It can be daunting the first time you decide to take up exercise, especially when you associate exercise with going to the gym everyday, or going for long runs or bike rides. In reality, all you need to do is start off with some fun and easy exercises that you can do from the comfort of your own home, without the need for expensive equipment.

Easy Exercises

• Throw out the remote control

While it might be convenient, it makes us lazy. Just think how many times you would have to get off the sofa if you had to manually switch channels. But getting your body moving, even just for the few seconds it might take you to walk over to the television, you are accumulating activity time over the day. By doing this you will also be switching from a couch potato mentality to a more active mentality.

The remote does not just have to apply to the television, but also remote control gates, DVDs, CD players - anything in fact that you would normally use a remote control for.

• Don´t watch commercial ads on television

Hours can be wasted watching all the advertisements that are shown on television. Whether you are watching a movie or a series, each time an ad break starts, get up and start moving. Make yourself a drink, go to the toilet, tidy up a bit, put the dishes in the dishwasher - anything, as long as you are not just sitting on the couch. You could even do exercises right there on the couch such as touching your toes, or stretching your arms. It all adds up.

• Dance

Dancing can burn off lots of calories and while you are in the privacy of your own home you can go crazy. Put on your favorite music - ones from your youth often work the best - and dance like a crazy person. Jump about the place, dance up and down the stairs, jump on the bed - anything to get you moving. If you do this first thing in the morning it will also give you a great energy boost and leave you feel ready to face the day.

• Pelvic Gyrations

The mid-section is most often where weight accumulates so you really want to get that area moving. It does not have to be anything strenuous, you can do it while you are watching the television or incorporate it into your dance routine.

• Wall push-ups

Regular push-ups can be too strenuous for many people, but you can start off doing wall push-up. Stand a little way from the wall, with your arms outstretched and your palms flat on the wall. Pretend the wall is the floor, and let yourself go towards the wall, then push yourself back to the starting position and repeat as many times as you can.

• Stair jumps

If you have stairs in your house, you can take them two at a time instead of just one and get those muscles stretched a little. You can also use the bottom step to do step-up exercises.

These are just a small selection of exercises that you can do at home and with a little imagination I am sure that you could come up with many more. It may not seem like much and you may find yourself asking what is the point. Well the point is that if done regularly, this small exercises will help you lose weight - no, not as fast as if you were to go to a gym, but there are a great start. The mental aspect of exercising is also important so once you see that you can do the exercises at home, you will be more inclined to build up to more intense exercises that will help you lose weight even more quickly.