A cheap alternative to buying a bench is to buy one of those Reebok (or any brand) steps. I use that at my house and just put 3 risers under it. If I need something higher to lean on I will use a chair or couch. Most of the time I just go to the gym but I have some days where I don't make it and just end up creating a workout at home. Another good toy to get is a physical therapy/exercise/or Swiss ball (all the same thing with lots of names for it!). You can do so many exercises on them. I like to do my chest press on the ball since it also forces me to stabilize my core muscles at the same time. I also do abs on the ball. Here are a few other ones I also add in from time to time: http://www.getfit.com.au/html/excercises/ball.html That site has some other good non ball exercises too! Here is another great one: http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/blballworkout.htm Love the hamstring rolls - they are a challenge for me. Push ups as well. This is my home gym/portable gym list that my husband also uses when he trains his home clients: PT/Exercise Ball Medicine Balls (Squishy small ones you can get in Wal-Mart for low cost - the regular harder ones we bought at Sports Authority) Resistance Bands The new Bowflex® SelectTech? Dumbbells (compact and great product) Regular Bike (mount it on a mag trainer for indoor riding) Step (used for a variety of exercises and as a bench) Jump Rope Foam Rollers (great for stretching, can also do abs on the long one - used by physical therapists) Boxing Gloves/Target Gloves Agility Ball (tiny ball - tennis ball size- that when you bounce goes in crazy directions)

Hello everyone! I have been lurking here for some time, reading everyones daily posts have been very motivating for me. I have to admit, I have been very reluctant to begin lifting weights after having a bod pod done and finding out that out of my 245 pounds, I have close to 170 pounds of muscle! And I do not want another ounce of muscle!!!!!! However, I am beginning to look like a deflated balloon, so......I realize that bodybuilding isn't only about gaining muscle, it is also about shaping the muscle you already have. I am looking to give my body a long and lean appearance, especially my legs since they are short, even though I am 5 feet 10 inches tall! My height seems to be from having a long waist, which I plan on shaping up as well! Right now I have a spare tire that I am working on burning off with 6 day a week cardio sessions on the elliptical trainer and treadmill. I will start posting my workouts right now!!! I am very glad to be here!!! I have real problems with weekend overeating so I hang out in the gym on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. Friday afternoon I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, 15 minutes on the stationary bike, and 15 minutes on the treadmill. After that, I played around a little on the resistance machines to get a feel for them...it's been a long time since my jock days of lifting free weights and doing the rounds on the machines, I'm looking forward to this! Saturday I did an hour on the elliptical, a few laps around the walking track and 30 minutes on free weights. Tricep pulldowns 1 set 15 reps 25 pounds seated rows 1 set 15 reps 25 pounds wide grip pulldowns 1 set 20 reps 25 pounds upright row 1 set 20 reps 10 pounds Havent decided todays workout yet, cardio for sure, we'll see about the rest. Have a great day!

welcome to the board. Most all of the people here are full of information! Glad you are starting anew. The people here are great motivators! Again welcome! Tammy

Good job Stacy!!! Good feeling when the strength starts to come back.

Welcome, Stacy gives about all you need, I just wanted to say hello. You can do just about anything with dumbbells. Stick around and post often. Mike 425/269/235???