No Excuses to Skip Workout— 4 Effective Home Exercises You Can Do Right Now

You can give your best with no equipment and only 20 minutes of spare time. Seriously, I’m not joking.

Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash

Welcome guys and gals, thank you for your interest in this post. So whether you train to keep a healthier lifestyle, become physically bigger and stronger, or you’re looking forward to toning your body so you’d look good on the beach in summer, I believe you will find a lot of value in this post.

Keep reading to find out 4 tried and tested effective home exercises you can do in 20–60 minutes per day! These exercises are cardio-building, resistance-building, and strength-building.

Whatever your purpose of working out is, these exercises will prove extremely efficient if you know what you’re doing.

I will separate the workouts into three different levels of intensity: low, mid, and high.

To explain the levels of intensity:

Low-level Intensity

Low-level is suitable for those who look to stay fit and have some minimum physical activity for the day. Perfect for those who are busy and look forward to an extra flare in their routines. Workout session: 10–30min.

Mid-level Intensity

Mid-level is suitable for those who look to incorporate some physical training into their lifestyle, but nothing over the top. Workout session: 20–60min.

High-level intensity

High-level is for those who want to push themselves and test their personal limits. This will vary, so feel free to amplify/reduce the number of reps during training. This is for people who are more serious about physical exercise. Workout session: 60min–120min.

To consider

These workouts require zero equipment, and depending on you, they can be as effective as working out in the GYM. It is recommended that you have some running shoes for some of these workouts. From my experience, some sessions in the mid-high intensity range can damage your feet.

Without further ado, these are the workouts that will guarantee results in three-four months. Feel free to switch the intensity for your own pace. Do these every day with one rest day to ensure maximum progress!

With this post, feel free to create your own workout session by choosing the exercises that draw your attention. Here are the four essential home exercises you can do right now:

1. Jumping Jacks
2. Squats
3. Push-Ups
4. Sit-Ups

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks will get your heart pumping and muscles moving. You can exaggerate the arm movements to burn maximum calories. Look at the following steps for the proper way to do a jumping jack:

1. Stand upright with your legs together, arms at your sides.
2. Bend your knees slightly, and jump into the air.
3. As you jump, spread your legs to be about shoulder-width apart. Stretch your arms out and over your head.
4. Jump back to starting position.
5. Repeat.

Low intensity: 20–100 reps

Mid intensity: 100–300 reps

High intensity: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Do Jumping Jacks until the 10 minutes end.

Squats

Squats are perfect for a lower-body workout. These build endurance, strength, and also cardio. Squats are a functional exercise that benefits your joint and muscle health, as well as your posture.

Low intensity: 10–30 reps

Mid intensity: 50–100 reps

High intensity: 100-200 reps (or more)

Push-Ups

Pushups are an effective exercise that can help increase strength in your upper body and core. You won’t need any equipment to get started with pushups. They’re suitable for beginners and individuals who are more advanced with exercise. Look at the following steps for the proper way to do a push-up:

1. Get down on all fours, placing your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. Straighten your arms and legs.
3. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor.
4. Pause, then push yourself back up.
5. Repeat.

Low intensity: 20–50 reps

Mid intensity: 80–150 reps

High intensity: 200 reps (or more)

Sit-Ups

Sit-ups work great for a core workout. This exercise mainly targets the abdominal muscles, as well as hip flexors, and lower back. Look at the following steps for the proper way to do a sit-up:

1. Lie on your back on a mat with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Cross your arms in front of your chest.
3. Crunch your ab muscles to lift your shoulders off the mat.
4. Hold for a second, then slowly come back down to starting position.

Low intensity: 25–50 reps

Mid intensity: 100–150 reps

High intensity: 200 reps (or more)

Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Photo by Matthew Sichkaruk on Unsplash

You can set your own pace and customize your workout according to your lifestyle and needs. I’ll tell you a bit about my experience with these exercises.

I’ve grown interested in fitness and general physical exercise in June 2020. Since quarantine was obligatory due to the global pandemic, there was time to kill. Lots of it.

I worked out with the four exercises above. Mid/high intensity for one hour, every day (no rest day) for three months straight.

Here’s the difference in my body shape one week into the workout vs five months in.

If you have the patience and persistence to keep training, I guarantee your hard work will pay off. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It may sound obvious, a word of advice is to pay attention to your diet and eat protein-rich foods (banana, protein shakes, tuna, avocado, etc) as this will undoubtedly influence your physical state.

Working out for more hours doesn’t necessarily ensure more progress. Actually, it is important to see what you do in the workout. For example, I used to do high-intensity workouts in 30 minutes. During that time of the workout, I would do 300 push-ups or 200 squats. It depends on how you use your time.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found this post valuable.