“Seriously, regardless of age or fitness status, these are the basics EVERYONE could benefit from.”

Boy do I wish I had this list when I first dove into exercise. Growing up a runner, I never needed any equipment. All I needed was the road. But in college, I started getting interested in alternative forms of cardio and weight training. While we had a gym on campus, summer break at home left me with no equipment. I went shopping for home exercise basics – and was absolutely clueless.

I remember standing in Dick’s Sporting Goods staring at some weights and wondering, “Should I get dumbbells or a kettlebell? 5 lbs or 10 lbs?”

“No matter your reason, pick one and run with it. Literally. To the gym.”

I get it. The majority of the time, I want to do absolutely nothing after work. I’m tired, my brain has shut down, and sitting on the couch watching Friends re-runs with a box of cookies sounds like the best plan in the world.

So how do I usually make it to the gym 5-6 days a week?

I work a full-time, 40 hours/week job. I try my best to cook most of my meals at home, complete all my adulting “chores”, etc. It’s not like I’m never strapped for time.

So I wanted to share how I managed to develop an after-work exercise habit, in the hopes that you also can see how to make daily exercise your “norm”!

“I LOVE a good ab workout! Is that just me?? Probably.”

I’d always known that your abs were important to train. After all, Victoria’s Secret models don’t get their toned stomachs from the stairmaster alone. And who doesn’t want a nice flat tummy for the summer beach days?

But until I began my personal training studies, I had no idea how vital abdominal training is. Let’s go over the basics: