Simple At-Home Workout Routine For Beginners That Gets Results

You don’t have to go to the gym or own expensive equipment to get a great workout. This simple at-home workout routine for beginners uses simple exercises that you can do at home to tone up your muscles and burn fat. These exercises will work every part of your body.

The abdominal exercises strengthen your core, trim your waist, and improve your posture. The leg exercises strengthen your thighs, hip flexors, and quadriceps. These muscles allow you to run, jump and climb stairs. The arm, chest, and shoulder exercises primarily work your biceps and triceps. And you don’t need any special equipment for this workout. You can just also use some basic things that you find around your home to add intensity.

Prepare for Your At-Home Workout Routine For Beginners

Before you start your workout, there are a couple of things you need to do.

Have a Clear Objective. To get the most out of your workout program, you should establish goals and objectives. Decide what you want to accomplish with your workouts and then make a plan to help you meet your goals.

Warm-Up. Before you start any workout, it’s very important that you stretch and warm up properly. This lowers your risk of injuries and promotes circulation. You should do your warm-up exercises before you stretch. Warm-up exercises increase your body temperature, making your muscles more flexible and ready for more strenuous activity. Your warm-up should also slightly increase your heart rate but not to the same level as during your workout. Your warm-up should be intense enough to increase your body temperature but not strenuous enough to cause fatigue. Try working hard enough to break just a mild sweat.

Here Is A Quick 4 Minute Warm-Up

The Simple At-Home Workout Routine

Here are some step-by-step instructions for simple exercises that you can use to work all of your major muscle groups. You should do 8-12 repetitions of each exercise so that you reach the point of failure at the last rep. Start out slowly, but work up to 4-6 complete circuits. Because this workout is designed to maximize intensity, you shouldn’t rest for more than 2 minutes at the end of each circuit before you start the next one.

Your Quadriceps and Hamstrings

Here are some great exercises to work your quads (upper legs) and hamstrings.

Squats

1. First, position your feet flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly turned out.
2. Keep your abdominals tight, your lower back straight, and your head up.
3. If you want, you can hold onto something, such as a desk, to give you some support.
4. Slowly lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, hold for a second, and then push back up to the starting position.
5. Keep your body in an upright position and avoid leaning forward.
6. Always inhale on the way down and exhale as you stand up.

Pigeon Squats

1. Position a chair in front of you.
2. Lay one shin sidewise across the chair.
3. If you want, you can hold onto something, such as a desk, to give you some support.
4. Slowly lower yourself until you feel a good hip stretch, hold for a second, and then push back up to the starting position.
5. Keep your body in an upright position and avoid leaning forward.
6. Always inhale on the way down and exhale as you stand up.

Lunges – Wide Stance

1. Start by standing up straight and then take a large step forward with one foot, leaving the other in place behind you. Both your feet should be pointed forward.
2. Lower your back knee almost to the floor and then return to your starting position. Concentrate on squeezing your buttocks to push yourself up.
3. Keep your body in an upright position and avoid leaning forward.
4. Do several repetitions and then repeat with your opposite foot forward.

Lunges – Narrow Stance

1. Begin by standing up straight and then take a half step forward with one foot, leaving the other in place behind you.
2. Both your feet should be pointed forward, your heels no more than 4 inches apart.
3. Lower your back knee almost to the floor and then rise up again to the starting position. Concentrate on squeezing your buttocks to push yourself up.
4. Keep your body in an upright position and avoid leaning forward.
5. Do several repetitions and then switch to the opposite foot and repeat.
6. Make sure that there isn’t too great a distance between your feet. Don’t allow your front knee to move forward beyond your toes as you lower yourself and stop where you feel comfortable.

Single-Leg Lunge

This exercise targets your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core.

1. Stand in a lunge with your left foot in front, your knees bent, and your left thigh parallel to the floor.
2. Lean forward from your hip and straighten your left leg, extending your right leg behind you at 45 degrees.
3. Return to the starting position.
4. Complete 10-20 reps with each leg.

Step-Ups

1. Stand just in front of a step with your feet about shoulder-width apart. You can leave your arms down by your sides or place your hands on your hips—whichever is more comfortable.
2. Step up onto the step with one leg. Use a steady and controlled motion, letting your leg pull you up onto the step.
3. Pause momentarily with both feet up on the step.
4. Step down off the step with your opposite foot and then bring your first foot down, returning to the starting position.
5. Repeat, alternating your leading leg each time for a total of 10-20 reps per leg.

Your Calves

Here’s a simple exercise that you can use to strengthen and tone your calves.

Calf Raise

1. Stand with your toes of one leg on the edge of a step (your other leg should be up, feet back against buttocks.
2. Push up with your toes and get a full extension in a controlled motion.
3. Pause momentarily.
4. Lower back to the starting position.
5. Repeat this action for a total of 10 to 20 times per leg.

Your Back and Lats

These two exercises will work your back and lat muscles. 

Bent-Over Row

1. First, stand next to a sturdy bed or another flat surface that will provide some good support.
2. Place your left hand and left knee onto the flat surface.
3. Hold onto a weight with your right hand. You can use a bag of potatoes or any other heavy object if you don’t have hand weights.
4. Slowly bring the weight up to the side of your chest, keeping your back straight.
5. Lower the weight back down, straightening your arm.
6. Repeat, and concentrate on utilizing your back muscles.
7. Switch over and repeat the exercise with your left arm.

