“New Year, new you” is a fun cliché, but we never truly need the excuse to start taking care of our bodies. Whether it’s fast food, stress, or a sedentary lifestyle catching up with you, it’s time to stop ignoring your physical health. Working out can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve put it off long enough. The longer you wait, you’ll find there’s a nearly insurmountable issue standing in your way: motivation.
Setting lofty fitness goals can be daunting, and the gym can seem like an intimidating place, especially since progress can be slow-going. If you’re just beginning, the sheer amount of options you have at the gym can be overwhelming. Often you are quickly shown around the gym, and then left on your own to figure out which workout options best suit your needs. So, the question is: Why go to the gym when you can work out at home?
This article’s goal is to present a guide for working out at home, using methods outside of gym equipment and programs to train your body and get it in shape. Using very basic workout equipment, a positive attitude, and some patience, you’ll be able to achieve the results you want without having to pay the membership fee.
Benefits of Working Out at Home
As stated already, the gym just doesn’t make much sense. Paying a monthly fee to learn exercises at your own pace isn’t a good deal. Working out at home provides complete comfort with the added benefit of not having to travel. At home, you can wear whatever is comfortable, ranging from full sweats to just underwear, and no one will be there to judge you. Your home never closes either, unlike the gym, so you never have to worry about missing a day. Lastly, all the money you save can be put towards better equipment for your home gym!
Popular Home Workout Programs
There are so many workout programs that promote slimming down and gaining muscle that it can be hard to choose the best one for you. It all comes down to what you want to achieve in the time you’ve set aside. For instance, someone planning on building mass should consider free weights and an intense routine with many sets.
For those with time constraints, P90X is a popular workout program that features minimal equipment and is broken up into 1-hour sessions. With options to focus on bulking up or slimming down with cardio exercises, the P90X program is an excellent option for anyone wanting to commit to an intensive program.
Yoga is also a viable option to consider when seeking to improve your body, combining destressing exercises and core strengthening poses to improve both metabolism and flexibility. Yoga can also tone muscles and improve blood circulation, making it a great option for those seeking less extensive results.
Fat Burning Home Workouts
As silly as it may sound, dancing is one of the greatest methods of burning fat and build muscle in the places where this is most desired. Dancing exercises your core, legs, and glutes over time, shedding fat and creating a foundation to start building muscle. Finding a way to have fun with it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Zumba is an incredible way to enjoy dancing while getting an intense workout. There are plenty of Zumba videos and programs designed to slim your body down. Anything aerobic also does a great job of burning fat, and if you have a swimming pool, that provides another avenue for fun exercises.
Swimming for about an hour a day does wonders in reducing body fat. The only downside to swimming is inclement weather. Running can also help to shed fat, but remember to include various plyometric workouts such as sprinting or jumping to mix things up.
Cardio Home Workouts
These go hand-in-hand with any kind of workout, even as a simple warm-up. Cardio workouts are intended to increase stamina, heart rate, and endurance. Athletes typically do cardio workouts to keep them performing throughout a game. These workouts include lots of aerobics, like jumping jacks or pushups, but are done in excess to continually push the limits of the body.
When focusing on cardio, make sure to include aerobic exercises throughout your workout, to evenly stress all your muscles. Over time, your limits will be pushed and your cardio capacity will noticeably be increased. Plyometrics is an advanced and proven method to increase cardio capacity, combining explosive body movements that further intensify your workout.
Leg Home Workouts
Most of your power comes from your legs, so treat them how they deserve to be treated. Legs benefit incredibly from working out, considering that you use them for just about everything. Almost any exercise done will help build muscle and tone your legs. However, the best way to do that depends on your goals.
It is worth your time to grab a few weight training objects such as a kettle bell or barbell to incorporate in your leg exercise. Doing a myriad of squats, lunges, and extensions while under resistance can do wonders.
On the flipside, aerobic exercises will help shape your legs and expose hidden muscle underneath. Pilates is also a great routine to do in order to increase strength and flexibility, moving away from bulking and instead towards balancing performance and aesthetics.
Arm Home Workouts
Weight training will activate your arm muscles and bulk them up incredibly fast. Grab some barbells, or if you’re serious about saving money, use some household objects like milk jugs or textbooks to start doing some exercises with. Bicep curls, overhead presses, and back rows are three great places to start with barbells. Another option is dropping down and giving 20 pushups. Buying a pull up bar to stick in a doorway is also a viable option to build arm muscle. Whatever the case, use a combination of these exercises to bulk up your arms and build muscle quickly.
Chest Home Workouts
Working out your chest at home is a slightly difficult thing to do without equipment. A simple bench press is all that’s needed to start working your chest muscles, but if that isn’t an option, doing a combination of pushups, dips, and presses can do just as well. Doing pushups with your hands spread farther apart focus different areas of the chest, while dips can build muscle on your lats and lower chest.
Overall, you know your body better than anyone else. Setting goals for your body is an easy way to plan and prepare for home workouts. Figure out your intentions, and go from there. Just know that the road will be long and hard no matter what you do, but the results are incredibly rewarding. Working out at home can get you the results you want, so long as you are willing to put in the work and dedication needed to accomplish it.
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