Was your local gym temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If so, and you’re looking to stay in shape, the information here will help you develop your own home workouts that work.
Once you put your home workout into practice, and see all of the benefits to it, you may never want to go to a gym again.
Save money, save time, add convenience to your life and get in your best shape ever.
What I’m going to show you here is how to get started, some basic equipment you may want to buy and my personal routine that’s been working well for me.
Home workouts are for everyone… women, men, young, older, perfectly healthy and those with some physical limitations.
The good news is that you can start right now with simple bodyweight exercises… nothing to buy and no reason to delay.
Then you may want to add some simple equipment to enhance your workouts.
After you see what great workouts you can get at home you may never want to go back to a gym again.
I’ve been doing home workouts for several years now, and I wouldn’t waste one more minute commuting to a gym or waste one more penny paying for a membership. It just isn’t necessary!
I’ve seen the light, and chances are you will too once you’ve settled into a routine that works for you.
This post contains some affiliate links. You can see my disclosure about affiliate links here.
My Story
About four years ago the gym I belonged to closed down due to poor financial management.
On a Monday I was working out at the gym, and Tuesday there was a notice on the property window saying the gym was closed.
Within six months I was going to be moving, so I didn’t want to join another local gym because their contract terms were unreasonable in my opinion.
I immediately went online and started looking for home workouts, and I found some things quickly that would prove to work very well for me.
That same day I started with various bodyweight exercises, which meant I didn’t need any equipment to begin.
A few days later I ordered some basic things that would add a lot to my workouts and would be easy to take with me when I moved. Small things… nothing big or expensive.
At that time I was almost 60 and had suffered some serious injuries, so I had to make certain choices in what kind of exercises I did and how hard I worked out.
Some of the injuries (and conditions) include the following.
- Two herniated discs (L4-5 & L5-S1)
- Spondylolisthesis in the lower back
- Two bad knees (the right one having surgery to remove 2/3s of a torn ACL)
- A completely severed right achilles tendon (repaired surgically)
- Foot pain (Metatarsalgia that never goes away completely)
The only reason I bring up the injuries is to show that pretty much anyone can do what I’ve done… men, women, teenagers, baby boomers and everyone in between. Even if you’re physically limited in some ways.
Four Categories Of Home Workout Exercises… Plus One
There are four basic types of movements to keep in mind when putting together a home workout that works for you: pushing, pulling, squatting and core work. I also like to add in some full-body exercises.
Do each of these movements for a series of rounds, and that’s your workout.
Exercises To Get Your Home Workouts Started
Here are some exercises that I like, and they work very well for me. The ones in bold are bodyweight exercises (no equipment needed).
Pushing
- Push ups
- Bench press
- Tricep dips*
- Overhead press
* If you don’t have a place to do dips, you can modify the movement by using two chairs. Place the chairs on your right and left, put your hands on the seats of each chair with your feet out in front and push your body up and down.
Pulling
- Pull ups**
- Barbell rows
- Bent-over rows (with kettle bell, barbell or dumbbell)
- Suspension strap pulling exercises using different body angles
** If you don’t have a pull-up bar, I’ve see people throw a towel over the top of an open door and put their hands over the top of the door to do pull ups. But that door needs to be strong enough to hold your bodyweight or you could break that door and maybe hurting yourself.
Legs
- Squats (with or without weights)
- Goblet squats (with kettlebell or dumbbell)
- Jump squats
- Lunges (with or without weights)
- Side lunges (with or without weights)
Core
- Plank
- Superman pull
- V-ups
- Side plank dips
Full Body Exercises
- Kettlebell swings
- Turkish get-ups
- Burpees
- Farmers carry
- Bear Crawl
If you’re not familiar with any of these exercises just do a quick Google search to find out exactly what they are and the proper way to do them.
If you want to learn more about great bodyweight exercises to do, take a look at the Bodyweight Burn workout plan below.
Basic Equipment That I Use For Home Workouts That Work
This is it for me right now. It’s all I need for home workouts that work for me, but I will be adding more things as I go.
I have hard tile floors where I live now, so I need a thick, durable mat to workout on. It protects my body from the hard floor surface and it protects my flooring, as well. It assembles quickly, it’s durable and it fastens together securely so it doesn’t separate when jumping on it. You can get it in different thicknesses and different colors. I like the black one that’s one inch thick.
The pull-up bar I use is one that I can put in place and take down easily because I live in a rental unit and don’t want to affix anything to the doorframe.
I used to use one like the following that I affixed inside a bedroom door frame.
As you can see, I can also easily attach my suspension straps to the pull-up bar, which allows me to add all kinds of additional exercises. However, my main use for the suspension straps right now is to do tricep dips.
Following are some of the best selling suspension straps on Amazon.com.
I use the kettle bells for Turkish get-ups, kettle bell swings, farmers carry, overhead presses and sometimes curls.
I like the CAP kettlebells because I think they are the best overall value. However, not all of the weight variations are available all of the time.
So, if the size you want isn’t available when you want it, try the Amazon Basics brand or one of the others that get good ratings.
