Step blocks- a cheap and convenient method of home exercise

Home fitness- is for some people becoming a popular alternative to going to a gym and there are some good reasons for that! In the long term it works out cheaper- you only have to buy the equipment once versus a monthly membership. You can work out when it’s convenient for you. You do not have to trek out in the cold in the winter to get to a gym when you can do it all in your own living room!

Perhaps one of the best pieces of equipment to invest in would be a step block, medicine ball and a workout DVD. Practical in terms of cost: step blocks often cost around £50, £20 upwards (Amazon) gets you a cheap medicine ball, weights range from 1kg to 5kg, and a DVD can be bought for around £10. £80 may sound a lot at once, but if you think of say paying £25+ per month for gym membership, you can see in just a few months the money you will be saving! You also need relatively little space do to this type of exercise!

To get a good workout you should be looking to around 40 minutes of cardio- just imagine all the calories and fat burned, and around 20 minutes of core conditioning, followed by perhaps a 5 minute stretch and cool down. In most DVDs you will find that the workout is split into these sections.

So what does the cardio involve? In essence it is following a choreographed workout to music. Many of them are split into around 5 different sections that start off easily and then increase with difficulty. Normally you will do all of section 1, then move onto secretion 2; once section 2 is complete you would go back to the top and do section 1, then section 2. When you have completed all of the sections you will probably repeat them all several times, at a slightly higher intensity to really burn all those calories. Steps performed including: toe taps on the step, marches, grape vines, hamstring curls, knee lifts, kicks, mambos and pivots. Each section starts off simple but as you go through it the steps are changed a little to increase the complexity. However most DVDs also show a couple of people doing the initial steps f you do not want to do the more complex ones.

And the core conditioning- often leaves you very stiff until you get used to it, but an excellent way to tone up. Exercises can include squats- either over the step, or with one foot on the step and one on the floor; lunges off the step. Anything you can do for toning on the floor can generally be done on the step- you have to think about balance far more which improves the exercise. So exercises for abdominals, chest, back etc