Single mom or traveling executive - not all of us have time to dedicate an hour or more of our weekdays to the gym. Physical health is not something that should ever be compromised, so maximizing time at home in front of the TV, doing laundry or even checking email becomes critical when you are pressed for time.

But in addition to carefully used time, people who exercise at home need a guide. A personal trainer is one of the best ways to learn techniques that can be used at home as well as in the gym, but in the meantime, if you are looking for a friendly, at-home fitness guide, MSN's The Fit Zone has a bevy of information for you.

First, go to The Fit Zone and scroll over a part of the body you'd like to focus on - you have the option of major muscle groups including upper shoulders, chest, arms, abs, gluts and legs on the front or back of the body.

When you click on your area of focus, a more specific breakdown will appear. For example, If I want to focus on the quadriceps, I click on the front of the legs, then the highlighted area indicating the quadriceps.

After you choose a muscle, a list of exercises that target that muscle will appear. For most people, exercises like those named "ball squat" will not mean a whole lot, but if you click through a list, you will see that each exercise is linked to one of MSN The Fit Zone's well presented exercise image and written description.

To prevent injury, be sure you study each exercise carefully before performing it - especially if you are new to resistance training or stability ball work. Sometimes an exercise may have multiple descriptive pictures, so be sure to look at each image. The images will help you better understand the verbal description and ensure that you are performing exercises correctly.

Happy workout!

Labels: exercise at home, home fitness, resistance training