Ideas To Workout At Home With Zero Equipment
I’m someone who still loves going to the gym, using free weights, and getting the social component to working out. But going to the gym is not always conducive to my lifestyle. In 2020, out of necessity, I began creating workouts at home with no equipment.
Now, over four years later, many of these exercise ideas still hold as routines I prefer to do. In addition, to not needing to go out and buy kettle bells, bands, or expensive Peloton bikes, these full-body workout techniques require nothing but your body weight and some space.
There’s another component that is an added benefit. It’s simple and also costs a grand total of zero dollars. It’s the ability to be outside. If you’re like me, you love the early morning hours. In part, it is due to the fact that everyone else in the house is still sleeping. There’s a meditative component to the sunrise and outdoor weather, setting your course right for the day.
Workouts At Home – No Equipment Or Wallet Needed
I learned at an early age, no matter what your skill level is few exercises are better than push-ups and sit-ups. They use your natural body weight, and with the proper range of motion, build precise strength and flexibility in your body. Better yet, they cost nothing and can be done literally anywhere.
However, let’s dig a little deeper. I live close to school grounds. No that it is summer and the property is quiet, I head over there and do rounds of pull-ups on the outdoor bars. Then, if there is a hill close by, running the hills in intervals (like you would stairs) also works up a great sweat. If you want to make this as challenging as possible, run a hill then do a set of pull-ups. Hit this routine in five to eight sets.
In a similar format, you can do this with sprints and pushups. Run a 10-15 yard sprint there and back, then do 10 pushups. If you do ten sets of these your heart rate will be up from high intensity sprinting, and you would have completed 100 pushups. It only takes about 20 minutes. Bonus points if you can do this on the beach as running in sand is even more challenging.
If you don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home here are a few other workout tricks.
- Box jumps. Do you have a couch strong enough to endure you jumping onto it? Great, then do three sets of 10 jumps.
- At any staircase, six rounds of 30 second toe-taps on the stairs also is harder than it seems. Have your left arm up when your right foot goes up on the step, and vice versa.
- Distance runs. In full disclosure, I do not like long runs. Cardio, as I get older, is just that important where I mix in a two or three-mile run once per week. I don’t time how fast my miles are, because I don’t care about that. The point is to find a pace that is both challenging and works for my body. The point is endurance and building to a sweat.
- Stretching or yoga. Find a sunny space outside on your property. Grab a mat or towel and stretch slowly for 15-20 minutes. Recovery for your muscles is just as important as working them out. If it’s a relatively hot day you will find yourself in a sweat by the end, almost as if you nailed a hot yoga class.
- Push-ups, sit-ups. End each workout (prior to your cool-down) with a set of push-ups and sit-ups. It brings it all full circle. I’ve already stated my love of these two motions, but in 25+ years of working out, and playing college sports, I still have not found anything that tops their overall value.
