house, try holding soup cans in each hand while doing lunges.  Hold a basketball in front of you - leaving your arms hang down - then slowly go down into squat. Hold for 3 secs - come back up and then lift basketball overhead. Repeat 15 times.  [2 reps of these, min].

 

Wow, these all sound fantastic.  I am sooo excited to try out the cardio boost though!  Soup cans are a great idea too for weights!  Also since I dont have a bench I will just use my step stool too.  That would probobly be quiter than jumping jacks.  Keep the suggestions coming! What a great support group!

I can't think of any better quick and easy cardio ideas, other than what was mentioned above.  But I can tell you that craigslist is a great place to find cheap workout equiptment.  Anything from $50 and up treadmills/elipticals to a decent set of lifting weights for 50 or 60 bucks...  Good place to start if you in the market for some cheap fitness gear.

Workout DVD's.  There are some really great pilates cardio dvd's out there.  I suggest, and I do these and ADORE them, the Crunch DVD's with Ellen Barrett.  My personal favorites are:

Pick Your Spot Pilates: 10 mins for Abs, 10 mins for Buns, and 10 mins for Legs.  I like to do this in the morning.  My body is a little slow in the a.m., and these are all floor exercises, so it's nice.

Super Slim Down, Pilates Yoga Blend: This DVD starts with standing positions and ends up on the floor.  I do the floor stuff in the a.m. too.  It's about 40 or so minutes.

Fat Burning Pilates: Cardio.  I prefer this at the end of the day and it's really good.

I can really notice the difference between doing these DVD's and not.  I love to do pilates in the morning, because I can feel it all day.  It's a nice toned and trim feeling.  I looked these DVD's up on Amazon.com and you can get all 3 for under $30.  So, worth it.  I rip copies of these for people all the time.  I have a friend who broke his back, he has 2 kids, and he loved the Pick Your Spot DVD, because it's simple, effective, and not a time sucker.  I would say that all of these are simple, effective and not a time sucker.  I lost quite a bit of weight alternating these dvd's, walking and portion control.  I can't stress enough how much I love these DVD's. 

P90X!!

let me just start off by saying how jealous i am of your extra hour by yourself!! :) I think that the routine you have so far is awesome, however Pilates/ Yoga is also a great thing to add in to your routine. You obviously have the internet, so I reccommend a quick and free way to start off with your routine is to use Youtube.com and type in Pilates routine, or yoga workout, or w/e and look at a bunch of them and see which stretches and routines might be good for you to work into your hour. That's what I did and I find that I don't get bored with the same routine, everday I go on and find other poses and workouts that I want to try, and it keeps it new and I work different parts of my body and different muscles. I hope you find this helpful!

That is a great idea gerbersmirf!  I will have to check out Youtube tonight! I started my workout yesterday morning and I noticed last night and this morning that my abs and thighs are sore.  So this morning I decided to skip it as I will be doing alot of work around the house tonight and tomorrow so they will be getting a good workout then!

Thanks again for all of the great ideas!

I thought you would be sore today. One thing that you should consider as well is maybe to do a little less of your lunges and sit-ups and stuff. A lot of people make the mistake starting off with too many reps and its easy to get discouraged by the amount of pain you may be in the next day. With that said, I am glad you liked my suggestion and I hope it works out for  you!!

I must say that I was not discouraged today by feeling sore but it only made me more motivated to work harder as it shows that I am out of shape and need to build more muscles.  I am also doing cardio the opposite day of my situp, etc day so I also burn the fat and build muscle the next day. 

No pain, no gain...or should it be loss.....

well good, im glad to hear that you didnt get discourged, I'm the same way, the more it hurts the more i want to push myself, its actually when it stops hurting that i get discouaged...i know its wierd! :) well i hope its going well for you!