A recent study found that home workouts may do even more good than workouts at a gym. This is good news for people who are time crunched and find it's too much trouble to make it to a health club.

So how do you get the most from your home workouts? Follow these suggestions:

1. Have A Plan. Know exactly what it is you want to accomplish and how you intend to get there. Plan out the exercises and the amount of reps and weight you will use. If time is a factor, make sure the volume of your workout fits the alloted time. If you can only squeeze in 10-15 minutes, then make the most of it. Use compound moves for the large muscle groups. Use an exercise log and refer back to it. It's a great way to track your progress.

2. Have What You Need. Make sure you have available any equipment you intend to use and that you know how to use it. If you have never used resistance tubes, then practice with them in advance so you get a sense of the tension they provide. If you plan to use a stability ball, make sure you have the right size for your height. See a chart here.

3. Know How to Do Things Right. Make sure you are familiar with the exercises you plan to include in your home workout. Do some research and completely understand any new exercises you intend to do. Form is very important. Proper form will keep you from injuring yourself.

4. Mix Things Up. Don't stick with one workout for ever. Your body will quickly adapt to any form of exercise if you stay with it for too long. Make sure in your planning stage that you build in variety through new exercises, a different exercise order, different rep scheme or try supersets or a circuit.

5. Get Support. Work with a personal trainer to learn what you should do and how you should do it. A recent study showed that people who worked with a trainer worked harder and met their goals faster than those who did not.

Just because you are doing a home workout does not mean that it can't be as tough or tougher than people who travel to a gym. Once you know where you are going and how you intend to get there, the rest is up to you. Follow your plan, give it 100% effort, eat right, and you'll be on your way to a fit body.

Rick DeToma

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