Knowing how to implement an effective workout routine at home is becoming more and more of a concern among people interested in staying or getting fit. The could be several reasons; it could be due to your busy work schedule, expensive gym memberships, or like in recent years — everyone being under quarantine and not going out unless absolutely necessary. Whatever your motivation for starting a workout routine at home is, we’ve got you covered!
Today, we’re sharing exercises that you can do on your own, a timetable to maximize the benefits of your routine, as well as some valuable tips to ensure you achieve satisfying results.
Common Exercises For Your Workout Routine at Home
Before we get into our daily workout schedule and we start throwing at you the names of a bunch of different exercises, we believe it’s best to explain what these moves are and how you can perform them. So here are the 8 best exercises for your workout routine at home.
1. Arm Raises
- Lift your arms at shoulder level.
- Bend your elbows upwards so that they make a right angle.
- Raise your arms so that your hands go beyond your head.
- Bring your arms back down to shoulder level with your elbows bent.
- Watch a video here
2. Lunges
- Stand up straight.
- Step one leg forward while bending it so that this knee is almost at a right angle.
- At the same time, bring your other knee down behind your back, bending it as close to the ground as possible without touching it.
- Stand back up and repeat with the other leg.
- See how to do it here
3. Leg Raises
- Lay flat on your back.
- Raise both of your legs at a right angle to your hip so that your body takes an “L” shape.
- Lower your legs back as close as possible to the ground without touching it.
- Watch a video here
4. Crunches
- Lay flat on your back.
- Place each arm next to your head, bending it so that your elbows are above head level.
- Bend your legs at the knees and pull them back towards your core and chest.
- Raise your head slightly to meet your knees.
- Stretch your legs back then pull them towards you again repeating the same steps.
- See an example here
5. Squats
- Stand straight with your feet apart as wide as your hip.
- Crouch down as if you’re sitting on a chair while making sure your knees are bending behind your toes.
- Watch a pro here
6. Hip Bridge
- Lay flat on your back.
- Bend your knees with your feet on the ground.
- Lift your hip while your upper back stays on the ground.
- Lower your hip and repeat.
- Expert demonstration here
7. Planks
- Lie on your stomach.
- Lift your body so that you’re supported by the tips of your toes and your forearms.
- Hold the posture keeping your back as straight as possible.
- See it done here
8. Bicycles
- Lay flat on your back.
- Lift your knees in the air so your body forms a “Z” shape.
- Rotate your legs as if you’re pedaling a bicycle.
- Watch a video here
A Simple Exercise Routine At Home
Day #1
- 4 minutes arm raises.
- 2 minutes leg raises.
- 4 minutes lunges.
- 2 minutes bicycles.
- 4 minutes squats.
- 4 minutes crunches.
- 30 seconds plank.
- 1 minute of diaphragmatic breathing.
Day #2
- 4 minutes lunges.
- 2 minutes leg raises.
- 4 minutes arm raises.
- 4 minutes squats.
- 2 minutes hip bridges.
- 4 minutes crunches.
- 30 seconds plank.
- 1 minute of diaphragmatic breathing.
Day #3
- 5 minutes lunges.
- 3 minutes leg raises.
- 5 minutes crunches.
- 4 minutes bicycles.
- 4 minutes squats.
- 3 minutes hip bridges.
- 1 minute of diaphragmatic breathing.
Day #4
- Rest day or stretches.
Day #5
- 3 minutes arm raises.
- 3 minutes leg raises.
- 4 minutes squats.
- 2 minutes bicycles.
- 4 minutes lunges.
- 4 minutes crunches.
- 1 minute plank.
- 1 minute of diaphragmatic breathing.
Day #6
- 5 minutes lunges.
- 2 minutes leg raises.
- 3 minutes arm raises.
- 2 minutes hip bridges.
- 2 minutes bicycles.
- 4 minutes crunches.
- 5 minutes squats.
- 1 minute plank.
- 1 minute of diaphragmatic breathing.
Day #7
- Rest day or stretches.
Important Tips to Ensure an Effective Workout Routine at Home
If you’re aiming to shed some extra pounds or simply trying to maintain your form, you should keep the following tips in mind if you want to see an effective outcome to your at-home workout routine.
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Pair your exercise routine with a healthy, balanced diet
This is probably the most important aspect of a workout plan other than actually doing the exercises. Thus, without a healthy, balanced diet where you watch what you eat and when you eat, all your hard work may pay off in the way you were expecting or hoping. When we talk about a healthy and balanced diet, we’re referring to both the quality and quantity of the food, as well as the frequency of the meals. As such, let’s discuss each point to help better understand:
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Food Quality
The quality of your food means the type of foods you regularly eat during the main meals and when you want to snack. Like many experts advise on practically every fitness and health platform ever, your diet should contain elements from every food group to ensure your body gets all its nutritional requirements. This includes grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and protein foods where you can receive your needs from minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats (yes, even that!). When it comes to your main meals, stick to foods with lots of value instead of loading with empty calories from junk food or fast food. A lot of greens with a protein component and a side of whole-wheat or brown bread is more beneficial than a bowl of mac and cheese or some deep-fried chicken.
Of course, you can still indulge in such meals from time to time, but they shouldn’t be the normal deal. Dessert-wise, you can swap that piece of cake or bag of candy with a piece of fruit. Cutting back on refined sugar can make a big difference in your general health and help you reach your weight loss goals faster. This also applies to snacking on chips and chocolate bars. Once again, you can enjoy a “cheat” dessert or snack, but don’t make it your usual practice.
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Food Quantity and Meal Frequency
Instead of eating two or three large meals, divide your food intake into smaller portions that you eat over several meals throughout the day. This will help your body efficiently burn through the calories while preventing you from feeling bloated and lazy.
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Don’t over-stress your muscles
It’s also rather crucial that you don’t put your muscles under excessive stress by working out too intensely too soon. This is often a mistake that beginners make because they’re too excited about getting into shape and have a misconception that exercising aggressively for longer times will make them reach their fitness goals faster. The truth is, working out your muscles too much too suddenly can cause various overuse injuries in the muscles, joints, or tendons of the back, knees, legs, neck, or arms. Such injuries can stop you from exercising for several days up to months.
Therefore, the right approach for a newbie trying to establish a workout routine at home -or anywhere for that matter- is to start at a low- or moderate-intensity plan according to their particular physical condition, then gradually increase the intensity. This could mean doing easier low-impact exercises, engaging in shorter workout sessions, or a combination of both. As your muscles grow more accustomed to the stress, you can try higher-impact exercises and prolong your workout sessions.
Wrap Up
A workout routine at home is only effective if you maintain it long enough. First, you should commit to the plan and keep exercising even when you feel like quitting. The conventional way for you to do that is what most people advise with; motivation. While keeping yourself motivated can indeed drive you to work out, it may not be enough to get you to do what needs to be done every day. Thus, you solution here is for you to turn the workout routine into a habit, just like brushing your teeth before bed or drinking coffee in the morning. If you stick to your workout plan for a few weeks, it’ll eventually turn into a habit that you just do, and feel off when you don’t.
