The No-Frills Workout at home

Think you need a room full of fancy equipment to help you get stronger? Think again. You can sculpt your muscles using little more than a couple of pillows, some soup cans and your own body weight. 

Here's how:

Twice a week, do one set of 8-15 reps of each of these no-frills exercises. Once you can breeze the routine without breaking a sweat or feeling achy for a day or two afterwards, increase to two sets per exercise, three times a week. You should see a difference in the form of firmer, tighter muscles within six to eight weeks.

Squat (Legs)

1. Stand with your feet as wide as your hips, your weight slightly back on your heels, and place your hands on your hips. Pull your abdominals in and stand up tall with square shoulders and a lifted chest.
2. Sit back and down, as if you're sitting into a chair directly behind you. Lower as far as you can without leaning your upper body more than a few inches forward (this depends on your flexibility and your build.) If you can bend your knees far enough so that your thighs are parallel to the floor, don't go any farther than that, and don't allow your knees to travel out in front of your toes. Once you feel your upper body fold forward over your thighs, straighten your legs and stand back up. Take care not to lock your knees at the top of the movement.
Pull-overs (Upper Back)

1. Place two or three large pillows on the floor. Lie down on the pillows so that your entire head, back and shoulders are resting on them. Pull your abs in gently so your lower back doesn't arch up. Grasp a soup can in both hands and straighten your arms upward so that the can is suspended directly over your upper chest.
2. Lower the can behind you until the bottom of it is level with the back of your head. Straighten your arms.
Push-up (Chest, Shoulders, Arms)

1. Lie on your stomach, bend your knees and cross your ankles. Bend your elbows and place your palms on the floor a bit to the side and in front of your shoulders. Straighten your arms and lift your body so you're balanced on your palms and knees. Tuck your chin a few inches toward your chest so your forehead faces the floor. Tighten your abdominals.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your entire body at once. Rather than trying to touch your chest to the floor, lower only until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Push back up.
Lateral Raise (Shoulders)

1. Hold a 12- or 16-ounce soup can in each hand and stand up tall with your feet as wide as your hips. Bend your elbows a little, turn your palms towards each other, and bring the cans together in front of the tops of your thighs. Pull your abdominals in and bend your knees slightly.
2. Lift your arms in an arc up and out to the sides until the cans are just below shoulder height. Slowly lower the cans back down.
Bench Dips (Arms)

1. Sit on the edge of a chair with your legs together and straight in front of you, toes pointing up. Keeping your elbows relaxed, straighten your arms, place your hands about six inches apart, and firmly grip the edges of the chair. Slide your butt just off the front of the chair so that your upper body is pointing straight down. Keep your abdominals pulled in and your head centered between your shoulders.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your body in a straight line. When your upper arms are parallel to the floor, push yourself back up.
Basic Crunch (Abs)

1. Lie on the floor with your feet hip width apart. Cradle your head in your hands without lacing your fingers together and with your elbows rounded slightly inward. Tilt your chin a small way towards your chest and pull your abdominal muscles in.
2. Exhale through your mouth as you curl your head, neck and shoulders up off the floor. Hold at the top of the movement for a moment, then inhale as you slowly lower down.
Back Extension (Lower back)

1. Lie on your stomach with your forehead on the floor, arms straight out in front of you, palms down and legs straight out behind you. Pull your abs in, as if you're trying to create a small space between your stomach and the floor.
2. Lift your right arm and left leg about one inch off the floor and stretch out as much as you can. Hold this position for five slow counts, lower back down, and repeat the same move with your left arm and right leg. Continue alternating sides until you've completed the set.
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12 Frugal Exercise Ideas Exercise Doesn't have to be at a gym do at it home for free

If you're not careful, getting in shape can cost quite a pretty penny. From the monthly cost of a gym membership, to very expensive home workout machines, to workout clothes, an MP3 player, a heart-rate monitor, costly shoes, very costly bicycles, health magazines and books, workout shakes and supplements, and more — physical fitness often isn't very cheap. However, you don't have to buy all that stuff, and if you'd like to get fit on a shoestring budget, it's very possible. 

Here's how.

1. Skip the gym. One of the biggest costs for many people is the cost of a gym membership. It's actually worth the cost, if it will motivate you to work out, but if you can motivate yourself to work out at home, or at a community pool, or on a track or trail, you don't need to pay the monthly gym fee. Cancel your membership and use one of the options below.

2. Cheap home equipment. What can you do at home instead of using gym equipment or expensive home workout machines? The possibilities are endless, but some favorites include getting a barbell or a couple of dumbells. With either of these, you can do a very complete, full-body workout. (Here's one example.) Or try jumping rope, or using a medicine ball, or a stability ball, or stretchable bands, or a chin-up bar that you can install in your doorway.

3. Walk. Walking is free. You don't even need fancy shoes (although you want comfortable shoes) or fancy workout clothes (again, find some comfortable clothes already in your wardrobe). Find a school track or a nice park, and you're all set up.

4. Run. Running can be expensive, actually, if you buy a lot of gadgets such as a heart rate monitor and other similar items. But really all you need is a good pair of shoes. Other than that, you can run anywhere, just about, and get a good workout.

5. Swim. If you have to pay to use a swimming pool, this isn't a frugal option. But you might live near a beach or a lake, where you can swim for free, or there might be a community pool near you for very cheap. And swimming is one of the best workouts there is.

6. Even cheaper home equipment. Don't have the cash for some dumbbells or medicine ball? Use stuff you already have. A stairway can give you a free step workout. Heavy cans can be weights. Your kid's swing set can be a chinup bar. Be creative. Or, alternatively, you probably know 10 people who have exercise equipment they're not using (it's extremely common) — ask them if they'd let you have them for free.

7. Sports. Play pickup basketball with some friends, or go outside and play soccer with your kids, or join a local league. The key is to get active.

8. Free fitness info. Instead of buying a bunch of books and picking up a magazine every time you go to the store, surf the web for some free exercise info. You can find a ton of useful info online: RunnersWorld.com or CoolRunning.com for runners, or try Zen Habit's health tip day, or Google "exercise" or "fitness" or some variant thereof, and you'll find a million free articles.

9. Cheap workout fuel. Instead of buying expensive workout supplements, you can just use what you normally have in the house. A great post-workout drink, for example, is chocolate milk: it has protein and carbs, which is really what you want. Other good sources of protein include egg whites, low-fat yogurt, soy protein, and nuts.

10. Bodyweight exercises and pliometrics. Another great free workout that doesn't require any equipment is bodyweight exercises: pushups, chair dips, crunches, Hindu squats, Hindu pushups, lunges, squats and many more. Also try pliometrics, where you use explosive exercises to improve athletic performance and burn tons of calories.

11. Use the stairs. If you work in a building, use the stairs every day instead of the elevator. Over the course of a month, you could burn a few pounds of calories.

12. Converse or contemplate. Instead of buying an MP3 player to keep your mind company while walking or running, try free alternatives: conversation with a partner or contemplation while you're alone. They're actually very calming and worth giving a try
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