Living room workouts

If you do these exercises while doing something else—watching a TV show or listening to an audiobook, for example—the time just flies! These workouts each work a large group of muscles, so that you’re getting much more out of doing these than, say, a simple bicep curl. Do a combination of these exercises every other day for about half an hour, and you’ll see a real difference in your strength!

Dumbbell rows
How much: 3 sets of 10 lifts with each arm, alternating arms
Muscles worked: Your sides and back (latissimus dorsi, rhomboids), as well as your biceps, trapezius, forearms, lower back, shoulders, and obliques.
How to do it:
Grab a weight, a water-filled half-gallon jug, or anything with some weight on it that fits snugly into your hand. Then head to the couch or a secure bench. Prop your right knee on the bench, your left foot on the floor, then lean over and place your right hand on the bench beneath your shoulder. Place the weight in your left hand, and let it dangle down by your left leg. Slowly pull up, keeping your elbow tucked and back, until your hand is level with your chest, then slowly lower again. Do 10, then rest for 2 minutes, then do 10 on the other side. Try for three sets of 10 repetitions on each side.

Carpet press
How much: 3 sets of 10 presses, two minutes rest in between sets.
Muscles worked: Chest, shoulders, triceps.
How to do it:
Take a few smaller weights (think three or five-pounders, or else a few soup cans—but make sure you have a good, secure grip) and lie down on the floor. Starting with the weights at your shoulders, slowly lift the weights straight up into the air, keeping the weights shoulder-length apart, then slowly bring them back down.

Squats
How much: 2 sets of 10
Muscles worked: Quads, or your quadriceps—thigh muscles on the outside, top, and inside of your leg.
How to do it:
These take only minutes to do, and work almost any time—on hold while you’re on the phone, at commercial breaks in front of the TV. Set your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, then extend your arms straight out in front of you, fingertips stretching. Keeping your back straight as you can (it’s okay to go diagonal, but don’t hunch) slowly lower your hips, trying to get your thighs as parallel to the ground as possible. Come back up, then go back down another 9 times. Do two sets of 10 repetitions.

Planks
How much: 2 sets of 10 seconds, 1 minute rest in between
Muscles worked: Your abs, lower back, and core
How to do it:
Skip the crunches—planks do so much more for your body, with much less effort! Start facing the floor on your hands and knees, then come up on your forearms and toes, head and neck relaxed, looking at the floor. The soles of your shoes should be perpendicular to the floor, your forearms flat on the ground, and your body hovering in a rigid straight line about five inches off the floor. Try to keep your body in as straight a line as possible! It will be tough, and you’ll feel your abs and core struggling to keep your body up. Resting between each set is important.

If these are too tough for you, scale back! Do one less set, or a few less repetitions. If you’re already fairly in shape, or if you keep up with these exercises and notice them getting easier, keep challenging yourself more every week. Increase the weight in your dumbbells or half-gallon jug. Do another set or add just one more repetition to each set. Take baby steps when adding more, but don’t let yourself breeze through exercises that are too easy. Always be challenging yourself. If you aren’t sweating by the end 30 minutes, you can definitely make it more of a challenge by the next time!

For extra help setting and keeping these goals, click here to download our handy New Year’s Resolution Worksheet, which will work with any goal, not just those made for the new year!