Here are some ideas for workouts the use nothing fancy.

• Very first, step outside in a jacket that is not heavy enough for the season. This is a great way to start your morning, it gives you a great kick start and it burns calories! That's right, when you body is trying to keep warm it is burning calories extra fast.


• Instead of lifting dumbbells, lift cans of soup or water bottles. They can give you a great workout and you can move up to heavier as your strength improves. These can be used for curls or be held during other activities to add to what they are already doing.


• Your household stairs are a great exercise tool at your disposal. You can run or walk up and down them or simply use the bottom step for repetitions. This is a cardiovascular workout that can replace a brisk walk or the Stairmaster.


• Lunges are another great workout, and you can add the hand weights for extra work. Take a long step and bring your back knee all the way to the ground. Now walk across the whole room like that. Those require a lot of muscles and build a lot of strength.


• Push ups are a great way to build and tone upper body. They can be done on your knees or your feet. They can also be done against the wall. All of these will help you to tone your shoulders and upper body.


• Sit ups and crunches are still a great way to work out your midsection. But add a little bit of a challenge to them by placing a soccer ball or a basketball under your lower back. This makes it so that your range of motion goes forwards and back.


• Lie down flat on your back and bring your knees up. With your arms down by your sides and your feet planted firmly, lift your buns up off the ground. Hold that for about 5 seconds. Do 10 repetitions, then add more as you get into shape.


• For extra challenges with this exercise try putting a pillow underneath your feet. You could also try lifting one leg up half way and holding it, both give you added an added workout.


• Using the basketball or soccer ball again put it between your lower back and the wall. Let it roll as you squat up and down slowly. After going down slowly, stay down and hold it for 10 seconds, then come back up slowly. Repeat this 10 times to start.


• Extra challenge for this would be to remove the ball and hold the squat position for a minute at a time. The repetitions would be lower if you did it this way.


• A great inside motivator to exercise is a workout video. They can give you great exercise ideas and they have someone showing you how to do them. An exercise video would be a great way to focus on a specific area that you want to target as well.