For pushups I like to use a little device called the Perfect Pushup. It has handles so it makes doing pushups easier on my hands, and I can go a little deeper into the movement than if my hands were on the ground. It also rotates as I push up and down, which makes it more comfortable on my wrists and shoulders.
I like to use fingerless gloves when I workout. I think they give me a much better grip. Following are some good choices for you.
Some people in gyms use weightlifting chalk to get a good grip, but that could get messy in your home, so I don’t recommend it.
Additional Equipment & Resources For Home Workouts That Work
Want to get started fast?
Bodyweight exercises are perfect – and very effective – for home workouts that work for just about anyone.
Following are programs that both men and women can use to start today with no equipment.
Bodyweight Burn
Adam Steer is a bodyweight exercise specialist and weight loss author. His program consists of workouts that only take about 21 minutes because he believes people don’t need long workouts to get in great shape and burn fat.
Click here or on the photo below to get more information.
The Stay Home Workout Plan
This is a bodyweight focused program with three 30-minute workouts each week. It’s for both beginners and people who are more advanced, and it will help you lose weight, increase strength, and gain self-confidence.
Click here or on the photo below to get more information.
My Personal Home Workout Routine
Following is what I do three times per week. Three other days I do 35 minutes of cardio. I take one day off.
When I do each exercise, I focus more on the length of time of each set as opposed to the number of reps. I do each rep in a slow, controlled motion, and I shoot for 20 – 30 seconds for each set.
That means I do six reps for some things and up to 15 reps for one core exercise (side plank dips).
Round one
- Pushups (10 using the Perfect Pushup hand grips)
- Kettlebell swings (10 using 50-pound kettlebell and two hands)
- Turkish getup (1 using left hand and the 35-pound kettlebell)
- Goblet squats (6 going very slow on each rep)
- Pullups (7 with my legs extended out front, my body in an “L” shape)
- V-ups (12 reps)
Round two
- Tricep dips (8 using the suspension straps)
- Kettlebell swings (10 using 50-pound kettlebell and two hands)
- Turkish getup (1 using right hand and the 35-pound kettlebell)
- Goblet squats (6 going very slow on each rep)
- Pullups (7 with my legs extended out front, my body in an “L” shape)
- Superman pull (12 reps)
Round three
- Tricep dips (8 using the suspension straps)
- Kettlebell swings (10 using 50-pound kettlebell and two hands)
- Turkish getup (1 using left hand and the 35-pound kettlebell)
- Goblet squats (6 going very slow on each rep)
- Pullups (7 with my legs extended out front, my body in an “L” shape)
- Side plank dips (15 reps right side)
Round four
- Tricep dips (8 using the suspension straps)
- Kettlebell swings (10 using 35-pound kettlebell and the left hand)
- Turkish getup (1 using left hand and the 35-pound kettlebell)
- Goblet squats (6 going very slow on each rep)
- Pullups (7 with my legs extended out front, my body in an “L” shape)
- Side plank dips (15 reps left side)
Round five
- Push ups (10 using the Perfect Pushup hand grips)
- Kettlebell swings (10 using 35-pound kettlebell and the right hand)
- One-half Turkish getup (1 using left hand with the 50-pound kettlebell)
- One-half Turkish getup (1 using right hand with the 50-pound kettlebell)
- Goblet squats (6 going very slow on each rep)
- Pullups (7 with my legs extended out front, my body in an “L” shape)
- V-ups (12 reps)
NOTE: the “One-half” Turkish get-up is just the first part of the movement… lifting the kettlebell overhead while raising my upper torso into the sitting up position.
I end my workout doing 2 sets of farmer carries and two sets of walking lunges.
For the farmer’s carry I do 100 paces around my home with the 50-pound kettlebell in one hand and the 35-pound kettlebell in the other. Then I switch the weights in my hands and walk another 100 paces.
For the walking lunges I go twenty paces, rest for a minute and then do it again.
That’s all there is to a home workout that works great for me… done!
I’ve lost 32+ pounds over four months by doing this routine and altering my diet a little.
Regarding my diet, I simply cut out sugary drinks and excessive sweets (breads, cookies and ice cream).
The weight came off steadily at a rate of about two pounds a week. I now walk around at 160 pounds like I did when I was in my early twenties.
I feel so much better now, and I have a lot more energy and strength. I sleep better, acid reflux went away completely, my foot pain decreased significantly, and I’ve been told I look younger.
Conclusion – Home Workouts That Work
Getting in great shape in the comfort (and convenience) of my own home has transformed my life physically. And I save time by not having to commute to a gym and a lot of money because I don’t have to sign one of those expensive long-term gym membership contracts.
There are only four basic movements to focus on plus some full-body movements, and a workout only takes about one hour.
The minimal equipment I use is inexpensive and durable. It’s great to use as a foundation for home workouts that work. I’ve owned most of what I have for several years, and I expect some of the items (like the kettlebells) to last me a lifetime.
Home workouts are a great way to get in shape and stay in shape. There are so many things you can do that are efficient and effective.
Say goodbye to gym workouts forever… and start today!
So, what do you think?
Don’t forget to add to the comments to let us all know what kind of exercises you like for your home workout. If you have any tips or ideas please share those as well.
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- Home Workouts That Work - April 1, 2020