Exercise

[Manda_Pandaz]

k I'm 14 and I'm about 160 lbs and 5'7 i know i need to get in better shape and lose weight but my problem is every program that i come across seems to well COST MONEY and as a 14 yr old i seem to be lacking in the money department emo and money's tight right now so it's not like i can just ask my parents to buy me equipment. So I was wondering how do i get a good aerobic workout and strength train in the middle of winter (live in Michigan) without making my parents think I've gone bonkers? My parents usually get worried when i try to lose weight.  

[dangerousfish]

If your room isn't on the second floor you could walk and jog in place with no one knowing, both of those will get your heart rate up and you can do it for the 30-60 minutes of moderately intense cardio most days of the week requirement for fat loss. If you can, do the in-home walking in front of the TV, an activity you would normally do sitting down. Tell your parents you're trying to be more active and you don't have to go super hard, you should be able to walk/jog your way through at least a half hour show and even an hour one if you have a baseline of fitness. Busting out for a shorter period of time isn't as good as the 30-60 minutes of recommended exercise. Interval training is great, though. Short bursts of intense exercises and then longer periods of moderately intense before another burst and so on.

Umm, if you have a mini-tramp that's also good exercise.

Although equipment can help I don't think anyone needs a treadmill or whatever to lose, not when you have two legs made for walking and jogging. I do Walk Away the Pounds tapes (or just watching TV, if I don't get the tape out) and I lost 40 pounds doing only that plus food plus lifting weights every other day. On those really cold Michigan winters though, treadmills do sound nice sometimes. ^^

I'm 5'7' too and with a large frame I want to weigh around your weight only I pay more attention to body fat percentage and inches than weight. Since weight can only tell me how much my bone, muscle, and fat weigh - not how much healthy muscle I have compared to fat.

I'm from Michigan, too. I admit the Roommates and I do a lot of fitness videos which of course cost money. I also own a set of free weights and lift in addition to some non-lifting muscle exercises.

Strength training without weights you need to lift your body weight with exercises like pushups and tricep dips, pull ups if you have a bar. If you can't do pushups on the ground raising the angle up to a table or counter or wall will help you complete a set while still working your muscles. Same with dips, I do them off the edge of our couch with my legs closer to my body than a super fit person would. The legs closer to the body support your weight more than when they're stretched out.

Crunches: Picture your belly button touching the floor, this will help turn on your inner ab muscles (transverse abdominal). There should never be an arch in your back. Press the tip of your tongue right behind your upper front teeth, I was told this helps keep your neck in proper alignment. I don't like to put my hands behind my head to prevent pulling, I crunch with my arms straight out and lifted at shoulder height, crossing your arms over your chest also works. Exhale as your "crunch" up and inhale as you go back down. Don't rush the movement, slowly doing an exercise makes it more potent and when you rush crunches you usually aren't engaging your transverse abs.

Remember also, you're 14, you're still growing, you're supposed to have a bit of extra fat. Depending on where you are in puberty. If you're fit and trim over most of your body with a little belly, that belly is probably baby fat, keep active and it will go away when it's supposed to.

Tell your parents you don't want to lose weight so much as you've decided to be more active and healthy to prevent health problems later in life. Exercise is a good thing at least 3 days a week for maintaining people and most days of the week for those of us trying to lose. 45 minutes is the number I hear for weight losers but even 1/2 hour is good.

Make sure you're eating. A)Because often parents are worried their kids aren't eating, not that they want to exercise. B)If you don't eat enough calories your body will think there is a famine and it won't want to let any of your excess fat and could start eating your muscle since it is more tasty. Keep muscle, burn fat, eat good foods.

about.com has some good resources on exercises, you should give them a search.  

[Lucky Cura]

I live in Michigan and it snows alot...  

[Yuura-Sama]

dangerousfish

If your room isn't on the second floor you could walk and jog in place with no one knowing, both of those will get your heart rate up and you can do it for the 30-60 minutes of moderately intense cardio most days of the week requirement for fat loss. If you can, do the in-home walking in front of the TV, an activity you would normally do sitting down. Tell your parents you're trying to be more active and you don't have to go super hard, you should be able to walk/jog your way through at least a half hour show and even an hour one if you have a baseline of fitness. Busting out for a shorter period of time isn't as good as the 30-60 minutes of recommended exercise. Interval training is great, though. Short bursts of intense exercises and then longer periods of moderately intense before another burst and so on.

Umm, if you have a mini-tramp that's also good exercise.

Although equipment can help I don't think anyone needs a treadmill or whatever to lose, not when you have two legs made for walking and jogging. I do Walk Away the Pounds tapes (or just watching TV, if I don't get the tape out) and I lost 40 pounds doing only that plus food plus lifting weights every other day. On those really cold Michigan winters though, treadmills do sound nice sometimes. ^^

I'm 5'7' too and with a large frame I want to weigh around your weight only I pay more attention to body fat percentage and inches than weight. Since weight can only tell me how much my bone, muscle, and fat weigh - not how much healthy muscle I have compared to fat.

