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Best At-Home Workout Routines You Can Start Today

Staying fit and healthy is essential, and with the convenience of at-home workout routines, achieving your fitness goals has never been easier. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced fitness enthusiast, there’s a workout plan that suits your needs. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best workout routines to do at home and help you get started today.


What Is the Best At-Home Workout Routine?

Working out at home offers convenience, flexibility, and cost savings, making it easier to maintain a consistent fitness routine. They eliminate the need to go to the gym, allowing anyone to workout at any time.

The best at-home workout plan is one that combines cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility work, catering to your fitness level and goals. A balanced routine should target all major muscle groups, improve endurance, and enhance overall well-being. Here are some essential components of an effective at-home workout plan:

Warm-Up

Start with 5-10 minutes of light cardio to increase your heart rate and prepare your muscles. Examples include jumping jacks, high knees, or marching in place.

Cardio Exercises

Incorporate activities that elevate your heart rate, such as running in place, burpees, or skipping rope. Aim for at least 20-30 minutes of cardio to improve cardiovascular health.

Strength Training

Use bodyweight exercises to build muscle and strength. Focus on compound movements that work multiple muscle groups. Key exercises include push-ups, squats, lunges, and planks.

Flexibility and Cool-Down

End your workout with stretching exercises to enhance flexibility and aid in muscle recovery. Spend at least 5-10 minutes stretching major muscle groups.


Exercises to Include in Your At-Home Workouts

Working out at home can help you with weight loss, muscle building, strengthening, and an overall improvement in health. Many home workouts utilize bodyweight exercises. This is because all you need is just your body weight, no equipment required!

Still, there may be some workouts that require small equipment such as yoga mats, dumbbells, weights, or portable pull-up bars, but those can be easily stored away unlike huge gym machines.

Lunge

From a standing position, take a big step forward with one leg. Lower your body toward the floor until the upper thigh of the front leg is nearly parallel to the floor and the back knee is just above the floor. Raise up by putting pressure on the heel of your front leg. Repeat by taking a big step with the opposite leg. Do 10 reps on each leg.

Walking Lunge

Here’s a variation of the lunge that can help improve your stability, mobility, and balance. It’s pretty easy to do. Start with your feet together and step forward, lunging with your right leg. Stand up, then repeat with your left leg.

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

This move combines the walking lunge with weight training, helping you build muscle and improving your grip strength as well. To do this, stand, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Lunge forward with your right leg, lowering until your knee is at a 90-degree angle. Push through your front foot to stand. Repeat by lunging with your left leg. Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

Burpee

The burpee is an explosive full-body exercise, meaning it works your chest, core, arms, back, glutes, and legs. To perform this, start in a standing position, lower yourself into a squat, and put both hands on the floor, just wider than your feet. Jump your feet back into a plank position. Do a push-up, returning to the plank position. Draw your legs back up into a squat, then jump explosively with your hands above your head. Repeat.

Squat

Squats can give you strong leg muscles if you do it in its proper form. For this workout, first, stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Extend your arms straight with palms facing down. Inhale, and push your hips back slightly as you bend your knees. Look straight ahead and keep your chin up, shoulders upright, and back straight. 

Squat as low as you comfortably can, aiming to have your hips sink below your knees. Engage your core to push upward explosively from your heels.

Overhead Squat

Overhead workouts like the overhead squat will challenge your mobility and range of motion in your upper body. It can also give your lower body the benefits of a squat. To perform this, complete a squat with your arms extended overhead throughout.

Get-Up Squat

Drop down into a squat position. You won’t stand at all during this move. Next, drop your knees down to the ground one at a time so you’re kneeling. Then, step your feet back to the ground one at a time, maintaining that squat position. Repeat as quickly as you can while maintaining good form.

Dumbbell Squat

Adding dumbbells to a regular squat can help make your muscles pop even more. To perform this, stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell at each of your shoulders. Sit down into a low seated position, keeping weight in your heels. Pressing through heels, push hips forward and up to return to the initial position.

Wrist Curl

The forearms are often an overlooked group of muscles yet it’s the group we use the most, utilizing it for everything from turning a doorknob to moving a computer mouse. Wrist curls are a strength training move that can increase hand strength. To perform this, sit on a bench or chair, holding a light dumbbell in each hand. 

Place your forearms on your thighs, with wrists on top of your knees and hands extended beyond your knees. Palms can face up or down. Slowly curl the weights up, then lower them. Make sure you only move your hands and not your arms. Repeat.

One-Leg or One-Arm Plank

Lifting an arm or a leg and holding it there will take the simple plank up a notch. Hold for as many seconds as you can and then do the same with the other leg or arm.

