There are people (like my sister) who have this weird ability to exercise in any weather and enjoy doing it. I am so not one of those people. In fact, I will use pretty much any excuse I can find not to exercise. With summers being swelteringly hot and winters well below freezing, it means I’m left with a lot of excuses. But healthy means a good fitness routine. So when the chance to write an article on indoor exercise came up, I jumped at it. After all, I figure, maybe I’ll pick up some good tips. Here’s what I discovered. 1) There aren’t a lot of new ideas out there. The basics really are best. 2) There are still a lot of great workouts that are easy to adapt to the indoors (or belong there). Boredom is one of my biggest struggles in a workout and there is a lot of variety. 3) Even 5-10 minute mini workouts can actually make a difference. Plus, if you share my aversion to physical exertion, you can usually get 5-10 minutes of exercise in before even realizing you’re putting any effort in. So, as I researched, I found a couple great use anywhere tips, then divided the rest out. There’s the workouts that make you sweat, those that are more about stretching & strengthening (as in you’ll get a workout but won’t be all sweaty), and quick 5-10 minute exercises you can toss in through the day.

Top Tips

Use a pedometer to take you from moderately to very active in your lifestyle.

1) Buy a pedometer. A moderately active person walks an average of 10,000 steps (or 4-5 miles) a day. That’s without exercise. But a lot of us aren’t that active. Pedometer’s track your steps and miles (or kilometers if you prefer). Start by logging your totals each day for a week to figure out your average. Make it your goal to reach a minimum of 10,000 steps. If you really want to push your weight loss add 1000 steps a week until you are getting 15,000 steps. You can get there by parking farther away, adding short walks in and in general moving when you could sit.

An indoor trainer means you can bike indoors & out.

2) Bike! Before you try and tell me that’s not an indoor exercise, it totally can be. You have two ways of doing this, you can watch thrift stores for a stationary bike or buy a stand called an indoor trainer. Either option lets you decide the intensity of the workout. Shop around because you might find a full bike cheaper than the trainer. Also consider your needs. If you are an avid cyclist (or would like to be) a good trainer is more useful. Then enjoy. Obviously you can get a full workout from this but you can do little workouts too. I have a stationary bike and I’ve found its really easy for me to set it on a low setting and ride while I watch tv. Set yourself a goal too. My mom and I have agreed that when we ride the equivalent distance to New Zealand and back we’ll get to go there on vacation. (Don’t worry, I’ve barely made it out of my home state yet).

3) Finally, walk! Not just the pedometer thing. That should be completely separate from exercise. The pedometer is to get you to a more active general lifestyle. But did you know that just a 5 minute brisk walk can burn 30 calories? Okay, maybe that doesn’t sound like much. But join me in pretending for a few seconds that math is fun. If you burn 1,750 calories, that’s equal to 1 pound. Now to get there, you would need to do 58 5 minute walks. Still sound intimidating? That’s only 8 a day, each day for one week. Now that is totally doable. Try giving yourself a double bonus by drinking 8 oz of water after each walk.

Sweat it Out
These exercises will get you sweating and burn major calories. For those of you who like to workout, these are great options but even I found them doable. Since exercising for longer periods is where I lose my focus, I get a friend to do these with me.

1) Step it Up
If your home has stairs, you can of course just run up and down them for a while. That gets seriously old really fast. Instead use a stairstep. Basically, it’s a really wide single stair. They were popular in the early 90s but I say can still be incredibly beneficial. Try these standard moves and a few variations, then mix it up for your own individual routine. Use this website for ideas on moves to create your routine here. Not only do they have a substantial list, they have a little graphic that shows you what your feet should be doing. I like doing this one while watching television because its not a workout that needs a lot of focus. Plus I can create a routine where all steps keep me facing the tv during my show. Its kind of nice to know I lost half a pound while catching up on One Tree Hill.

2) Whee for Wii!

Try Wii Boxing for a fun and good workout.

Now granted, this one is tougher if you don’t have a Wii or another type of video game system. But if you do, the games can provide a decent workout. Wii tennis burns about 5 calories a minute and boxing about 8 calories a minute. There a few things you want to remember about video game exercise. It can make you feel like your burning more calories than you really are. So don’t be misled. But when you need a decent workout but don’t want something as intense it can be a fun option. Or say its one of those days where you have plans with friends and you’re thinking there’s no time for exercise. Challenge a friend to a few rounds of tennis or boxing. You can get some exercise in and have fun. And if you don’t start sweating during a boxing match, something is definitely wrong.

3) Dance, Dance

Cheryl of Dancing with the Stars has some great dance DVDs.

