How to get fit at home without equipment

It is very important to have regular exercises for your health. Taking exercises has many benefits.  Not only it can improve your overall health and fitness, it also reduces your risk for many chronic diseases.

For many people, it can be a problem that a complex workout requires a gym. It can be costly and it takes time to travel to and back from the gym, not convenient for some people.

If you are stuck in your home right now, you have limited options to have access to gym equipment for exercise.  However, fortunately, there are lots of exercises that you can do at home without equipment. 

As a matter of fact, you can use your own bodyweight to do exercise.  You can get fit just by doing exercise of your body weight at home without equipment.  Those exercises are great to increase your strength and mobility. You only need simple equipment or you don’t need any equipment at all.

If we really think about it, your body is pretty heavy compared to like 10 pounds or 20 pounds dumbbells. You can work against your body weight to do exercises such as push-up, or pull-up. You don't need to buy any expensive pieces of equipment or pay for a gym to help you get fit.

Why Is It Good To Use Just Your Body To Exercise

An obvious reason is of course that you don’t need to go to the gym.  You can do it any time at home, which is convenient and save money.  But are there any other benefits?  Yes, there are.

The exercises that use your own weight help you use more muscles at the same time than just using one part of your body with weight equipment. It is because our brain directs our muscles to work together to stabilize our moves to prevent body injuries.

Since using your own body weight triggers more muscles to work, the chance of injury is reduced. The more muscles you can activate together, the more likely your body muscles work in harmony, which helps a lot for the safety of everyday movement and exercise.  One more benefit is that your body gets stronger in general and builds more muscle evenly.

And while you can't expect bodyweight-only exercises to prepare you to, say, lift a 100-pound object effortlessly, it can still help you get stronger and build muscle.

I will list six exercises below that you can do at home and you don’t need any special equipment. Try one or more and pick the ones you like best.  You can also change to different exercises at different periods of time.

Six Simple Exercises You Can Do At Home

Before you start any exercise routine

Take it easy when you first begin a workout routine.  Feel your body.   Exercise to the point that you feel a little tired and push to do another repetition with proper form, and then rest.

It is important to get sufficient rest between exercises.  The goal of weight training is to break down your muscles so that they rebuild stronger. But that only happens if you allow them to rest sufficiently and rebuild.  Ideally, you should have at least a day of rest between workouts.

Repeat this pattern three times a week.  You will be more stronger and fit.

Plank

Plank focuses on your abdominal area and your back. The easiest way to perform a plank is by starting in a four-point kneeling position, with hands and knees on the floor and torso in a "table-top" position. 

The most important aspect of the plank, in terms of both safety and technical effectiveness, is bracing your core. Once you're in this position, activate your stomach muscles and try to keep your spine as straight as possible.

You should keep your stomach muscles tight, with the bottom of your ribs pulled in toward you. It's important to hold this core position throughout the movement.

Either place your palms on the floor under your shoulders like a push-up or place your elbows under your shoulders to support your upper body and rest on your forearms depending on which way you feel better.  Lift your thighs and torso up, and hold your body flat for 30 seconds.

Push-ups

Push-ups seem to be an upper-body exercise.  It is in fact a workout of the whole body.  It strengthens the muscles of the arms, chest, back, abdominal muscles, and quadriceps. The arms, chest, and back muscles assist the up-down motion.  On the other hand, the abdominal muscle and quadriceps stabilize our body into a straight line.

The move looks easy.  But there are rules to follow to protect your body and make the most of it.

When doing push-ups, lower your torso to the ground until your elbows reach a 90-degree angle. Be sure to keep your elbows tucked to your sides as you go down and up.

Keep your head facing forward. Try to have the tip of your nose pointed directly ahead. Keep your body in a flat plank.  Do not drop your hips, and do not have your butt hanging in the air. It is important to keep your body as straight as possible. Remember to breathe as you lower yourself.

When doing push-ups, your chest should come within inches of the ground each time you go down for a rep. Remember to keep your body at a flat level.  Repeat for 30 seconds.

Squats

The squat is a super effective lower-body move that strengthens the entire leg muscles including glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.

When you practice the squat, you use every lower body muscle.  You need to keep your balance in this move while maintaining an upright posture.  You have the entire leg workout plus core strength as an added bonus making the squat the ultimate lower body workout.

It takes the minimum space to practice squat, which makes it a perfect home exercise.  Here is how to do it correctly:

Stand straight with your feet shoulder-distance apart. Your hips, knees, and toes should all be facing forward.  Squat down like you are going to sit in a chair, keeping your back as flat as possible and extending your hands out in front of your shoulders. Make sure that you keep your knees behind your toes and your weight in your heels. Rise back up and repeat the moves.

Go as low as you can comfortably and then stand back up. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Step-ups

Find a platform or something that is firm and stable and not going to move out from under you when you step up onto it.

Put your hands at your sides and feet pointed straight ahead about shoulder distance apart, and step up onto the platform with the right foot.

Keep the right heel planted on the platform. Lift your body up onto the platform, by tightening your glutes and your abdominal muscles. Then place the left foot next to the right foot on the box.  End with your posture straight and do not let your knee go past your ankle when stepping up onto the platform.

Then step down with the right foot and follow with the left foot to go back to the beginning position. Do fifteen repetitions stepping up with the right foot and then fifteen repetitions using the left foot to step up first.  Take this exercise pattern three sets to have thirty a day.

Jump Rope

Everyone knows how to do jump rope, but there are things you should know that help you improve how you do it.

First, you should choose the right surface to jump on.  It has a significant impact on the way you jump and how the friction with the skipping rope. An expert said you should not do it on concrete surfaces, but other surfaces such as artificial turf, rubberized surfaces, and wood are all fine.

Next, you should choose the right length based on your height.  Use this procedure to help you decide: First, add 3 inches to your height, so for example, if you are 5 feet 6 inches, your skipping rope should be around 5 feet 11 inches in length.  Then, step on the middle of the rope and pull the handles upwards, the cable should end no further than your chest.  Lastly,  do a few jumps and see if you feel comfortable. If you feel uncomfortable with the length, adjust accordingly until you feel comfortable.

You can start the rope jumping after picking the right floor and role length. Just a few more tips to remember: First, use your wrists to move the rope around you instead of swinging your arms; keep your elbows tight to your body, and keep your stance narrow.  Watch your feet not to get wider as you jump.

Take the stairs

It may not even seem like an exercise, but in fact, climbing stairs is one of the best exercises when it comes to burning fat.  Not only does it increase the strength of your legs, but it also tones your butt, thigh, calves, and helps build great abs.  Additionally, it benefits your body to get fit.  

It is a practical, everyday physical activity that provides health benefits. It can also burn off calories at the rate of approximately 65 calories in 15 minutes. 

So take the stairs whenever it’s possible.  It is a great habit that can make a big difference on your health. At home, you can walk up and down the stairs of your house or apartment building as an exercise to increase the calories burning.