Everyone knows the importance of eating balanced diet and doing regular physical activity for good health. However, it is also important to know that good health means maintaining a healthy weight according to your height, gender and age. Besides burning calories and helping you stay lean and fit, regular exercise also helps in boosting energy, improving your mood and preventing and managing many health problems.
Meanwhile, if you do not have time for regular gym sessions or are not comfortable working out in a gym/with a trainer or simply want to work out at home without equipment, then there are tons of exercises to help you stay on track. Just squeeze in a 20-25 minute workout routine at home everyday and achieve your full-body fitness goals without spending much.
Listed below are 7 effective and popular home workouts for beginners as well as experts (just increase the challenge level of the below given exercises). Do check them out and get moving TODAY!
1) Skipping rope
Don't want to go to the gym? Then try skipping. Skipping rope is an affordable, fun and high energy exercise. It gives your body a full workout and can be comfortably done in small spaces. This simple looking exercise is known to help burn more calories when compared to walking done in the same time interval. Hence skipping is considered as one of the best cardio exercises for weight loss at home.
Along with helping burn calories and shed those extra kilos, skipping or jump rope also helps in increasing blood circulation in the body, strengthening muscles, building stronger bones, boosting stamina and improving your lung capacity.
Also this exercise is quick and needs no extra set-up - apart from light-weight skipping rope. As a beginner, you can start skipping 5 minutes a day (for 5 continuous days) and then gradually increase the time to 10 minutes and then 15, 20, 30 and more.
How To Do:
* Stand on a flat surface with your back straight and feet together.
* Hold both the ends of the skipping rope.
* Swing the rope by rotating your wrists
* Take a small jump off the ground as the rope passes under your feet
* Repeat. Take a breather for few seconds, if you feel out of breath. Continue.
2) Squats
If you want to tone the muscles of your lower body and also lose inches from your thighs, then squats are one of the best exercises to do at home. Apart from being a great workout for weight loss, when done correctly - squats improve mobility and help build overall strength by engaging multiple muscle groups and your hip and knee joints.
Though there are many variations of squats where one can include weights like dumbbells, yoga balls or barbells, beginners can stick to bodyweight squats or air squats. These are the basic type of squats and do not require any equipment.
How To Do:
* Stand straight with your feet slightly wider than your hip width
* Look ahead. Keep your hands straight or clasped in front of chest
* Squat in a sitting position by moving downwards and bending your knees
* Your thighs should be parallel to the floor and toes and heels touching the floor
* Get back to the standing position by pushing yourself up.
* Repeat this 10-12 times. Take a break. Do this set again.
3) Lunges
Add lunges to your daily workout routine if you want to tone and strengthen your back and lower body, increase core strength and improve your overall fitness. Lunges are also known to help reduce body fat and develop muscle stability and coordination.
A powerful strength training workout, lunges can be easily done at home and small spaces. Again, there are many variations of lunges that enable both beginners as well as advanced exercisers to perform. For a newbie however, the classic forward lunge is simple, yet effective for weight loss.
How To Do:
* Stand straight with your back up-right and feet hip-width apart
* Your hands should be on your sides or waist for balance
* Take your right leg forward, such that it is ahead of your torso
* Bend your right knee at right angle, while your back left leg points towards the ground
* Push yourself back to the standing position by using your right foot
* Repeat forward lunge with your left leg now
* 25-30 repetitions of this workout by alternating your legs will be great
4) Mountain Climbers
For a total body workout, add mountain climbers to your exercise routine. It is a simple exercise and can be easily incorporated in your regular morning exercise regime at home, in your gym, in hotel rooms when travelling and even outdoor spaces.
Mountain climbers are compound exercises as they work nearly every muscle group in your body, particularly your arms, shoulder, back, core and legs. For beginners, this workout is a great way to burn calories, increase agility, build core strength and also fire up your heart rate.
How To Do:
* Begin by getting into a high plank position
* Ensure that your hands are shoulder-width apart below you & your upper and lower body in a straight line
* Bring your right knee towards your chest and then return it to the original position
* Repeat this movement with your left knee
* Perform this workout continuously by alternating legs for 20-25 repetitions
* After a break, repeat the set again
5) Burpees
If there is an exercise that is known to make people sweat and help lose weight fast, then it is burpees. Often termed as an intense total body workout, burpees combines exercises like jumps, pushups and squats and simultaneously engages your multiple muscle groups, the core and joints of the body.
An excellent fat-burning exercise, burpees when done regularly can help burn belly fat fast, improve metabolism and blood circulation, develop muscle strength and get your heart pumping too. As a beginner, try doing burpees for 5-6 minutes daily to give your body a thorough workout.
How To Do:
* Stand straight with your feet shoulder-distance apart
* Look ahead and squat in a low sitting position
* Place both your hands on the floor firmly and in front of you.
* Jump both feet back so that you are in a plank position
* Lower your chest down to touch the floor - like a pushup (skip, if you are unable to do)
* Push your hands against the floor to gently jump forward, so that they land just outside your hands
* With the weight on your heels, stand up and jump
* Repeat 8-10 times. Take a breather. Aim for another set.
6) Bicycle Crunches
A beginner's level exercise that you can easily add to your full-body workout routine are bicycle crunches. This exercise requires no equipment, can be done anywhere and mixes both cardio and strength.
A very popular ab-exercise, bicycle crunch works out your upper, middle and lower abs, oblique muscles and also strengthens and tones your quads and hamstrings. Besides these, bicycle crunches are also great for improving stability and coordination.
How To Do:
* Begin by lying flat on your back.
* With your feet firm on the floor and as wide as your hips, bend your knees up
* Likewise, bend your elbows to the sides and touch the sides of your head with your palms and fingertips. Do not interlace your fingers at the back of your head.
* Lift your shoulder blades off the ground. Simultaneously bring your legs/feet up and extended
* Bring your right knee towards your chest and at the same time, twist your core so that your left elbow comes towards the raised opposite right knee.
* Lower your knee and arm while repeating the same action with your left kne\e and right elbow.
* Continue alternating sides till you work your way up to 15 to 20 crunches for a set.
* Take a breather and go for 2 more sets or till your fixed time.
7) Yoga
When people think about best exercises for weight loss, they usually talk about the above mentioned workouts apart from other aerobic exercises like running, walking, cycling, swimming, etc. Usually they dismiss yoga. Well, just DON'T.
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Yoga is a perfect low-impact exercise for weight loss. It has gained world-wide recognition for aiding one's physical and mental health. It also has an edge over other workouts as it stretches the body to promote flexibility and balance, improves respiration, enhances one's focus and boosts metabolism. A great stressbuster, yoga asanas can be easily included in your daily routine to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
In yoga, there are over 300 asanas to choose from. If you pick the right poses to perform, do them correctly and combine it with healthy eating, then yoga can help a great deal in shedding those pesky kilos and making you fit and lean. Given below are 10 yoga asanas that are suitable for both men and women trying to lose weight at home.
10 yoga poses for weight loss:
1) Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog Pose)
2) Utkatasana (Chair Pose)
3) Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior Pose 2)
4) Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
5) Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
6) Phalakasana (Plank Pose)
7) Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
8) Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
9) Naukasana (Boat Pose)
10) Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation)
If you are planning to begin with yoga, then I have written a separate post - 7 Basic Yoga Asanas that Beginners Can Start Even Today. Do read it. It covers nearly half of the above mentioned asanas and can be easily done at home.
Disclaimer: The researched content and advice in this post is for informational purpose only. It is NOT a substitute for professional medical advice. It is highly recommended that you consult a physician regarding any questions related to the usefulness of the above exercises with respect to your individual health goals and medical conditions if any.
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