By James Rosenthal

Who needs a gym membership when you can utilize all the tools available at home to get an awesome sculpting session?

John Richling, one of the top personal trainers in Los Angeles and a fixture at Gold’s Gym in Venice for more than 20 years, is always open to working with his busy clients in a home setting. The results are as easy to realize as the more traditional in-the-gym body sculpting approaches to conditioning. “As long as you train with perfect technique,” says Richling, “there’s no reason why you can’t make the same excellent progress – provided you train consistently.

Get started with three exercises – chair dips, elevated push-ups and sit-ups – for one or two sets of 20 reps. Repeat this session three to five days per week and after one month you’ll begin to see more tone in the upper body, abs and legs.

chair dip
With your back to a chair, place your hands behind you on the seat, palms down and fingers pointed forward. Rest your butt against the edge of the chair. Check for correct posture: look directly in front of you, shoulders back, spine perpendicular to the ground, feet flat on the floor or elevated on another chair in front of you for support.
To start, bend your elbows to descend two inches or so, with your butt traveling along the edge of the chair. Do not roll your shoulders forward or allow your butt to pull away from the edge of the chair. Come back to the top, contract your triceps, pause for a moment and then repeat the descending movement.

elevated push-up Start in a lowered push-up position with your feet elevated on a chair behind you. Push your body weight off the ground by straightening your elbows, contracting your abdominal muscles on the way up. Return to start position and repeat. Experiment with different arm positions (narrow or wide) to target inner or outer chest muscles.

sit-up Lie on your back with your feet tucked under the edge of a chair directly in front of you. Lace your fingers and place your hands behind your neck for support. Roll your torso up. Once your shoulder blades are elevated off the floor, bring your rib cage toward your pelvis for the crunch. Then bring your torso up until vertical, working the hip flexors, to complete the rep. Exhale on the contraction. Roll back down and repeat.