100 burpees or squat thrusts, a hard and quick workout

Here's a quick way to get a nice workout that will work your whole body and your lungs and heart. Do either burpees or squat thrusts for 100 reps and time it. To explain it simply, use any number of sets or direct reps to get to 100 total and record the time, and try to increase your time each new workout. If burpees are too hard, do squat thrusts instead.

It's typical for you to do a lot of reps at the beginning, and later in the workout to go slower and your heart and lungs will be going. This workout works both the muscles and the anaerobic system. Most people can't do 100 straight burpees, and instead will have to take short breaks in between sets, and that's how it works different energy systems.

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Iron Gym Pull Up bar

I recently bought an Iron Gym pull up bar. You may have seen the commercials for them. It can be hooked up to your doorframe without any screws or nails, and you do pull ups or chin ups on it. They cost around $25-30 for the regular version and around $40 for the extreme Iron Gym, which has additional handles.

Is the Iron Gym, or other doorway pull up bars worth it? I'd say so. It can handle a lot of weight, and for $25 bucks you can have your own little home gym! On the ad, it says that the Iron Gym can also be used for push ups, sit ups and dips. It's decent for push ups, you can get a good stretch at the bottom, but it isn't very good for dips or sit ups.

All in all, I'd say it's a great investment for someone who wants a chin up bar and push ups stands in their home!

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Hang Grippers for hand and forearm strength!

You may have seen those cheap hand grippers at the sporting goods store for a couple of bucks, but those are easy to use, they give you little challenge to your hands.

If you really want to build your hand and forearm strength and size, then hand grippers from companies like Heavy Grips or Captains of Crush by Ironmind are much better. It usually costs around $20 for each gripper, and they are heavy duty and will last many years.

Grip is so important to so many different parts of your physical life. Having strength in the rest of your body, but not in your hands will lead to you not being able to fully express your strength.

Try buying grippers from these sites:

http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Main/captainsofcrush.html
http://www.heavygrips.com/

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Jumping to improve fitness and leg strength

There's a lot of ways to improve your leg strength without weights. Bodyweight squats and lunges are one option, another option is to do jumps!

Squat jumps are done by descending into a squat then jumping in the air and landing back into a squat, then repeating in a rhythmic fashion. Here's a video example:



Broad jumps can be done in a similar way, do a broad jump, turn around then do another one, and repeat.



You can try all different types of jumps, like jumping up onto a platform or raised surface or jumping and landing on one leg. Jumping will build explosive power in the legs and you can potentially build more strength than doing regular exercises like squats and lunges.

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How to do raised push ups at home with little equipment

You may have seen products like the Power Push Up or the Perfect Push up, or other products which allow you to do push ups with your feet or hands raised. These are good to do because it allows you to go deeper, hitting your chest and making the exercise harder. Although it doesn't cost that much to buy them, maybe 30 or 40 dollars, you can make them yourself at home with a little ingenuity.

The simplest way to do it is to get some books and stack them on top of each other. Then put your hands on them and do push ups. You can use anything here really, like bricks, small weight plates stacked on top of each other, small stools, step up boxes, or just about anything you can find in your home.




To make them harder, also raised your feet on a surface. You can use a small chair to do this and get a real deep push up which will strengthen your chest and all the other muscles used to do push ups.

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Working out with cables and bands

Cables, a great way to train

A great way to workout that you can do with minimal equipment and space is with bands or cables. I've been using Lifeline TNT cables for a couple of months now, and they're great.

Low cost and very portable

This cable system from Lifeline only costs about $35 with shipping. It comes with about 120lbs of resistance. You can bring it with you anywhere you go, as it only weighs a few pounds.

Strong cables

Don't assume that all cables are weak and made for people who aren't strong. The Lifeline cables are made for every level from beginner to very strong, with their level 10 black cables, at 100lbs a piece!

Other cable/band products

Other great ways of using cables are Iron woody bands, Jumpstretch bands, or just surgical tubing. I prefer Lifeline because they come with nice handles that make it more suitable for using by themselves.

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