No one was ever born an athlete. Some start their fitness journey from the comfort of their small room. Once, I couldn’t afford a gym membership, I knew I had to be resourceful. And the internet never failed to provide me with what I needed.
It can be overwhelming to see how many exercises you can do. You might be tempted to go for the hardest ones on your first session, but don’t make that mistake! The most important thing for beginners is to just get started with whatever exercise they enjoy and learn the habit of staying active, no matter what exercise you choose to do.
No matter what fitness level you are, though, you can’t go wrong with home exercises. Nothing can beat the convenience of not needing any equipment at all. With the pandemic needing us to stay home, there is no better time to start your fitness journey than now.
I’m sure one of the most popular motivations to exercise is the desire to lose weight. If you’re one of these people, make sure you find a workout that you’ll enjoy. Exercising is hard, sure, but it can also be fun if you choose the right workout for you! Continue reading to learn some exercises to lose weight at home.
Different Types of Exercises to Lose Weight at Home
Bodyweight Exercises
As the name implies, bodyweight exercises are movements that make use of nothing else but your own body. You need absolutely nothing else! This brings another level of convenience.
Whether you’re a beginner or have been working out for some time now, these exercises will help you in one way or another. For beginners out there, you’ll be building your own strength from the bottom up. Don’t get me wrong though; this won’t be as easy as you think!
For the more experienced of you, you might find that bodyweight exercises will help you improve your form. If you find the exercises too easy, you can always do some modifications. Not only that, you’ll also be able to be more stable yet more mobile in your movements.
The most useful exercises are definitely the most basic. No matter how far you go in your fitness journey, you’ll find that you’ll always be getting back to these basic movements. I like to call these the foundation of bodyweight exercises. Do them well, and you’ll go a long way in your fitness journey from the comfort of your own home!
Squats
Although this looks simple enough, if you’re doing it right, you’ll be feeling the burn in your glutes and quadriceps.
How to do a basic bodyweight squat: Stand straight with your chest slightly puffed out and your feet shoulder-width apart. Put your arms straight in front of you, or clasp your hands together, or place them behind your head. Bend your knees and hips, keeping your spine neutral.
To help you with proper form, imagine that your knees can’t go over your front toes. Make sure you don’t slouch and keep your chest puffed out. Stop at whatever level you can, then come back to the starting position.
Push-ups
If you don’t have much time on your hands, they say you can do a few reps of this exercise. Push-ups will work your whole body, from your arms, your chest muscles, to your abs. Don’t expect this to be easy, though, especially if you’re a beginner. You might need to start on your knees first instead of on a plank position.
How to do a basic push-up: Start by getting on all fours. Then, push yourself up with your arms. Make sure you are on your toes. Push back through your heel slightly. Then, bend your elbows, lowering your chest to the floor. Pause for a bit, then come back to the starting position.
Lunge
These are one of those exercises that look simple enough. They might even look like it’s as easy as taking a step forward, but the right form and a few reps will change your mind quickly.
How to do a basic lunge: Stand straight with your hands at your side or on your waist and your feet shoulder-width apart. Place the right foot forwards and bend both knees at a 90 degree angle. Your left knee must be nearly touching the floor. Your right knee shouldn’t be crossing your front toes.
Then, push the floor with your heel and come back to the starting position. Do the same with your left foot forwards; that would be one rep.
Sit-ups
Strengthening your core has a reputation for having hard exercises. Don’t be too overwhelmed by them, though; the stronger you get, the more fun these exercises will feel. Sit-ups will also work your abs, your obliques, and your hip flexors, among others.
Make sure you use your core when you do the steps I’ll mention below, though. If you feel more ache in your neck than your abs, then you’re doing it wrong.
How to do a basic sit-up: Lie on a mat with your lower back as flat on the ground as you can. Put your hands across your chest or behind your head. Engage your core by imagining that you’re pressing your stomach in. Then, tucking your chin, lift your upper body until you can sit straight up. Roll back into the starting position on the floor.
