Spring has sprung! Well, sort of. As the temperature slowly creeps towards upper 50’s here in D.C. (and elsewhere) you may find your motivation to work out dwindling, but maybe that’s just me. Spring fever normally makes me want to lounge outside with friends or walk around downtown, no sweating involved. My lack of motivation and outright dislike for going to an actual gym inspired this post. Maybe you share the same sentiment: Do you drag your feet when going to the gym? Hate working out in front of other people? Don’t like feeling watched while doing reps? Irritated by membership fees? If not, then continue attending your gym. If you share any of the above feelings with me—I have a few solutions for you.

When I want to be active, I don’t want to face all that comes with the gym. Personally, I am about to rant a bit:

• ∞  Detest the amount of travel time it takes to get to the gym
• ∞  Hate the possibility of having to delay your routine to wait for a machine
• ∞  Am irritated by the membership fee (I never feel like it’s worth it)
• ∞  Am grossed out by dudes staring as I stretch or do lunges
• ∞  Never feel like going to the gym is convenient enough for me to consistently do it

Yet, I still want to work up a sweat, raise my heart rate, and tone my muscles as much as possible in as comfortable of a manner as possible. My solution? Working out in my living room to audio and video workouts. I’m well aware this may not work for many people, but I’ve found it to be my perfect solution. For now, anyway. I aim for a slender toned body with no bulky muscles—my high school track days are behind me. To achieve this I stick with yoga and ballet-like toning exercises. My favorites are 20-Minute Yoga Sessions from Yogadownload.com (via iTunes podcasts) and Ballet Beautiful.

The yoga podcasts offer something for everyone at any given level, and at 20-30minutes each there’s no excuse not to do it. Ballet Beautiful is a bit more of a commitment since you actually have to pay to subscribe or order the DVDs, but my oh my is it worth it! The creator, Mary Hellen Bowers, trained Natalie Portman for Black Swan. She whoops your butt in shape and you feel that burn all while looking graceful. I get in my cardio by simply not owning a car and living in a city.

 Here are a few of my favorites for each:

• Yogadownload Podcasts:
•      ∞  Core Yoga #1: Do this 3-4/week and see results after 2-3 weeks
•      ∞  Morning Flow #1: The perfect routine to gently wake you up in the a.m.
•      ∞  Lunchtime Flow #1: Sometimes I sub this one for a morning routine, but great as an afternoon pick-me-up
•      ∞  The Place in the Middle: I use this routine when I’m stressed. There are a series of spinal twists and hip openers that really aim to calm you and put your mind at ease.

• Ballet Beautiful Sets:

•      ∞  Bridge Series: Best not to do with boys around, this series is 5-6 targeted variations on your typical pelvic thrust. No bum muscle will go unworked.

•      ∞  Leg Series: Targets your inner and outer thighs to achieve those long ballerina stems. Expect to feel the burn within the first 5 minutes or so 🙂

What are some of your signature routines or moves to achieve the body you want?

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