Whether you don’t want to drop a ton of money on a gym membership, or just need to squeeze in a quick sweat on your own, here are a handful of great at home workouts you can mix and match whenever you feel like it.
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Get Your Sweat On with These Easy At Home Workouts
Body Weight Workouts
Let’s face it, all you ever need to let your fitness flag fly is your own body and a place you can move in. Learning how to support your body weight alone is a crucial and useful life skill. These beginner-friendly workouts at home are guaranteed to challenge you and kick your metabolism back into fighting shape:
For Cardio
- Jumping Jacks
Clear a space for yourself. Jump, repeatedly alternating with placing your legs apart, and together. Your arms should be in sync: level with your shoulder when your legs are part, and over your head when legs are together.
Set: 1 set
Duration: 60 seconds - Burpees
From a starting position, hop down and touch the floor with both hands and kick your legs out into a starting pushup position. You can opt to do a pushup to challenge yourself or keep things simple by pulling your legs back, then leaping back up to a standing position to complete one full rep.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10 reps, 1-minute full rest between sets - High Knees
Bend your elbows and place your hands in front of you. Start jogging in place, but your knees should touch your hands.
Set: 1 set
Duration: 60 seconds
Pro tip: These can also serve as warm-up to your weighted workouts.
For the Core
- Plank
Make sure your entire body is a straight line, that your butt isn’t sticking out, and your back isn’t caved in.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 60-90 second hold depending on how hard you want to challenge yourself, 90 seconds rest. - Double Leg Raises
Keep your back flat against the floor; beginners can supplement this by placing your hands underneath your butt.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 90 seconds rest in between sets. - Superman Hold
Get on your hands and knees, keep your back straight, and hold an opposing arm and leg out straight. Repeat with the opposite pair.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10 reps, 15 seconds per rep, 60 seconds rest
For the Upper Body
- Pushups
Don’t sacrifice form for the sake of performing a full pushup. Start on your knees if you have to. Otherwise, the right muscle groups won’t get targeted.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10 reps, 3-minute rest between sets - Tricep Dip
Can be done on a chair or any level object that supports your weight
Set: 5 sets
Duration: 5-10 reps, 45 seconds rest in between sets - Doorframe Pull-ups
Make sure your door frame is stable or your pull-up bar is installed properly. Place your hands shoulder-width apart and pull yourself up, activating muscles in your back and not just your arms.
Set: 5 sets
Duration: 5 reps to failure, 1-minute rest
For the Lower Body
- Bodyweight Squats
To observe proper form, place a chair behind you and mimic sitting on it. Keep your eyes looking forward so you don’t keel over, and make sure your knees don’t go beyond your toes.
Set: 5 sets
Duration: 15-20 reps, 90 seconds rest - Romanian Lunges
Place a foot behind you on a bench, chair, or sofa, then slowly lower your front leg. Your knee should not go past your toes, and your knee shouldn’t be caving inwards.
Set 5 sets
Duration: 10 reps, 90 seconds rest - Lying Glute Bridge
Be careful not to rush this, as it will place a strain on your neck. Take your time to squeeze your glutes at the top of each bridge.Set: 5 sets
Duration: 20 reps, 60 seconds rest
Dumbbell Workouts
If you have a set of dumbbells at home, that’s great. They make great additions to home workouts and help build some muscle. As free weights, they require more stability, hence more muscles are needed to activate. They also make for a great intro for beginners looking to transition into barbells and heavier weights.
Here are some basic but solid exercises with dumbells you can do at home:
For Abs
- Side Bend
Holding your dumbbells by your sides, bend sideways as low as you can without bending your hips and knees, then straighten back up. For proper form, lean against a wall, or simply hold one hand to the side of your head and stay aligned.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Weighted crunch, holding a dumbbell to chest with both hands
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Russian Twist
From a lying position, raise your legs and torso off the ground so only your butt is touching the ground. Twist and lightly set your dumbbell on the floor left and right to perform one set.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest
For Upper Body
- Renegade Press
Perform a pushup while pressing your dumbbells against the floor, and as you raise yourself up, perform a row by bringing an elbow up towards your back.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10-15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Standing Shoulder Press
Standing upright, raise your dumbbells to your ears, then raise them all the way over your head before bringing back down again. Make sure your arms start at the 90-degree angle.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10-15 repls, 90 seconds rest - Lateral Raises
While holding your dumbbells, raise your arms from the sides up until they are aligned with your shoulder.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10-15 reps, 90 seconds rest
For Lower Body
- Dumbbell Squat
Holding your dumbbells to your chest, perform your squats.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Romanian Deadlift
Keeping your legs straight, bend forward until the dumbbells reach past your knees, then carefully straighten up again.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Dumbbell Calf Raise
While holding your dumbbells to your side, raise yourself up on tip-toes at intervals.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest
Kettlebell Workout
The foremost advantage to kettlebells is that unlike dumbbells you don’t need weight increments or single movements to create a full workout. They’re versatile enough that you just need one kettlebell for the entirety of the workout; a 16-kilo weight is ideal for challenging home workouts for men but feel free to pick a lighter weight so as to not sacrifice your form. Here are some kettlebell basics:
For Abs
- Weighted Crunches
Your regular crunches, but done while holding a kettlebell to your chest.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10 reps, 90 seconds rest - Oblique Crunches
Holding your kettlebells to your side, bend sideways, then straighten back up. For proper form, lean against a wall, or simply hold one hand to the side of your head and stay aligned.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 10-15 reps, 90 seconds rest
For Upper Body
- Bent-Over Row
You can do this over the back of the chair, or a counter. Make sure you keep your eyes looking straight ahead of you to prevent curvature of the back.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 8-10 reps per side, 90 seconds rest - One-Arm Press
This is like half a shoulder press: One arm stays down, while the other does the lifting.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 5-8 per side, 9 seconds rest
For Lower Body
- Goblet Squat
Hold your kettlebell upside down against your chest, and perform squats.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 15 reps, 90 seconds rest - Single Arm Squat to Press
This is a combination of the squat and the one-arm press. Hold your kettlebell in one hand by your ear as you squat, and lift up as you emerge from the squat.
Set: 3 sets
Duration: 8-10 reps per side, 90 seconds rest
Check out this video by Jordan Yeoh Fitness to learn a variety of plank exercises:
Your journey to fitness can be started and maintained from the comfort and safety of your own home. This is also especially helpful to keep in mind for fitness buffs who travel and don’t have time to go looking for a gym or can only work out in limited spaces. Just keep the right form, drink lots of water in between, and pace yourself—your body will be exhausted, but grateful (and hopefully looking less like a blob of jelly).
Do you have any home workout tips to share for fellow homebodies? Share them in the comment section below!
Up Next: Workout Plans For Men That Don’t Require A Gym Membership
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