Burpees
Burpees are notoriously hard. This exercise really gets my heart going, but the good thing about it is it’s one of those exercises that you could do when you have just a few minutes to spare! This really will work everything, from your leg muscles to your arm muscles, and you’ll see why below:
How to do a basic burpee: Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands at your side. Then, do a squat with your arms reaching out to the floor.
Once your hands are flat on the floor, kick your feet back to get into a plank position. You may then do a push up, but beginners can skip that. Then, push off to go back to the squat position. Stand up with your hands reaching up, then jump.
You can decide to implement these bodyweight exercises in different ways. Below, you’ll see how easy it is to create your own workout with only 5 exercises.
You can decide to implement these bodyweight exercises in different ways. Below, you’ll see how easy it is to create your own workout with only 5 exercises.
- Interval Training
Interval training involves doing a workout with high-intensity for a certain time, and then resting or lowering the intensity for a certain time too. Do that for a number of rounds and you have a whole workout. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is widely known, and for good reason! This way, you can squeeze in a quick but highly effective workout (if you have good form, of course). - Circuit Training
Circuit training involves doing a workout with different exercises targeting different muscle groups for several rounds. The exercises I mentioned earlier are actually great for this! All you have to do is make sure you won’t target the same muscle group consecutively. For example, it wouldn’t be ideal to do lunges and then do squats next. You can definitely do interval training and circuit training at the same time! These two aren’t interchangeable.
Yoga
I’m sure you wouldn’t think of yoga as a calorie-burning, easy weight-loss program. But that’s not the case! According to Harvard Health, a 155-pound person can actually burn 149 calories in 30 minutes of yoga.
Now, I’m sure for people who like fast-paced workouts will try to stay away from this kind of exercise. But yoga is especially good for recovery or rest days. Although you won’t be exerting much effort, you’ll be able to stretch and give your muscles the love they need.
For beginners, this is also a good place to start. You might not be enjoying those heart-pounding exercises yet. This might be able to get you into the flow of fitness. After all, getting fit is all about looking for what works for you and what you enjoy!
The benefits of yoga are amazing. You won’t only lose weight through exercise. Your diet and mental health will definitely affect how much weight you lose.
Yoga will help with being mindful not only in the moments of practicing yoga, but throughout the day. You’ll be mindful of what you eat and might find it easier to feel peaceful. And all you need is a yoga mat!
Pilates
Pilates seems like a distant cousin of yoga. It’s also not as fast-paced as circuit or interval training, but it makes use of workouts that are more related to bodyweight exercises.
It really tries to increase your flexibility while strengthening your muscles through movements that are both low-impact but body-shakers.
The moves involved in pilates don’t usually involve jumping around. In fact, they are usually done lying down or sitting on a mat.
That’s not to say these are easy, though. They really make use of your bodyweight in such a way that as each second passes, gravity seems to pull your weight more and more.
Although the moves definitely don’t seem intense when you’re simply watching other people do it, it’s a different story once you’re on the mat.
You won’t be doing too many reps to exhaust your muscles. In fact, some moves require no movement at all; all your effort goes into keeping your form. The amazing thing is, that effort is enough to make your muscles burn.
No equipment is required, so you can definitely do this at the comfort of your own home with nothing but a mat (or a blanket, maybe?). There are a lot of videos online that will give you the workout you need to lose weight this way!
Conclusion
The joy of getting into fitness is that you get to find your own path. You don’t have to stick to what everyone is doing. Some like high-intensity and fast-paced workouts, while others like to tune into their bodies and get a bit slower. To get you to stick to the workouts in the long run, make sure you do exercises that you really enjoy.
If gym machines, exercise bikes and treadmills don’t interest you then doing the above exercises could be a great place to try find your mark in your fitness journey.
Weight loss is definitely a good way to get you started, but once you reach that goal weight, I’m sure you’d want to make fitness a lifelong lifestyle. Do you have your own methods? Why not share it with everyone in the comments below!
Marko Rakic is a trail runner and fitness enthusiast from Sydney, Australia. He is the lead writer for The Ultimate Primate and believes the best way to live a happy life is through constantly challenging yourself.