Indoor Exercise Ideas for Weight Loss

     If you're interested in losing weight, whether it's 5-15 "vanity pounds" or 50 pounds or more, exercise will play a vital role. Exercise not only burns calories to drop those pounds, but it keeps you in good spirits on your weight loss journey. Medical research has shown that exercising for 30 minutes or more at least 5 times a week creates more dopamine in your brain, which makes you happier and generally more content.

Exercise can be difficult, it's true. First of all, it's expensive. Joining a gym can take a bite out of your earnings and savings. Then, it's hard to find time with our busy schedules. You may find that there's little time for you, but it's important that you make room in your schedule to work on yourself. The good news is, you can exercise at home, indoors, without a pricey gym, and you can even involve your family and friends.

It is recommended to get 30 minutes of "high heart rate" exercise in at least 5 times a week. That's the length of one television show-not bad at all. The trick is working it into your schedule. Studies show that working out first thing in the morning is the best idea. It starts your day out right, and you can get sweaty and take a shower right away and get on with your day. "High heart rate" means your heart is pumping fast. For some people this will happen simply by walking briskly. Others will need to pick up the pace by running or using a stationary bike at high resistance. You should be working at a pace at which you are breathing quite heavily but you could still carry out a sparse conversation.

Especially as the weather gets colder, indoor exercises become more reasonable as far as options. Try renting or buying a workout video. Usually you can do all the moves in a relatively small space. Enlist a friend to do it with you, then enjoy a healthy lunch together afterward or even ask your kids; it will get them moving too! Videos can also be found for free via online streaming.

Another idea is to purchase an exercise machines. If brand new machines are too expensive, look for used stationary bikes, stair masters or treadmills in the paper or online. If you don't have room for a machine, invest in a yoga mat or some dumbbells or research "body weight exercises." Moves such as the Plank can be extremely challenging and strengthening and involve no devices-just your body.

There are many options for indoor exercise. If you're only looking to lose a few pounds or maintain, at home exercise can be easy, inexpensive, and fun. In addition to these benefits, if you would like to lose more than 10-20 lbs, starting out at home can be much less intimidating than going to a gym. Never be discouraged. Exercise is for everyone. If you don't like one activity, keep looking, because there's a fun form of exercise for everyone!

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