Nine Workouts That Don't Require Equipment

Staying motivated to exercise is challenging, especially if you drive to the gym every day after work. Instead, try working out at home. Unfortunately, your home doesn’t have the same equipment as a gym, and if you’ve never tried working out at home, you won’t know which exercises can help you stay in shape. Luckily, we’re here to help. So, whether you’re working out at home or in your office on your lunch break, here are a few workouts that don’t require equipment:

One – Push-Ups

There’s a reason why most people dread push-ups—they’re difficult—but that’s what makes them effective. Push-ups are an effective exercise that uses your body weight to target your chest, triceps, and deltoids. It also works the core, helping you to build strong abs even without sit-ups. Push-ups are challenging, so you may need to try a variation, like using your needs instead of planking on your feet. Eventually, you’ll be able to see and feel the progress as you gain muscle and can do more push-ups and advance to more difficult exercises.

Two – Squats

Squats are another challenging workout until you start to build muscle, but they’re effective at targeting your thighs and glutes. To squat the right way and prevent injury to your knees, stand with your feet parallel to your hips and breathe as you lower into the squat position like you’re sitting in an invisible chair. Be careful not to bend too low, as it could cause injury. In addition, if you find yourself unable to hold a squat, you can lower just down enough until you start to feel the burn.

Three – Air Swimming

Air swimming is an effective exercise for strengthening your back and getting rid of that dreaded back fat while improving your posture and preventing back pain from sitting at your desk all day. Air swimming is easy; simply lie on your stomach and extend your arms and legs while moving them up and down, like you’re swimming. This workout is easy for almost anyone, and while you might not feel the burn like you will with push-ups, you’ll feel your back muscles working, which means you’re slowly strengthening them.

Four – Step-Ups

You can do this work out in the living room if you have an exercise platform. However, if you don’t, you may have to use stairs in or outside your home. Step-ups target your lower body, especially the glutes and thighs. If you’ve ever run up a long flight of stairs and felt the burn, you can get the same workout with a single step in your home. To start doing step-ups, all you need to do is step onto the step or platform and push your need toward your chest.

Five – Tricep Dips

Targeting your triceps is a great way to prevent loose skin as you age or if you’ve recently lost weight. You can do tricep dips just about anywhere using your desk, a table, the couch, or even the floor. To do a tricep dip on the floor, sit on the ground with your needs bent and hands on the floor behind you. You can lift your body with just your triceps and lower yourself down.

Most people prefer to use some type of platform to make these slightly easier since you’ll have more room for your bottom. If you have a platform you use for step-ups, you can use the same thing for tricep tips or simply find a counter around your home that’s sturdy enough to hold your weight.

Six – Bridge

A bridge is a pose often used in yoga, but you can take it a step further by making it more dynamic. The traditional bridge requires you to lay with your back on the floor and arms next to you with knees bent and feet on the floor. Next, lift your hips off the ground and hold the position. This pose works your thighs and glutes, and you can see how long you can hold it. However, you can also make this pose more dynamic by lifting and lowering your hips off the ground to work your glutes even more.

Seven – Running

Running is one of the most popular exercises because it doesn’t require any equipment and it gives you an energy boost, commonly referred to as a runner’s high. Of course, the only equipment you need for running is good supportive shoes and quality workout clothes. You can shop for running gifts for yourself to ensure you have the right support and stay hydrated to prevent pain and injury.

Running is something almost anyone can do any time of day. So whether you’re on your lunch break or need an extra boost of energy before doing chores, you can go for a quick run to burn calories. In addition, if you don’t have time to run outside, you can always run in place at home. It won’t burn as many calories, but it can help you move your body more throughout the day.

Eight – Yoga

If you’re looking for a full-body workout, consider trying yoga. Yoga may seem slow-moving and boring, but it’s an incredibly effective workout for targeting every muscle in your body. However, yoga is difficult, especially for beginners, because it requires you to use your body weight to hold poses for extended periods.

Even though you might be moving slowly from pose to pose, you’ll quickly start to feel the burn and sweat. This is because yoga combines cardio and strength training to increase your heart rate while effectively targeting your muscles. Unfortunately, you won’t burn as many calories doing yoga as you would going for a run in the same amount of time, but it can help you target all of your muscles in just one session.

Nine – Pilates

Pilates is another strength training cardio that requires you to use your entire body. With cardio, you’ll move quickly into different positions, encompassing many exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, left lifts, and more. Pilates can be done without equipment, but we recommend having a towel, mat, and yoga block to help you make some workouts easier until you start building muscle and can do all the advanced moves.

Exercise Without Equipment

Home gym equipment is expensive, so it’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons to determine if it’s the right investment for you. Whether or not you decide to purchase exercise equipment, you can supplement your routine with several different workouts to ensure you’re working every muscle.