Top 5 No-Equipment Workouts To Do At Home

Health & Wellness

There’s a popular myth that in order to get a good workout, you need to have expensive gym equipment. In reality, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. All you need is your own body weight, a pair of sneakers, and a little space to get in a great workout right from your living room. 

If you have a yoga mat, dumbbells, resistance bands, or any other type of fitness equipment these can be incorporated into your workout to add some extra intensity. You can also use whatever you have lying around the house, such as a chair or a large book. With a little creativity, you can get your sweat on at home just as well as in a state-of-the-art gym. 

Here are five no-equipment workouts that you can do at home today: 

1. HIIT

HIIT, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training, is an excellent way to get your heart pumping in a short amount of time with absolutely no equipment needed. You can do this as a quick workout on its own, or use it as a warmup for a strength-building routine. 

One popular style of HIIT is the tabata workout. In this workout, you perform an exercise at maximum intensity for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. You’ll then repeat this pattern for a total of four minutes. This is a great way to get in an intense workout if you’re short on time.

Here’s an example of a tabata workout:

  1. Perform burpees, pushing yourself as hard as you can for 20 seconds.
  2. Rest for 10 seconds.
  3. Repeat 8 rounds for a total of 4 minutes.

Try doing a tabata workout with jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers, jump squats, or any other exercise you’d like.

2. No-Equipment Full-Body Workout 

This workout routine was designed by Gunnar Peterson, trainer to celebrities like the Kardashians and Sylvester Stallone. It’s a full-body routine that will hit every muscle group and leave you sore for days. 

Here is the workout:

  1. Start with 10 bodyweight squats.
  2. After you’ve got your blood pumping, do 10 push-ups.
  3. Then move ahead and do 10 Supermans.
  4. Finish up with 20 crunches.

This completes one round. Rest, then repeat for 3 or 4 rounds.

Peterson advises to keep the rest minimal. Try to rest for only 20 or 30 seconds – this will keep your heart rate elevated so that you never fully recover between rounds, which will maximize your calories burned.

Here are a few modifications you can do to make the workout even more intense:

  • For each of the Supermans, add a pulse at the top.
  •  After coming out of a squat, raise yourself to the tips of your toes to tone your calves and challenge your core.
  •  Vary your leg positions while doing crunches. Raise your legs into table-top position, or stretch them out straight in front of you to challenge your lower abs.
  • Instead of regular pushups, try traveling pushups.

3. Full-Body Workout With A Towel and Chair

Using some everyday items from your home, you can easily increase the intensity of your at-home workouts. 

If you’re looking for something a bit more challenging, grab a towel and a chair and do this full-body workout:

  1.  Towel curls are an excellent way to target your arms and core at the same time. Hold the towel lengthwise with one end in each hand. Lift up one leg and press your foot down in the center of the towel, holding it suspended at hip height. Once in this position, perform 10 bicep curls. This will not only strengthen your biceps, it will challenge your balance and activate your core.
  2. Facing away from your chair, use the chair seat to perform 10 tricep dips.
  3. Using the chair as your step, do a set of 20 step-ups, switching legs each time. Make sure that your chair is sturdy enough to hold your weight during this exercise.
  4. Lie down on the floor for 20 bicycle crunches.
  5. Finish with a set of mountain climbers for 60 seconds. 

Rest as needed, but make sure that your heart rate doesn’t drop completely. Repeat this circuit for a total of 4 rounds.

4. No-Equipment Workout for Back and Abs

If you’re looking to specifically target your back and ab muscles, this is the workout for you: 

  1. Start off with mountain climbers for 60 seconds.
  2. Then move on to a high plank. Hold for 60 seconds. If you’re a beginner, you can take breaks by resting on your knees.
  3. Next, perform 60 seconds of inchworms. In this exercise, focus on maintaining good form and go slowly. The slower you go, the more your core will be challenged.
  4. Finish with glute bridges for 60 seconds. If you want to make this exercise harder, lift one foot off the ground. Another option is to place your feet on an unstable surface, like a ball. 

Rest for a few seconds, then repeat for a total of 3 rounds for a quick 12-minute workout that you can do from anywhere. If you want more of a challenge, add another round. 

5. Advanced Full-Body Workout

As the name suggests, this is an advanced routine. If you’re new to working out, especially at home, give the previous routines a try before diving in here.

Here’s how you get started:

  1. Start off by doing one-legged squats/pistol squats – 10 reps on each side.
  2. Bodyweight squats – 20 reps.
  3. Walking lunges – 20 reps for each leg
  4. Inverted bodyweight rows or pull-ups – 10 reps
  5. Take a study chair or stool and do tricep dips – 10 reps
  6. Bodyweight rows with an underhand grip or chin-ups – 10 reps
  7. Push ups – 10 reps
  8. Get into the plank position and hold – 60 seconds

Rest for 30 seconds, then start again from the top. Perform 3 to 4 rounds to complete your workout.

Working out from home with no equipment can seem like a challenge at first, but the most difficult step is just getting started. Begin with a basic routine and slowly work your way up to incorporate more advanced exercises. Even if you have no equipment at all, make sure to invest in a good pair of sneakers that will support you throughout your workouts and help you avoid injury. 

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