David MATHENGE
- May 6, 2022
- 4 min read

10 Number of Exercises You Can Do at Home with No Equipment

Home exercise is a fun yet effective way to improve your fitness. Although our understanding of physical exercise revolves around gym memberships, personal trainers, and long and torturous training sessions, home exercise offers a cheap yet innovative way to meet your fitness goals. Home exercise allows you to customize your workouts according to your personal and work commitments. Also, home exercise gives you the freedom to exercise whether you are traveling, at work, or on vacation.

Remember to stretch and warm-up before the actual exercise to prevent soreness and injury and to improve your range of motion. Make sure to warm up before a home workout through jumping, moderate jogging, and stretching. Engage a professional trainer when you are unsure of certain exercises.

Here are 10 no-equipment exercises to start your fitness journey at home:

1. Push-ups

Push-ups are excellent exercises for the upper body. When starting push-ups, lie on the floor and spread out your hands approximately shoulder-width apart. Lower your chest slowly until it nearly touches the floor and then push your body upwards slowly. Once you complete ten push-ups, rest for one minute, and repeat the process. Three sets of ten push-ups intertwined with a one-minute rest every day will improve your upper body strength.

Credit: Karl Solano | Source: Pexels

2. Tricep Dips

Tricep dips work on the chest, shoulder, and hands. When seated, place the feet down, bend the knees, and move the feet towards the knees. Place your palms behind the hips and move the hips upwards from the floor by using your hands. Lower your body slowly to complete one repetition and aim to complete five complete tricep dips. Rest for one minute and attempt to complete five more tricep dips.

3. Plank

Planks are good for your shoulders, core, lower back, and abdominals. To start a plank lie face down with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Ensure a neutral spine position by keeping the torso straight and rigid. Use your elbows to push your body and hold the position for ten seconds. Over time, increase the time of the plank up to 30 or 60 seconds. Avoid the common mistake of arching the back because you will strain your arms instead of engaging your abdominals. Make sure your gaze is fixed on the floor to avoid straining the neck.

4. Shoulder Press

Shoulder presses work on multiple upper body muscles including the chest, triceps, traps, and deltoids. Start while standing with your arms on either side of the shoulders while the elbows are bent approximately 90 degrees. Move your hands upwards until they are over your head and slowly lower them for one shoulder press. Repeat the shoulder press and aim to complete three sets of twenty presses with a one-minute break between the sets.

5. Squats

Squats are some of the most effective exercises to build lower body strength. Squats strengthen the glutes (butt muscles), quadriceps (muscles at the front of the thighs), hamstrings (muscles at the back of the thigh), and the lower back muscles. To perform a squat, stand with the feet wide apart. Push your lower body downwards as if you are sitting on a chair. Once your lower body nearly touches the floor, use your legs to push yourself up and down. Try to complete three sets of ten squats with a thirty-second break between the sets.

Credit: Angela Roma | Source: Pexels

6. Jump Squats

Jump squats are an improvement on conventional squats and they are effective exercises to improve your lower back strength. Jump squats work by applying maximum bodyweight on the legs. To perform a jump squat, spread the legs to a position from which you can jump the highest. Hold the feet in that position while pushing your hips as far back as possible. In a single motion, jump as high as you can. Push yourself and attempt to complete three sets of ten jump squats with one-minute breaks between the sets.

7. Lunges

Like squats, lunges are perfect exercises for the lower body. Lunges work on nearly all the lower body muscles including the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Start a lunge by standing upright with the feet apart. Take a step forward so that one leg is ahead of your torso while the other leg is behind. The leg ahead should remain flat while it is on the ground while the heel of the rear leg rises off the ground. Then bend the knees as you lower the body while keeping the core upright. Next, push the front leg to return to the starting position.

8. Calf Raises

Calf raises are excellent exercises to strengthen ankles and calf muscles. For a calf raise, stand upright with the legs together. Push your heels from the floor and balance on the toes for thirty seconds before returning to the starting position. Try to increase the time that you can spend balancing on your toes.

9. Jump Rope

Jump rope is the ultimate no-equipment home workout that enhances nearly all the systems in the body. Jump rope improves cardiovascular health, mobility, flexibility, balance, bone density, and coordination. To get started, jump rope continuously for three minutes, rest for thirty seconds, and repeat the process. When you feel comfortable with basic jump rope, you can experiment with adding squats when skipping.

10. Yoga

Yoga is an interesting exercise that offers both physical and mental wellness. Yoga enhances strength, flexibility, and coordination. Yoga helps people to relax, sleep better, and deal with anxiety. Yoga comprises hundreds of poses and it is impossible to master all of them. Try to begin with basic poses such as easy and mountain poses before moving to more complex poses. Give yourself time to enjoy the journey as you progress to the master level.

Credit: Dane Wetton | Source: Unsplash

All in all, no-equipment exercises offer excellent ways to enhance your fitness from the comfort of your home. You should set clear fitness goals for your home workout to be effective. Whether you want to lose weight, maintain your health, or get shredded, consistency is the key. Set aside a few minutes for exercise daily, and you will be surprised with your progress. All the best in your fitness journey!!