We have heard many people say that they want to exercise more but don’t have the time to go to the gym or just can’t afford it. The good news is that you don’t have to have to go to a gym and you don’t have to own any equipment to get a great workout.
The basic exercises we all learned in school PE class are good ones to use. Spend a few minutes working out with jumping jacks, push-ups, squats and lunges.
If you want to ramp up your workout, the burpee is perhaps the best full-body exercise you can do in your own home with no equipment. Burpees burn calories while building muscle in your upper and lower body. Healthline tells us how to do a burpee with correct form:
- Start in a squat position with knees bent, back straight, feet shoulder-width apart.
- Lower your hands to the floor in front of you so they’re just inside your feet.
- With your weight on your hands, kick your feet back so you’re in a pushup position.
- Keeping your body straight from head to heels, do one pushup.
- Do a frog kick by jumping your feet back to their starting position.
- Stand and reach your arms over your head.
- Jump quickly into the air so you land back where you started.
- As soon as you land with knees bent, get into a squat position and do another repetition.
Planks are great exercises for building core strength, working shoulder muscles and glutes and stabilizing the low-back spine area. To properly do a plank, position your elbows directly under your shoulders and rest your forearms on the ground. Pop up on your toes, keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. Engage your core muscles and hold the position. Mix it up a little with high planks (holding the position at the top of a push-up), plank jacks (hold a high plank and kick your legs in and out like doing a jumping jack) or shoulder tap planks (while doing a high plank, touch your left hand to your right shoulder, put it back down, touch your right hand to your left shoulder, put it back down and repeat)
The main goal is to get moving. You can do circuit training with exercises such as these while keeping up with your cardio by walking or jogging around your neighborhood. There’s no need to buy a gym membership or go anywhere to get a great workout.
Want to burn a few extra calories? Here are five ways to burn calories without exercising.