Give your coffee table a shove and your living room becomes a gym. One of the most convenient ways to improve your fitness is to create a targeted 30-minute home workout.

Becoming a health club regular is a great way to get in shape because of the available exercise equipment and fitness classes. But don’t underestimate the strides you can make on your own.

“You can get a good workout at home in just 30 minutes,” says Joan Pagano, author of Strength Training for Women.

The key is to organize your workout so it includes a five-minute warm-up; 20 minutes of strength training with short spurts of cardio activity (such as jogging in place, jumping rope, or jumping jacks) mixed in between exercises; and five minutes of stretching to cool down.

“This is an efficient way to get a cardio benefit while strength training,” says Pagano.

To further capitalize on your 30 minutes, Pagano recommends making the following compound exercises the basis of your strength-training plan. These multitasking moves work the upper and lower body simultaneously and target all major muscle groups, which include the largest muscles in your hips and legs, back, chest, shoulders, and core (abdominals and spinal muscles). They require 3- or 5-pound free weights for women, and 8-, 10-, or 12-pound free weights for men, depending on the person’s current fitness level.

Try These At Home

• Lunge with lat row
  Targets: lats, quads, hamstrings, and glutes

  Standing with your feet parallel, hip-width apart, and knees soft, hold the weights at your hips, palms in, elbows bent at right angles and close to your sides. Stabilize your shoulder blades by drawing them down and together. Step forward with one leg, bending both knees. Simultaneously straighten your arms, lowering the weights toward your knee. As you spring back, pull the weights to your hips. Alternate legs for eight reps, with one rep equal to both sides.

• Balance and press
  Targets: shoulders, glutes, and quads

  Standing with your feet parallel, hip-width apart, hold two small weights at shoulder height. Extend one arm and lift the opposite knee to hip height. Balance, then march in place, alternating sides for eight reps, with one rep equal to both sides.

• Plíe with front raise
  Targets: shoulders, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and inner thighs

  Holding one large weight horizontally with both hands, with arms straight down in front, stand in a wide stance, legs turned out 45 degrees. Bend your knees and lift the weight to shoulder height, keeping the arms straight. Lower the weight and straighten your legs to return to the starting position. Do one set of eight to 12 reps.

Start Slowly
If you’re new to exercise or just getting back into a routine, build a foundation before pushing yourself.

“To avoid injury, your body— including your heart, lungs, muscles, and connective tissue—needs to be conditioned,” says Pagano.

Once you’ve done the same basic routine for two months, change the program. If you’ve been using lighter weights with higher repetitions, for example, switch to heavier weights with fewer reps or reverse the order of the exercises.

“Your body will stop improving if you don’t continually challenge it,” she says.

You also should alternate the days you strength train with 30 minutes of aerobic activity, such as walking or jogging. To up the ante, add interval training by picking up the pace for twominute spurts. Or vary the terrain by choosing hillier routes or doing stairs.

“To maximize your fitness benefits and keep it fresh, try to make every workout a little different,” says Pagano. “You’ll prevent boredom so you’re more likely to stick with it.”

Sandra Gordon spoke with Joan Pagano, owner of the Joan Pagano Fitness Group in New York City and author of Strength Training for Women, DK Publishing, 2004, $15.

© StayWell Custom Communications. Information is the opinion of the sourced authors and organizations. Personal decisions regarding health, diet, and exercise should be made only after consultation with the reader's own medical advisers. This material may not be reproduced for redistribution without written permission from StayWell Custom Communications.