Am I the only one that hates going to the gym? The drive time eats into my workout, someone’s using the equipment I need, it’s way too people-y, and I prefer to look like a hot mess in the privacy of my own home, thank you very much! In case you’re not a fan of people-y places either, or just can’t sneak away to the gym, I’ve compiled six effective home workouts for beginners to help you slay your fitness goals, no gym required! (If you’re wondering when the heck you’re supposed to fit these workouts into your busy schedule, check out our post Find Time to Work Out!)
Home Workouts For Beginners
- Walk. As a former exercise physiologist working for a cardiology clinic, I can tell you that one of the most common suggestions made to patients to improve their health was to simply walk. Start small, walking just 10 minutes every day, and slowly work your way up to 30 minutes. Make your walk feel more appealing by using the time to chat with a friend, listen to podcasts or audio books, or jam out to your favorite songs. Gym short pockets too small to carry your phone and keys? Nab an armband or running belt on the cheap!
- Run. After you’ve been walking for a while, or if you want to accelerate your results, you might consider running. Of course, running has physical benefits. (You’re sweating and feeling the buuuuurn!) But I’m an even bigger fan of the mental benefits, like the fact that it gives me time to zone out after a long day, or helps me to develop mental endurance. The key to running safely is wearing a proper running shoe to support your ankles and help prevent injuries. If you need some new kicks, these men’s shoes have an almost 5-star rating out of 9000+ reviews, and these women’s shoes have a nearly 5-star rating out of 5000+ reviews. If you need a little help ramping up from walking to running, then nab our free running schedule here!
- Dance your way to fitness. Dancing is just straight up fun. You’ve got two options here. You can either crank up the tunes and jam out for 20-30 minutes, or follow along with a video. I’m personally a white, white girl with no real dance moves, so I’ve enjoyed dancing to country music with Country Heat. It’s fantastic for beginners, with six 30-minute, easy-to-learn country dance routines. I haven’t tried other dance workouts, so I can’t speak to them personally. But there are 10 million options out there, all with different music genres and intensity levels. So hunt around for one that excites you!
- Try a no-equipment at-home workout. No equipment means just that – no dumbbells, exercise bands, or yoga mats required. So you’re simply pushing, pulling, and squatting your own body weight. These workouts include exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks. Pinterest is full of pretty intense no-equipment workouts. But when I set out to find a few no-equipment home workouts for beginners, I couldn’t find any I loved enough to share. So I searched deep within for my inner exercise physiologist…and created one myself! Click here to download our no-equipment home workout for beginners.
- Introduce some basic at-home gym equipment. Have you mastered the body weight exercises above? Then consider adding more variety to your routine using just two sets of dumbbells. Mine are 5 lbs and 8 lbs. Owning two sets allows you to keep challenging yourself by increasing the weight. You can either buy the sets individually, or opt for a small set with a stand, that offers several weight options and a convenient place to store them. Again, Pinterest is full of workouts that can be completed with just a set of dumbbells. If instead, you prefer to be led through a routine, I would highly suggest 21 Day Fix. Each of the workouts is only 30 minutes long, and requires one to two sets of dumbbells. It might just be my favorite exercise program to date!
- Not one for long-term commitment? Consider workout subscription services. I love a fun dance workout, but I also love pilates. Sometimes I want to get my Keanu Reeves on with a kickboxing workout, and other times I want to go low-key. It all depends on the day and my mood. If I leave it up to searching the internet for a different workout every day, I’ll spend 30 minutes searching and never actually work out. That’s why I’m a fan of subscription services. They offer just enough variety to keep me interested, without overwhelming me like the internet so often does. I pay $99 a year to stream over 700 workouts through Beachbody On Demand. Again, there are a ton of subscription services out there. Find one that offers a truckload of what you like.
Wrap It Up
You do not have to leave your home to slay your fitness goals. In fact, there are a ton of killer home workouts for beginners. You can walk, run, or dance your way to fitness, try simple body weight or dumbbell exercises, or use a subscription service to enjoy a little variety. Heck, you don’t even have to wear pants.
So get out there and start moving today! You’ve got this!
P.S. You don’t want to miss out on our free no-equipment home workouts for beginners! So nab it here!
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