Strength Training at Home
A health or fitness club will have most or all of the equipment you will need to undertake your strength-training program, but not everyone can afford to pay the dues for a club. For others, there won't be a club that is convenient, and when you are trying to deal with an already hectic training schedule, inconvenient will translate to nonexistent.
That leaves you the choice of not trying to increase your strength or doing it at home. The latter option is highly recommended, so you should consider a couple of pieces of equipment that will help you accomplish your strength goals in the comfort of your home.
The first is a fitness ball. It is a very simple tool, but it can greatly assist you in achieving your strength-training objectives of increasing your stability, balance, and core strength. You can get one at your local sporting goods store for $20 to $25. The other is a stretch band, which you can acquire for about $15.
Having a Ball
You will find that your fitness ball will help you with several different workouts that provide important strength benefits. One of the best uses of your fitness ball will be to assist you with pushups.
Put your ball in the middle of the floor and assume the pushup position with your legs atop the ball. Pushups are much more difficult in this position, so don't plan on doing your usual number the first time you try this. With your legs up on the ball, you are working your abdominal muscles a lot more than with standard pushups, and you are also working the lower half of your body as you fight to maintain balance in that position.
Fitness ball pushups are among the best exercises you can do for your strength training.
Over and Back
Another good workout with your fitness ball is to lie on your back on the floor, putting the ball between your feet. Raise the ball up to the point that you can take it with your hands. Take the ball from between your feet and lower it to the floor behind your head. Then take the ball and raise it up again and take hold of it with your feet, lowering it to the floor. Start slowly with this exercise, perhaps four repetitions initially. Strive to be able to complete three sets of twelve repetitions. This will strengthen your abs and your shoulders.
A typical fitness ball is made of elastic rubber and comes in different sizes, from fourteen inches to thirty-four inches in diameter when fully inflated. Unless you are very large or very small, you will probably choose a ball twenty-six inches in diameter. These should not be confused with medicine balls, which are smaller but considerably heavier (up to twenty-five pounds).
Here's another fitness ball workout. Assume pushup position, with your feet up on the ball behind you. Instead of doing a pushup, however, elevate your buttocks to form an inverted or upside-down V with your body. Return to pushup position. Start slowly with this exercise and try to work up to being able to do three sets of twelve repetitions.
Finally, try the hamstring curl. Lie on your back on the floor with your feet on top of the ball. Bend your knees and move the ball back toward your buttocks. Rest a second, and, using your legs, return the ball to its original position. Start slowly with this exercise and work up to two sets of twelve repetitions. This is a very good exercise for strengthening the hamstrings.
Stretching It
The stretch band can also help you with your workouts. One of the best exercises is to hook the band over your feet as you sit on the floor, then pull straight back on the band as though you are rowing. In fact, the exercise is meant to replicate the seated rowing machine you find at health clubs. Be sure to keep your back straight, and when you pull back, make sure your elbows go behind your back.
What is a stretch band?
Stretch bands come in different styles, some with handles and some without. The bands with handles are the easiest to use. The bands are typically rubber tubing that offer resistance, with handles on each end of the band for ease of use.
You can also hang the stretch bands over a door and do “chops,” or lat pulls pulling the band downward at an angle. Another option is to attach the band to something on the floor and do your chops in an upward direction. With each stretch band exercise, work up to two sets of twelve repetitions.
Just Plain
You don't always need a prop to accomplish good strength training at home. You can do some workouts without any aids or tools.
One of the best is the squat. Start without any weights, then later add a couple of fifteen-pound hand weights to increase the effort required. Start in a standing position and squat to the position you usually see sumo wrestlers assume. You should not lower yourself to the position of a baseball catcher. This is not good for the knees.
At the point where you are using weights, you may squat to a position that allows you to touch the weights on the floor. Work up to two sets of ten repetitions.
Another effective exercise you can do without equipment is the one-legged squat. That sounds very difficult, but you are not actually squatting. Do it this way: Balance on one leg. As you hold the other leg just slightly above the ground, reach to the other leg with the opposite arm — left arm to the right leg, and vice versa — and touch the foot that is on the ground. Do not extend the leg. Keep it parallel to the leg that is on the ground.
This exercise is very good for promoting stability and strength. Start with one set of ten repetitions on each leg and work up to two or three sets.