I'm from Michigan, too. I admit the Roommates and I do a lot of fitness videos which of course cost money. I also own a set of free weights and lift in addition to some non-lifting muscle exercises.

Strength training without weights you need to lift your body weight with exercises like pushups and tricep dips, pull ups if you have a bar. If you can't do pushups on the ground raising the angle up to a table or counter or wall will help you complete a set while still working your muscles. Same with dips, I do them off the edge of our couch with my legs closer to my body than a super fit person would. The legs closer to the body support your weight more than when they're stretched out.

Crunches: Picture your belly button touching the floor, this will help turn on your inner ab muscles (transverse abdominal). There should never be an arch in your back. Press the tip of your tongue right behind your upper front teeth, I was told this helps keep your neck in proper alignment. I don't like to put my hands behind my head to prevent pulling, I crunch with my arms straight out and lifted at shoulder height, crossing your arms over your chest also works. Exhale as your "crunch" up and inhale as you go back down. Don't rush the movement, slowly doing an exercise makes it more potent and when you rush crunches you usually aren't engaging your transverse abs.

Remember also, you're 14, you're still growing, you're supposed to have a bit of extra fat. Depending on where you are in puberty. If you're fit and trim over most of your body with a little belly, that belly is probably baby fat, keep active and it will go away when it's supposed to.

Tell your parents you don't want to lose weight so much as you've decided to be more active and healthy to prevent health problems later in life. Exercise is a good thing at least 3 days a week for maintaining people and most days of the week for those of us trying to lose. 45 minutes is the number I hear for weight losers but even 1/2 hour is good.

Make sure you're eating. A)Because often parents are worried their kids aren't eating, not that they want to exercise. B)If you don't eat enough calories your body will think there is a famine and it won't want to let any of your excess fat and could start eating your muscle since it is more tasty. Keep muscle, burn fat, eat good foods.

about.com has some good resources on exercises, you should give them a search.

walking in place ?
A stepper ?  

[Moonecho]

Your weight is not just your enemy, it's also the best tool you have.
Resist it.

Pushups, crunches, pullups. All of those use your own body weight against you, and it's free, and always available. (:
I've found that the weight on me is just as good as an iron weight.

I also carry around my textbooks, rather than visit a locker every period.
Carrying them in your arms is good for toning. (:  

[dangerousfish]

[demonic-x-angel]

walking in place ?
A stepper ?

No, just your feet and the floor. Walking/Jogging/Marching in place - it works all the same muscles without the moving forwards motion so you can do it anyplace. Cheapest most customizable (very easy to arm pumping, fat burning) exercise ever. Here is my thread on the Walk Away the Pounds exercise tapes but you can do the same thing, with motivation, for free, if you don't want to buy the tapes. I like the tapes a lot but free is always good.  

[__penguin__]

Well, I haven't done it religiously yet (I intend to start doing so, though whee ), but I've heard of quite a few people losing a ton of weight by excersizing with dance dance revolution. I'm not sure exactly how (long periods on an easy setting? short periods on a hard setting? how often?), but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than going to a gym for aerobic excersize. 3nodding Plus, it's fun!  

[dangerousfish]

Unless you have a game console (PS2/3, Xbox) and just pay the up front cost of the home game playing on the machines can get really pricey. The place that we could pay for 50 cents raised to a dollar like everyone else. Considering we DDR'd two nights a week for at least 3 games that's 12 dollars right there and sometimes we'd play more. So if you saved that money you could buy a workout video that you liked the look of or you could save for the home version for your console.  

[spiitze]

Sports teams at school? or a weight room at school? ...I know that in my school, we have a weight room, and some teams like badminton/curling which don't cut any one....But i don't know...I sipathise with your inablitily to go outside though...I live in Canada >.< Waaaay too cold to go running sweatdrop  

[Manda_Pandaz]

thankies for all the ideas ^-^  

[Divash]

My mother, godmother, first employer, great-aunt, and about a dozen others who are (or were) close to me have been diagnosed with cancer. Most have survived. Some have not. I know no one whose family hasn't been touched with this horrible, painful disease. At the time, all I could think of to do about it was pray. I felt so powerless against cancer.

I don't feel that way anymore. Thanks to walks, runs, jogs, book reading marathons, and other endeavors, people are aware of cancer and are donating funds to contribute to research. Someday (please, God, soon!) we will find out what causes cancer, and more importantly, what can wipe it out for good.

Will you be a part of that research? Maybe you'll grow up to be a famous doctor or medical researcher whose work provides the breakthrough we need. Or maybe you'll help the research by joining us as we walk, run, roll, or ride in order to raise funds and awareness. Maybe you'll be one of those precious people who contribute financially to the research. Will you help? Please click on the link in my signature, and help us in the struggle. We need everyone.

As a particular bonus: Walking 5 miles burns calories and builds muscle (and muscle burns fat better than fat burns fat, so muscle mass is something you want!).