No money, no equipment, no time? No problem!

Too many people never start strength and conditioning training because they think they don't have the time or can't afford a gym membership or are intimidated by the equipment. Others start, but then quit because they were trying really hard (or, at least, they thought they were), but not seeing the results they wanted.

Ironically, a lot of women fear achieving results that are "too good" - ladies, unless you are using steroids, you WILL NOT become bulky, Hulk Hogan-looking creatures. You will build muscle, but not like a man does. (It has to do with our hormonal and muscle fiber makeups.) And, since muscle burns more calories than fat, you will actually become leaner through strength training than through the typical "cardio" routines you probably have tried in the past. I have to tell ya, a little muscle is a lotta sexy. Don't believe me? ask your male friends if they find Nicole Richie or Jessica Biel more attractive.

The following routine will improve your strength, endurance, conditioning and appearance, can be done at home (or at the local playground), for free, with virtually no equipment other than your own body weight, and will only take 15 minutes a day, 3 days a week. (Can you find that amount of time in your schedule? If you say 'no' you are lying!)

Here's what to do: perform the following exercises back-to-back, with no rest between. For each exercise, do as many reps as you can without sacrificing proper form (check the links for videos on how to perform each movement).

- bodyweight squats
- pullups (if you don't have access to a pullup bar, use a tree limb or a sturdy beam or joist in your house)
- pushups
- sit ups

That's it.

If you are just starting out, do just one round and then add more rounds as you progress over time. You should be able to get at least 3 rounds in within 15 minutes.

If you are not used to strength training, it's possible some of you won't be able to do standard pullups or pushups. That's OK, there are some alternatives to use until you build up more strength...

If you cannot do pullups, try chinups (the underhand grip described in the video). Or use momentum, jumping up to the bar and continuing in one fluid motion (rather than starting from a dead hang). If even that is too hard, do the flexed arm hang - just grab the bar and jump up so your chin is over the bar and hold yourself in that position as long as you can, then S-L-O-W-L-Y let yourself down, fighting gravity the whole way. The goal obviously, is to progress to multiple-rep sets of proper pullups.

If you cannot do standard pushups, start off doing them from your knees.

Try it for 4 weeks and let me know how it's going. (Folks, that's a total time investment of 3 HOURS in the next month...surely your health and appearance is worth that!) Oh, and if you think you haven't really worked out if you're heart isn't beating out of your chest and you don't look like you just got out of a pool...try this and tell me how it compares to those 45 minutes on the elliptical machine.

Next post, I'll tell you some alternative versions of these core movements that you can try if you find you are not challenged enough in one area or another. In a month, we'll explore some ways to mix this routine up even more. In addition to staving off boredom and keeping your motivation high, switching things up is important because your body adapts to stimulus / stress over time and you stop making progress.

(It's worth noting that, while this is intended for beginners, it's a great change of pace or maintenance program for folks already in shape.)

No excuses!

- Jesse