Chin-ups

Note: For this exercise, you need suitable overhead support, such as ceiling rafters in a garage or the molding of your door frame. You can also purchase pull-up bars that fit within a door frame.

1. Stand on a chair or jump up to grasp the bar. Use an underhand grip and position your hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Start by simply hanging below the bar.
3. Then, slowly raise your body until your chin reaches the level of the bar.
4. Pause for a moment and then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.

Developing Your Chest and Triceps At-Home Workout Routine

Here are three great exercises to tone your triceps and pectorals.

Push-ups

1. First, lie face-down on the floor with your hands approximately shoulder-width apart. You may need to keep your knees on the ground until you build up enough strength to perform this exercise with your legs straight.
2. Push yourself up until your arms are straight, keeping your back and legs straight. This is the starting position
3. Lower your body until your chest touches the floor and then return to the starting position.

Close Grip Push-ups

1. First, lie face-down on the floor with your hands approximately 4-6 inches apart. You may need to keep your knees on the ground until you build up enough strength to perform the exercise with your legs straight.
2. Push yourself up until your arms are straight, keeping your back and legs straight. This is the starting position.
3. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body towards the floor until your chest is almost touching your hands. Keep your body straight and hold your abdominals in tight.
4. Return to the starting position. Exhale as you’re pushing yourself back up and inhale on the way down.
5. Repeat 8-12 times.

Chair Dips

1. Position yourself between two chairs, supporting your weight on your hands with your feet out in front of you.
2. Slowly lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the seats of the chairs.
3. Hold this for a moment and then push yourself back up until your arms are fully extended again.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Working Your Shoulders At-Home Workout Routine

Working your shoulders is hard with no weights but it is possible. These two simple exercises are safer to do with weights but there are no weight alternatives that will give you a great shoulder workout. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can use a couple of bags of potatoes or rice or some gallons of milk or water. 

Side Laterals

1. Start by sitting on a flat bench or chair and grasp a weight in each hand. Let the weights hang down at your sides with your palms facing in toward your body.
2. Next, raise both weights simultaneously by lifting the backs of your hands toward the ceiling. Keep your arms as straight as possible throughout this movement.
3. Bring your arms up so that they’re parallel to the floor, hold for one count, and then return to the starting position.
4. Repeat 8-12 times.

Shoulder Press

1. Position yourself on a chair so you can support yourself against the back.
2. Press the weights up over your head and then lower to the starting position. Allow the weights to come down in front of you, just below your chin.
3. Repeat 8-10 times.

No Weight Alternative For Shoulder Press – Hand Stand Press

This is an advanced training exercise and can be modified by using a wall to brace or by supporting your legs with a bar stool or chair.

1. Get into a handstand position, modifying if necessary.
2. Lower your body until your head touches the ground and then press yourself back into the handstand position.
3. Repeat until failure or 8-10 reps.

Your Biceps

Curls are one of the best exercises to target your bicep muscles, but they are really hard to do without weight. You can, however, do modified pull-ups to target your biceps without and equipment.

Curls

1. Hold two weights at your sides with your palms facing in and your arms straight.
2. Keep your elbows at your sides and rotate one forearm so your palm faces forward. Then bring the weight up towards your shoulder until your forearm is vertical.
3. Lower to the starting position and repeat with your other arm.
4. Repeat 8-10 times for each arm.

Or you can do Hammer Curls.

Working Your Abs In You At-Home Workout Routine

Here are some great exercises to work your core and tone your abs.

Leg Raises

Leg raises primarily work the lower half of your abdominals, although they do recruit the muscle fibers of your upper abs as well. They also put some stress on your intercostal muscles. Because it’s hard to work your lower abs, you should do this exercise before you do crunches.

1. Start by lying on your back on the floor or a bench. If you’re on a bench, you can grasp the upper end with your hands to stabilize your body.
2. Lift your legs 15-20 degrees or until you feel your back relax.
3. Use your abdominal muscles to raise your feet in an arc until they’re directly above your head.
4. Lower your feet back to the starting position.
5. Repeat until failure. Try to get 15-25 reps.

Reverse Crunches

Reverse crunches are another great exercise for working your lower abs.

1. Lie flat on your back with your legs extended. Raise your legs into an L position with your abs. Keep your knees bent.
2. Lower your feet to almost floor level and then raise them again, keeping your knees flexed.
3. Repeat until failure.

Roll-up Crunch

This exercise targets your rectus abdominis, which is your “six-pack” muscle. It’s 30 percent more effective than the standard crunch because this move challenges your abs through a fuller range of motion and recruits more muscle fibers.

1. First, lie back with your legs straight and your arms extended above your head, next to your ears.
2. Bring your arms forward, tilt your chin down, and slowly curl your upper body up, reaching your hands to your toes.
3. Repeat 15-25 times.

Bicycle Crunch

This exercise works your upper abdominals, obliques, and hip flexors.

1. Lie with your lower back flat on the floor and your legs straight. Place your hands behind your head.
2. Lift your knees up towards your chest one at a time and lift your shoulders off the ground.
3. Touch your elbow to your opposite knee each time, but be careful not to pull on your neck.
4. Repeat to failure.

Do this at-home workout routine 2 or 3 times a week, with at least a day between your workouts to rest and recover, and you will see the results in no time!