Ironically enough, that song “Dance, Dance” by Fall Out Boy” is a great song for a dance workout. Here too, there are a couple ways you can rock a dance workout. Dancing is great exercise because it not only burns calories but works multiple muscles, often ones you miss with other exercises. If you want to learn a new style of dance, buy a dance dvd. I really like the ones by the Dancing with the Stars dancers. They’re fairly easy to pick up while still teaching you the actual dance moves. Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t so good at first either. It takes me a while to pick up the moves. But I looked like an idiot for a month by myself then went out to an actual salsa club and wowed my friends. The other option (and my favorite) is just to create a fun playlist of songs that you have to dance to. That’s the key. Some songs you can dance to, others you have to. I like those songs because I can turn on the playlist and dance around like a crazy person as long as I want. Sometimes its just one good song (real movement and not just swaying will burn about 20-30 calories depending on the length of the song) but other times I can rock it out for a good half hour. I even dance around to songs at work. Sure your coworkers will look at you funny at first (now mine just know I do that on a regular basis) but not only do you get a little exercise in, it really does put you in a better mood. Check out the playlists in our weekly column here for some great song options.

Grab & Go
Sometimes you just need quick exercises. I throw in a quick yoga routine before bed or as I wake up. Both help me relax and either wake up or stop focusing on the day and get ready to sleep. Jumping Jacks or Jump rope work really well when I don’t have a lot of time but can squeeze in 5-10 minutes before hopping in the shower. Finally, cleaning is pretty much anytime.

Yoga
Take a look at these two routines for a morning and bedtime yoga routine. One of the benefits of yoga is its focus on centering mind and body. You don’t have to believe the philosophy to reap the benefits. Think about it. When you first wake up, it can be hard to get up and get going. A few yoga moves can help your body wake up so that you don’t lag the rest of the day. At night, a simple yoga routine means your mind has to focus on the moves and your body slow down. By limiting yourself to one thing to think about, you won’t be trying to sleep with a massive to do list running through your head. Both of these routines are from sadienardini. She is fantastic so if you find yourself loving yoga and wanting to incorporate more she has moves for specific target areas as well as full hour routines.

Jump
Both jumping jacks and jumping rope are some hardcore exercise options. Getting up to even 20 minutes can be incredibly daunting. But if you’ve got 5 minutes before a shower, you can burn a few calories in no time. Consider this, either jumping exercise burns 100 calories in just 10 minutes. That adds up fast! Or if you like to be able to add extra exercise in exchange for an extra treat, 10 minutes gives you 5 guilt free Starburst candies or a good piece of chocolate (by good I mean quality not quantity).

Cleaning burns calories. Who knew?

Clean Machine
Cleaning is one of those nifty little activities that actually provides a decent workout. Now, as a reader of Portrait you are most likely at an age where you either pitch in with cleaning around the house or have a small apartment or dorm that doesn’t require much cleaning. That’s why I included it as a quick 10 minutes of exercise. First, map out what you need to clean. If you just start without knowing what needs cleaned, you won’t move as fast and won’t get a workout in. But if you know exactly what to clean, you can work fast and efficient and be done in about 10-15 minutes. Plus 10 minutes of cleaning burns 40 calories.

Stretch & Strength

Finally we have routines that are full of mega benefits but don’t require as intense of a sweat. Strength exercises are incredibly beneficial and most of us don’t do them nearly enough. Cardio is of course important but the more toned your muscles are, the more calories you’ll burn doing that cardio. Adding in some strength training twice a week is very helpful. If you are already in good shape but want to maintain, these are also great exercises.

Pilates

Pilates is strengthens the core giving you fantastic abs.

Pilates and yoga are often lumped together when referenced by most people but they are very different exercises. Both do strengthen the core but pilates includes more traditional aerobic moves while yoga is more of a mind & body concept. Here’s what I suggest. First, sign up for a class or two. A lot of places let you do a free trial at least for one class, sometimes more. (If you’re in college check the school gym for free classes). This is helpful because if you aren’t doing the move correctly, you won’t get the full benefits. Especially important is the placement of the pelvis and breathing properly. Once you have the hang of Pilates, buy a simple DVD or print off a routine that you can follow.

Dumbbell Weights
My sister has this prank she loves to pull at our local gym. I’m sure you’ve all been at a gym and noticed how the guys congregate in front of the mirrors by the weights and flex while staring at themselves. She will walk up to the mirror, start flexing and very loudly go “wow, I’m so buff. Do you see that muscle?” and occasionally kiss her bicep. The guys turn bright red and I find it hilarious. Anyway, provided you are actually lifting the weights, there are a lot of benefits. Try this routine for a start and feel free to look through various fitness magazines for other variations.

Tai Chi
Finally, comes Tai Chi. I’m not going to lie, I first tried Tai Chi because Angel and Buffy did it. I make no apologies either. Where Pilates is more about strength, Tai Chi stretches, calms, and eases stress. One of the great benefits to Tai Chi is that it is in essence a series of self defense moves based on martial arts. You can change up the routine to focus more on the martial arts side but even the simple low impact movements naturally teach your body self defense positions. Watch this video for a simple routine that can be done anywhere. Judging by Angel & Buffy, it can be romantic when done with a partner too. Always a perk!