I live in MI so it stays pretty cold most of the year. Does anyone have any cheap excercise ideas that i can do at home anytime of the year.

This isn't really a workout, but an easy way to get in a little fitness...

While you're watching TV, do jumping jacks, sit-ups, or push-ups during the commercials. I do it and it makes TV watching seem a lot less lazy.

I do 99% of my workouts in my home. I have collected quite a library of workout videos and do those when I'm not on the treadmill.

I workout at home and use videos or DVDs. My favorite is Walk Away the Pounds 3 Mile walk. I also have a weight bench and I that when I do laundry in the basement and I use free weights upstairs. I'm hoping to get a treadmill for x-mas. I just picked up a stepper at a garage sale and one of the arm things on it broke :grr: so now it's a big piece of broken crap. Sometimes I'll rip out workout tips from magazines and try them too.

Half.com and ebay have been good sources of new and used videos and DVDs. And collagevideo.com allows you to see a chart of the workout (i.e. 5 min warmup/30 min aerobics/15 min toning/8 min cooldown), reviews, and a 60-second clip of the video itself. The prices aren't that great, so I just use that to choose, then look for them elsewhere.

I also find tons of videos/DVDs at garage sales and thrift stores for really cheap. I've seen tons of exercise equiptment too, but now I'm going to thoroughly inspect them before buying.

yoga can easily (and quietly) be done at home. another great workout is dancing--just turn on the music and dance. it burns calories, is totally fun, and a great way to take your mind off of things.

do a handstand and let her feet rest on a wall.. then pushup! its fun and it looks cool and u get nice backmuscles? i can do 8! can u beat me???????

Ntelligentidiot has one of the best methods that can be done. Also theres ab exercises you can do anywhere. Heres one.

1. let out all the air in your lungs
2. suck in as much as you can
3. Hold it.
4. contract mid section

Do this for like up to 30 or 40 seconds. It creates that vacuum in the abdominals. Not sure if women would like that, but it does have a great look.

This month's Shape magazine has a program devoted to home exercise.

It looks like they have a bunch of workouts available online..

http://www.shape.com/getfit/

:)

Hehehe I have a Richard Simmons tape I do sometimes... Also doing crunches, situps and jumping jacks is easy!

If you have any open space in your garage you should give jumproping a try. Helluva workout :cry: .

I am buddhist and I do prostrations :) Works every muscle in the body basically. Of course, its a spiritual practice as well. A flop would be similar.

I also second dancing and such. I love to rollerskate and do fun things that are exercise. Not just crunches, and stuff. That is less motivating to me.

I also live in Michigan and work out at home about 50% of my sets. The other half I spend swimming.

I simply have two 30lb barbells, a bench that can incline, a bar with upto 150lbs of removable weight, some stretch cordz, and carpeting.

Once every two days, I do about 100 situps, 100 pilates leg lifts, 20 he-v lifts (i got from Men's Health), 50 curls with both arms each with 30lbs. I then do a few military presses and rows. Then I get on the bench and do two sets of 10 incline and decline bench presses. Then I do 10 "almost jumping" squats with the 150lbs on the bar. I end it with 40 fast butterfly arms with the stretch cordz. I actually do it like I am swimming.

It really isnt' heavy body building stuff, but it keeps me really good for swimming competitively, which is where my focus is. I also do this when I miss a practice. The best part, is that if I do it right through, this routine takes me about 30 minutes. I usually take longer because I listen to music or take water breaks. It is fun and not too hard.

I do it less in the summer when I go outside and play soccer and water polo a few times a week.

Getting a bit off-topic... I find it hard to motivate myself to do weight-type or calisthenic-type exercises at home. I go to the local YMCA, and use Cybex; but if I have to skip a day, I usually don't get around to doing substitute things like sit-ups and push-ups instead.

My aerobic exercise is a different story. I walk a lot to the store, etc- usually at least one mile at a brisk pace (~4mph) each day, often farther. I find I don't need to "go" anyplace for that type of exercise. But in the winter, I hate the ice.

prostrations take a lot of practice...but they are exhausting and they do work you out. it's similar to yoga (also a spiritual practice).

uhm, i like the idea of hand stand. doing that does all kinds of strength work for the body. man, i just like yoga. :)

Check out www.yogalearningcenter.com . There are tons of classes to take without ever leaving your house, and it's pretty darn cheap too.

I have a good library of Firm exercise vids. I like those the best. I second Christy's vote for collage. They have great info there. I've always bought mine off of e-bay though - cheaper.

They also have the Salsa workout videos and the Bellydancing workout videos. Good for your body and tons of fun. These may make working out seem like less of a chore.