For many people, getting to the gym is a big obstacle to starting and staying on an effective fat burning and conditioning workout program. Many people are also intimidated by confusing gym equipment, workout routines, and complex schemes of sets and reps. A casual glance at the control panel of the average treadmill will reveal dozens of different controls and programs, you can change the incline, the intensity level, and choose from a variety of different courses. Most other ‘cardio’ machines offer similar choices. And the average gym has dozens of different machines that must seem like they are right out of a sci fi movie to the average non gym going person.

Is all of this really necessary? Not at all! You can get an effective ‘cardio” fat burning workout done right in your living room with nothing more than a pair of running shoes and your favorite music playing on your stereo, all it takes is a little bit of know how.

Knowing how to move your body to burn calories and fat is the only tool you will ever need to get into great shape and stay in great shape. No equipment, no gym membership, and no running required. Here’s a sample of how to put together an effective fat burning workout that can be done right in your living room or almost any other room in your house.

The basic principle is to use lots of muscles at once and move your whole body as much as possible. Setting up mini whole body circuit will accomplish this nicely without having to take any more than one step in any direction. You might need to move a coffee table out of the way to give yourself about 4-5 feet to move around in and then your set.

Sample mini circuit:

Body weight squats: Standing with your feel shoulder width apart simply squat down to a chair or bench and get back up.

Push ups: Follow your body weight squats with a set of pushups. If a regular push up is too hard for you, try doing them against the wall or the edge of a window sill or counter. As you get stronger move lower until your on the ground. You can also do them on the ground off of your knees instead of your feet.

Step ups: Use the bottom two steps if you have a set of stairs handy. If not step up onto a bench, or piece of low furniture (might want to take the shoes off for that). Step up with one foot, step back down and then alternate to the other foot.

Do each of these exercises back to back to back for 20 seconds each for a total of 60 seconds. Take a rest for about 30-60 seconds and then repeat the set again. Do a total of 4 sets then take a break.

This would be one complete mini circuit.

Mix and match these exercises with others like jump squats, squat and press, reverse lunges, and one leg deadlifts. This will give you a never ending variety of exercises that will burn tones of calories and fat and can be done right in your living room. With this style of mini circuit training you will never need to buy a gym membership or any exercise equipment to get into great shape.