It has always been my dream to have a fully stocked home gym — no rushing to get to the fitness center, no waiting for equipment, no stupid guys hitting on me. The only problem was expense: I mean, my home gym should resemble my go-to gym, right? I didn’t believe that affordable tools, such as bands and light bars, could help sculpt my body. But I was determined to have my own little gym.

So I made some space and confronted my fear that I couldn’t get a challenging workout at home. Using bodyweight exercises, an exercise ball and bands, I became a home-gym convert, and here’s why: Machines can make you lazy.

The problem with having a machine only routine is they support the body and allow you to exercise only one body part at a time. As a result, you cheat yourself out of the extra calories you’d burn and the muscles you’d work by exercising in free space. This allows you to engage the entire body to support the movement, leading to not only losing weight fast but extra training for supporting musculature and a more integrated and functional workout.

Try this program shown on the next slide for four weeks. Some of the moves are demonstrated in the following slides. I bet you will find the convenience, economy, and efficiency of working out at home hard to ignore.

You may even become a convert like me, or at the very least, you’ll have another workout option when the gym is crowded or you have to squeeze in exercise at home. 

8 Full-Body Body Weight Exercises

8 Plyometrics Exercises You Can Do Without a Gym

Bikini Olympia winner Courtney King demonstrates calorie-burning moves.

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