We know you're probably tired of hearing every fitness instructor, life coach, and motivational IG post telling you this, but there are no excuses that can stop you from being fit and healthy. As proof, we round up 10 workouts you can try at home that require no equipment. Yup, there's no need to splurge on a gym membership or even exercise equipment to stay active! So what's stopping you? If you need some motivation, just remember: The more you workout, the more you can treat yourself to your fave snacks without feeling guilty.
Get your heart racing with these no-equipment workouts you can do at home:
Yoga
Relax your mind and body by incorporating a few minutes of yoga into your daily routine. The exercise, which originated in Ancient India, improves flexibility, muscle strength, and respiratory health while also boosting metabolism and weight loss. Plus, it'll help you find some quiet time each day to meditate, de-stress, and get some much-needed alone time.
Pilates
In a nutshell, Pilates is a workout that focuses on controlled movements that focus on alignment, breathing, core strength, coordination, and balance. When continuously practiced, it can build strength, flexibility, and endurance. While many types of Pilates workouts involve equipment, you can easily practice it at home—even beginners with no prior experience can do it. You may even want to get a friend in on it too, so you can help motivate each other.
Zumba
Too shy to try dance classes in big groups? Hey, we get it, not everyone is a skilled or coordinated dancer. The great thing about dancing is that you don't have to be good at it for it to be an effective form of exercise. Now you can finally dance like no one is watching! Zumba, an exercise composed of aerobic dance moves, is an easy way to get up and move while also having a good time. Make it even more fun by blasting your fave tunes, incorporating your own choreography, or filming silly videos à la TikTok.
HIIT
High intensity interval training or HIIT is a form of training that involves short periods of intense, anaerobic exercises with recovery periods in between. It's great for improving endurance, strength, and metabolism as well as for burning a lot of calories even in a limited amount of time. If you don't exercise often, HIIT programs are a great way to get yourself sweating fast and to challenge yourself to do more intense workouts. Just remember not to push yourself too hard-be sure to stay hydrated and know your limits!
Circuit Training
Circuit training uses high-intensity aerobic exercises to build strength, muscle endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. Each session involves a fixed set of exercises done repeatedly where one "circuit" refers to one completed cycle of prescribed exercises. That means you only need to learn a few basic exercises and practice them on repeat to get this type of workout down. Eventually, you won't even need a video to guide you!
Cardio Workouts
While you might not have a treadmill or open space for a long winding jog, you can definitely still work on your cardio at home. Try no-equipment activities that involve lots of jumps, quick movements, and endurance-building exercises to get your heart rate going. Wear your earphones on full blast to help you zone out like you would on a regular jog.
Chair Workouts
Staying fit at home is all about being resourceful, so using what you already have is key. We know we said no equipment, but you probably have at least one chair at home (we hope). Use it as a handy guide for a full-body workout. You'd be surprised just how many chair workouts you'd find online that can help with weight loss, cardio, strength training, and more.
Calisthenics
If you like an exercise that involves lots of moving around, try calisthenics. It involves a variety of movements (including running, pushing, jumping, bending, swinging, and more) made to exercise large muscle groups, using just your bodyweight for resistance. Plus, it increases strength, flexibility, balance, agility, and coordination.
Full Body Workouts
You probably hear about fitness buffs spending hours at the gym or else assigning certain days to exercising just their legs or chest. If you'd like to be more efficient with your workouts, we suggest opting for exercises that target the entire body in a limited amount of time. That way, you can dedicate anywhere from five to 30 minutes of your day to physical activity, but still know that you got every part of you moving.
Morning Stretches
Here's a great way to start your day on a high note and get energized: stretching! You need not pressure yourself into doing intense exercises outside of your comfort zone if you're just starting out. You can begin with something simple like a morning stretch to get you into the habit of making time for physical activity and to get you ready for a long day ahead.
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Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.