Bang for your buck...

Some people just don't do gyms.  I don't know....maybe it's because setting up a membership requires 14 different start-up fees (initiation, processing, card fee, locker fee, bathroom charge, drinking fountain fee....)  Or maybe it's just a lack of time.  I think it often has to do with avoiding situations like this...

Whatever the reason, here are a few exercise tips to ensure a good workout wherever you are.  

1. Rule number one?  The same basic rules apply for home workouts as gym workouts - keep the heartrate up and move quickly between exercises.  You've seen those people sitting on the bench between exercises to give their muscles a rest, right?  Don't do that!  Keep moving! (Unless of course you are at a point where if you don't rest you could seriously harm yourself by dropping a weight on your face or dropping like a rag doll....then it is necessary to rest....not that I've ever experienced that!!)
2. Have a plan.  If I go to the gym without a routine written down, or without a plan of action for the next hour, it's easy to get sidetracked or slowed down.  Same thing at home - without a plan it's easier to take it easy and use your workout time inefficiently (or stop all together after wandering to the fridge for a drink of water and getting side tracked by the small bit of ice cream you forgot was tucked into the back of your freezer).  Need routine ideas?  The internet has a ton of them, and I'll get a couple posted.
3. Don't be a cardio junkie.  You won't bulk up by adding some resistance/weight training, and it will help you accomplish your goals faster.  Combine resistance moves with cardio bursts for a high intensity workout. 
4. You don't need weight machines, a Bowflex, or a Total Body Gym endorsed by badass Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley to get good resistance training, at home OR the gym.  Use free weights or body weight rather than the machines to get a better workout (it will work your stabilizers more!)  Stuck at home and don't have weights?  Anything can be used!  Use milkjugs with sand/water/etc, waterbottles, a full laundry basket, or even hold the ends of sheets wrapped around heavy items like they do in prison....not sure how I know that....I'm sure I saw it on Gangland.  Anyways, do moves with body weight alone, like squats (and squat jumps which add a cardio element), push ups, tricep dips, calf raises, situps, etc. 
5. You also don't need a treadmill or fancy equipment to get your cardio fix.  Get your heart rate up with just about any quick repetitive move.  For example, jump kicks, fake jump rope, jumping jacks and cross-country split jacks, quick steps on and off a low step/stool (or even a chair for higher intensity), squat thrusts, and mountain climbers are all heart pumping moves.  Hell, do the can-can!!  I know you want to, guys!  I squeeze a set of these heart-pumping moves in between sets of weights at the gym.  It keeps your intensity up for the whole workout, allowing you to not only burn more calories in less time, but also putting your body into "burn" mode for a longer period of time after your workout. 
6. Here's one last idea to keep in mind.  Don't focus on one body part alone.  Your goal may be all about inches in the waist, but don't make the mistake of focusing on situps and oblique exercises only.  Targeted fat-burning does not exist!!!  You can build muscle in a targeted area, but doing that will not cause the fat in that area to suddenly disappear.  The best way to burn fat is to keep the intensity up, work the whole body to build more muscle tissue (which works harder for you and will burn more calories at rest than fat does), and change your nutrition to encourage fat loss. 

I recently discovered Fit Fab Cities, which has a ton of workout routine ideas.  The routines get your heart rate going, and the site is an excellent source when you just want someone to tell you what to do!  Make sure you check it out.

Here is one home/hotel routine, which you can also use at the gym (add some weights if you need more intensity) that I like to use:

Now there are no excuses not to get a quick blast in at least! 

Run, recover, repeat

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on running.  I have just taken up the sport myself in the last couple years, and still struggle to get motivated every time I leave my front door for a run jog.  I feel like I've got the diet and basic metabolic workout response down pretty well, but endurance training is a beast of its own.  One which I've been trying to master over the last couple years of improving my mile pace, running 5Ks, 10Ks, and eventually putting a couple triathlons under the belt.  But I still STRUGGLE with training and an appropriate plan.

We have a few people working on their running times.  Brendan, Shane, Amy, and Matt are all ones that have a running goal in mind, ranging from improving their time at sprinting 1 mile, to improving their 5 mile time, to improving their 1/2 marathon time. 

I came across an article recently at Runner's World called the Magic Mile.  The article basically talks about using mile repeats as a training tool to achieve any and all of the above goals.  I like it because it's simple and easily adaptable to any situation.  You can add difficulty by adjusting it to be 5 mile repeats, or adding incline, or just speeding up!  It's a very simple concept, and I feel a bit like I'm cheating by using it as my runner goal post.  However, I think it's a very simple yet effective tip for seeing improvement in your running abilities. 

Any specific running workout you runners have been using?  Besides mile repeats, I've also done "Race my Pace" (yes, i just coined that phrase....I'm that good), where I will run the exact same route 3 days in one week (a rest day or two between each run).  Each time, I watch my pace and kick it up at the end if need be to make sure I improve the run by a certain amount each time.  It's one way I can set mini-goals to slowly improve my running over time.