Bicycle Crunch

Lie on your back and bring your legs to a tabletop position. Bend your elbows, and put your hands behind your head. Crunch up and bring your right elbow to your left knee, straightening your right leg. Release the crunch slightly. Next, bend your right leg and straighten your left leg, then bring your left elbow to your right knee. Do 10 reps.

Bridge

This workout works your core muscles. To do this, lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and your arms extended by your sides. Pushing through your feet and bracing your core, raise your bottom off the ground until your hips are fully extended, squeezing your glutes at the top. Slowly return to the initial position and repeat.

Single-Leg Bridge

Here’s a more challenging form of the bridge. To do this, follow the steps for a bridge but lift one foot off the ground while keeping your leg bent for an intermediate challenge. Complete the same number of reps on each side.

Step-Ups

If your home has a staircase, this workout can help you build stronger legs, quads, glutes, and hamstrings. If you don’t have stairs, a sturdy box will do. To do this, position yourself in front of your stairs or the sturdy box. Next, step up onto the first stair with your right foot, then your left. Reverse, stepping back down with right foot, then left. Repeat, switching the leg that you start with each time.

Pullover

Lie face up with feet on the floor. Hold a single dumbbell in both hands and raise it above your chest. Slowly extend the dumbbell overhead while slightly bending your elbows, then bring it back to the starting position. If you’re doing a beginner program, start with a light weight first.

One-Legged Pushup

Lifting one leg puts more weight on your other limbs, creating a challenge. To do this, assume a pushup position and lift a leg off the ground, then complete the push-up.

Pull-Ups

Doing a pull-up can be very intimidating, not to mention, you’ll need to have a portable pull-up bar that fits in a door frame to do this. Once you get to do pull-ups, you’ll find that it’s a great one that works your entire upper body. To perform this, grab the bar with an overhand grip, wrapping your thumbs around the bar. Start in a dead hang from the bar. 

Squeeze the bar with your hands, and keep your upper body and core engaged. Pull up until the chin clears the bar. Slowly lower yourself back into the dead hang position. Repeat 3 sets of 2 to 5 reps.


What Is a Good 7-Day Workout Plan at Home?

A 7-day workout plan offers the structure and consistency needed to develop a regular fitness routine. Here’s an example of a balanced 7-day at-home workout plan which includes rest periods:

Day 1: Full-Body Workout

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of jumping jacks
  • Push-Ups: 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Squats: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Plank: 3 sets of 30 seconds
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 2: Cardio and Core

  • Warm-Up: 5 minutes of high knees
  • Burpees: 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Mountain Climbers: 3 sets of 20 reps
  • Bicycle Crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 3: Lower Body Strength

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of marching in place
  • Lunges: 3 sets of 12 reps per leg
  • Glute Bridges: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Calf Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 4: Active Rest

  • Light Yoga or a 30-minute walk

Day 5: Upper Body Strength

  • Warm-Up: 5 minutes of arm circles
  • Tricep Dips: 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Shoulder Taps: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Superman: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 6: HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of jumping jacks
  • 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise (e.g., burpees, jump squats) followed by a 30-second break. Repeat for 20 minutes.
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 7: Break and Recovery

  • Gentle stretching or a leisurely walk

What Is a Good 5-Day Workout Schedule?

A 5-day workout schedule is perfect for those looking to maintain a regular exercise routine with sufficient rest intervals. Here’s an example of a well-rounded 5-day workout at-home schedule:

Day 1: Full-Body Circuit

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of leg swings
  • Circuit: Push-ups, Squats, Plank (3 sets of 12 reps each)
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 2: Cardio Workout

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of high knees
  • 30 minutes of continuous cardio (e.g., running in place, skipping rope)
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 3: Strength and Core

  • Warm-Up: 5 minutes of marching in place
  • Circuit: Lunges, Tricep Dips, Bicycle Crunches (3 sets of 12 reps each)
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Day 4: Active Rest

  • Light yoga or a 30-minute walk

Day 5: HIIT Workout

  • Warmup: 5 minutes of dynamic movements
  • 20 minutes of HIIT (30 seconds high-intensity, 30 seconds break)
  • Cool-Down: 5 minutes of stretching

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 6-12-25 workout?


Final Note

Starting an at-home workout plan doesn’t require fancy equipment or a gym membership. By training consistently with these plans and tips, you can increase your physical activity, build strength, improve cardio, and increase flexibility right from the comfort of your home.

If you feel any discomfort during any of the workouts, stop immediately and seek the advice of a personal trainer.  

Tricia Montano

Tricia founded Pain Free Working in 2019 due to suffering from degenerative disc disease in her L5-S1 from working an office job for the past 18 years. She and her team strive on finding and reviewing the best office equipment to help fellow pain sufferers find relief and to enable people like her to do their jobs comfortably.