10 Simple Exercises You Can Do At Home – No Equipment Required

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Sometimes we don’t have time to go to the gym or hit a fitness class but we still want to get some physical activity in. These are 10 Simple Exercises You Can Do At Home or anywhere!

10 Simple Exercises You Can Do At Home
No Equipment Required

When we think of exercising to stay physically fit, and particularly when we are thinking about weight loss we tend to think that we have to spend hours devoted to our physical fitness. A long walk or gym session is certainly going to help you reach your fitness goals, but what about when you are running short on time? Is there any benefit to just squeezing in a quick work out?

The answer is unequivocally yes! You don’t always have to spend hours each day working out in order to get the benefits of physical activity. Even short periods of physical activity are very beneficial for you in the long run, they will help increase muscle mass and increase your metabolism. This is especially true if you combine these short workouts when you don’t have time with those longer gym sessions or go to exercise class when you do. So what are the best exercises that you can do to improve and maintain your health when you are short on time?

Here are just a few exercises that you can combine for a quick workout when you don’t have time to head to the gym.  Having a yoga mat or lying on the carpet will make these exercises a bit more comfortable.

Glute Bridge

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent about hip-width apart, arms shoulder-width apart by your sides with your palms facing up. Keep your feet on the ground a few inches from your rear end. Push up through your heels, raising your hips while squeezing your glutes tight. Hold this position for two to three seconds and then slowly lower your hips back down to the floor. Work your way up to 20 repetitions. This exercise focuses on toning your glutes and your core.

Body Weight Triceps Dip

To start, sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet out in front of you, gently resting on your heels. Place your palms on the floor slightly behind you, directly under your shoulders with your fingers pointing towards your body. Now straighten your arms to lift your rear end and then bend your elbows to lower yourself back down but not all of the way to the floor. Work your way up to 20 repetitions. This exercise will target your pectoral muscles and your triceps.

Push-ups

To begin get down on the floor on your hands and knees. Straighten your arms and legs out, and place your hand’s palms down on the floor approximately shoulder-width apart. Slowly lower your chest down until it is nearly touching the floor and then slowly come back up for one repetition. If doing a push-up this way is too difficult, you can do a modified push-up from your knees. Push-ups target your pectorals, triceps, and abdominal muscles.

Wall Push-ups

Stand one to two feet away from the wall, extend your arms out in front of you and place your hands on the wall a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your legs still, bend at the elbow and bring your chest and chin close to the wall. Now take a deep breath, exhale, and push away from the wall until your elbows are slightly bent, and your chest and chin are away from the wall. This completes one repetition. Try to complete 20 more. This exercise targets your biceps, triceps, and shoulders.

Arm Circles

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms raised out to your sides at shoulder height. Begin making tight forward circles with your arms, complete as many repetitions as you can, and then make tight backward circles for as many repetitions as you can. Give your arms a break and then try for one more set both forward and backward. This exercise focuses on your biceps, shoulders, and triceps.

Abdominal Crunch

First lie on your back with your feet shoulder-width apart, keeping your feet about 12 to 16 inches away from your rear end, and your knees bent. Cross your arms in front of your chest (this prevents neck strain from interlocking your fingers behind your neck), and slowly roll your shoulders up off of the floor. Hold this position for one second and then slowly roll your shoulders back down to the floor. This completes one repetition. Try to build up to two or three sets of 20 repetitions. This exercise targets your core and abdominal muscles.

Bird Dog Crunch

Begin on the floor on your hands and knees with your wrists under your shoulders, and your knees under your hips. Slowly extend your left arm forward, and your right leg back while squeezing your abs tight. Now come back to your starting position and reverse sides extending your right arm forward and your left leg back. Continue for as many repetitions are comfortable. This exercise focuses on your glutes, core, deltoid, and trapezius muscles.

Forearm Plank

Place forearms on the floor with elbows aligned below shoulders and arms parallel to your body at about shoulder width. If flat palms bother your wrists, clasp your hands together. Hold this position for as long as you can. For some, that may be 10 seconds, for others it may be 1 minute. The forearm plank exercise focuses on strengthening your core.

Leg Lift

For your starting position lie on your back with your legs extended out in front of you and your arms palms down on the floor beside you. Keeping your legs together, slowly raise them towards your face until they are nearly vertical. Now slowly lower your legs back down towards the floor. This completes one repetition. Try to work your way up to 20 repetitions. The leg lift exercise focuses on strengthening your core.

Bicep Curls

Start by standing up straight, arms extended out in front of you with your palms facing up. Make a loose fist with your hands, as if you were holding on to hand weights. Slowly bring your fists up until your curled fingers touch your shoulders. Hold there for one second and squeeze your biceps before lowering your arms back down in front of you. Try for one set of 20 repetitions. This exercise focuses on your shoulders, biceps, and back muscles.

All of these exercises are a great way for you to get a workout in even if you don’t have a lot of time to spare. None of these exercises require any equipment and you can perform them at home or just about anywhere as your schedule allows. Combine these exercises with a short, brisk walk and at the end of the day, you have gotten in a pretty good workout to help you increase and maintain your health and fitness.

Need a reminder to get those simple exercises done?  I understand!  That’s why I made this free printable.  Print out this Fitness Goals Printable and toss it on the fridge, in your purse, anywhere that you will see it so that it reminds you to get it done.

Print the Fitness Goals Checklist HERE or by just clicking the image above.

What simple exercises do you do at home to help maintain your fitness goals?

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