Does anyone have any good at home work out ideas? I hate going to the gym and I am so sick of walking. I need to start toning up but I have no idea what types of excercises to do. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!

I'm not good at working out at home.. I need the motivation and encouragement of others at the gym. BUT everyone is different!!

I've heard that the Leslie Sansone "Walk away the Pounds" DVD's are good. I have two friends who do them and enjoy them. One has even gotten her husband to join her.

Do you have an Xbox or a Wii? They both have Zumba available for them. I hear that while not really an exercise program, that Dance Dance Revolution is fun and will make you sweat.

When I first started exercising I had a great companion in walking my dog. If you don't have a dog, could you borrow a neighbor's to take for a walk? That could even work into a part-time job if things worked out.

What do you dislike (I try really hard to avoid the word "hate", it's so strong and powerful) about the gym.. is it that particular gym or any gym? Could you try another one? Do you dislike working out alone there? Could you hire a personal trainer (they aren't cheap, but some places they are cheaper than others.. )? Just some ideas to explore.

Good luck!

P.S. One of my sisters (non banded) took Ball Room Dancing classes for exercise. She didn't lose lbs, but reshaped. I bet if she had been careful with her food intake, she would've lost lbs too.

There's also bike riding or swimming (indoor pool this time of year for the Northern Hemisphere..LOL)

For toning, I do body pump. But that's a gym class. It is lots of fun though.. it's weight lifting (small weight for toning, not large ones for body building) to popular music. I enjoy it so much I could do it daily if they didn't require you to take a day off between lifting.

Have you looked at p90x? They have several different training programs contained within the one, I do the doubles routine which is a weightlifting workout in the morning and a cardio in the evening, and I've been supplementing those workout's with a jillian michael's shred it with weights in the afternoon. But they also have a slim down one that is mostly cardio and a toning one, it might be worth looking into.

I use my treadmill at home but I also do Hip Hop Abs and the Walk away the pounds is nice. Tae Bo is another favorite. I cant do P90X yet. Maybe after I lose some more. Im not strong enough to do some of it.

I purchase some exercise DVDs and start at home. I also found useful pilates, ball & Floor Exercise Yoga & meditation by Perfect 10 fitness. It is totally an indoor solution and alternative to heavy gym exercises.

I made my self a promise when I started this that I would not fall into my old habits. My old thinking was if I was going to exercise more, I needed to BUY something. Instead I fought all urges to run out and make a purchase and instead worked with what I had available. In the beginning, I walked a lot and I danced. There are several youtube channels with dance exercise that I played on my TVs blueray player and danced along. I made my purchases part of my goal/rewards. When I hit X pounds, I purchased new shoes, a gym membership, Tai Chi classes, etc.

For me, running out and buying something never worked. The purchase made me feel like I "accomplished" something and actually worked against my goals in the long run. If that makes any sense. Currently, I do 60 minutes of cardio 6x a week, weight training 3x a week, tai chi and yoga 2x a week and am down 140 lbs in about 18 mo.

As I recommended in another post. Kettle Bells are a great weigh to do weight lifting and cardio at same time. Start will a 5 pound bell and move up. Some kits come with a DVD that will show you all kinds of stuff that can be done with a bell.

I am doing the 30 Day Shred and it is a great program for toning up. I also like the fact that it is just about 25 minutes. I have two small children and not a lot of time to workout, so it is perfect for me.

Total Gym is great! I had an older model and just gave it to another band buddy and invested in a new one! I work out and watch TV cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I bought a scatch and dent one on the website we have yet to find the dent or scratch. Half price for scratch and dent - scratch or dent will only be up to 1 inch long and will not be anything mechanical. Love it check out their website. I can work out way over an hour easy and still keep going if I want. Work out every night.

I like to walk but it is not safe in our area to go by yourself and treadmill is boring to me. Love my Total gym!

cheri

If you have cable check out Exercise TV on OnDemand under the free section.

I made a "sandbag" with a duffel bag and a couple of 5kg bags of rice - mine is 15kg. Google sandbag training or Henkin Fitness systems, and you'll get loads of ideas of what to do with a sandbag. You can get a way better workout than I 've ever had at a gym with this - its functional fitness at its best.

If you have a treadmill, try this:- the extreme treadmill bootcamp is a fantastic workout, you'll be almost barfing before you're done with that one. I do half an hour of either - all the sandbag takes is a circuit of 3 or 4 exercises run 5 times through - and finish off with a quick 20 minute run around the block.

It's kind spendy, but if you have n Xbox 360 the new Kinect is GREAT! They have some games that are fun, and also personal training programs, dance programs. They can really get one sweating!!

One thing I've started doing is the stairs at work, but I only work twice a week. When I started my job last August, there's 50 steps outside to get to the parking garage and I could barely make it. I'm "running" them now (upward). IT FEELS GREAT!! My knees are really creaky, so I'm hoping I'm not hurting them, but I may do a simple stair stepper for at home on rainy days since we have no stairs inside. But, if you have even porch steps you can go up/down those for a quick workout.

I'm hoping to get on a bicycle later this summer and ride with my hubby & kids.

Good for you, Marcy. I live in boonies and my driveway is 1/4 mile long. I no longer drive to the mailbox. I leash the dog and we walk to get it.

Some of the things I do at the gym could easily be done at home:

-if you can afford it, a BOSU ball is AWESOME for working your core. Countless things to do w/ it. I stand on it and do squats. You can even stand on it with one foot when you get really good, and lift weights. You can use it right side up, or upside down, depending on how hard you want to make it.

-Doing planks is fantastic exercise for your whole body, and you can start at your own pace. I have a bad lower back, and this really helps strengthen my entire core so my back is better supported.

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm

-I lay on my back with my knees bent and throw a medicine ball to myself, using both hands. I push the ball up, fully extend my arms, and catch it and pull it back into my chest. GREAT arm workout. And there are countless exercises you can do w/ a medicine ball also - and they're not too spendy.

-now that the weather is nice, I walk my dog for a couple miles everyday. He's the one who gets me outside. I know I wouldn't walk everyday if it weren't for knowing that I HAD to get him some exercise.