7 Best Exercises You Can Do At Home

#1 – Lunge

An exercise which works your backside, front and rear thighs and your core muscles which are called into play to help you balance. Great for shaping your legs. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and take a big step forward with your right leg, bending your knee until your right thigh is roughly parallel to the ground. Keeping your torso upright, push through your right foot to drive yourself back into the start position and then repeat for the left leg. This is one repetition. How many repetitions you do will depend on the strength of your legs but do enough to create a nice burn. To make it harder, do it more slowly or carry something in your hands to increase the resistance.

#2 – Tricep Dips

A classic exercise which is traditionally done on parallel bars in the gym but can be modified for the home by using a chair. It works the backs of your arms mainly but the fronts of your shoulders and chest assist the movement. Sit on the edge of a chair and place your hands on the edge, positioning your feet away from it. Straighten your arms and slide your rear end off of edge and rest the soles of your feet flat on the floor with a bend in the knees. Lower your body by bending your arms until a slight stretch is felt in chest or shoulder. Go down as far as is comfortable and then drive up to the start position to complete the repetition. Do enough to really feel it working the backs of your arms. To make it more challenging, straighten your legs or lift them onto another chair before starting.

#3 – Step-ups

An amazingly simple but highly effective exercise which targets your bum and the front and back of your thighs. Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder width apart. Step up onto the chair with your left leg by extending your knee and hip and bring the second leg up beside it on the chair. Then step down by leading with the second leg, bending the knee of the left leg as you step down into the start position. Repeat but this time leading with the right leg. Do as many repetitions as you are comfortable with, you really need to feel it working your upper leg and backside. The higher the level of the surface you’re stepping up onto, the more difficult it is.

#4 – Bicycle Crunch

All you need is a floor for this one! We all have a floor, right? This all-rounder has been voted the single most effective ab exercise by researchers as it works the ab muscles harder than any other, working the upper and lower regions as well as the obliques to the side of our six-pack muscles. To do it, lie flat on the floor and hold your head in your hands, lifting your knees to 45 degrees. Move your legs as though you were pedalling a bicycle whilst touching your elbows to opposite knees as they come towards your chest, by twisting your torso. Breath steadily throughout the exercise and build up the number of repetitions as you improve. You should feel a really nice burn in your mid-section. Ensure you do the exercise slowly and deliberately to gain the most benefit from this one.

#5 – Burpees

Another classic exercise which is a no-gimmick, sure-fire winner in the no-nonsense home exercise armoury. It is a whole body conditioner and can develop strength, power and endurance, not to mention burn fat. Begin in the squat position but with your hands in front of you and then kick your feet back so that you end up in the press-up position. Immediately return to the start position before leaping up as high as you can with your arms extended above your head. If you want to add extra challenge, then after you have dropped down form the start point into the press-up position, actually perform a press-up before returning to the squat position. Be warned: this will seriously get your heart pumping hard if you do enough of them!

#6 – Press-ups

A totally simple but fantastically effective exercise, mainly for the chest but you will work the backs of your arms and front shoulders too. Lie face down on the floor, placing the hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart and then push yourself up by straightening the arms. Next, lower yourself to the floor until your nose touches it and then push yourself back up into the start position. Keep your body in a straight line throughout. If you can’t do full press-ups straight away, you can do them by resting on your knees initially until you become strong enough to do the full version. To make it more challenging, you can do them whilst elevating your feet on a chair or by bringing your hands closer together. Hands together has the effect of working the backs of your arms a lot harder.

#7 – Squats

People who know anything about exercise will correctly tell you that squats are up there with the best. ‘Why?’ you ask. They are a wonderful leg shaper, working the whole of your upper leg while giving your butt and core muscles a good kicking at the same time. Stand with your feet about shoulder width part and lift your arms put in front of you. Squat down by bending the knees forward while allowing the hips to bend back behind. The back should be straight and the knees over the toes as you squat as deep as is comfortable. In the bottom position, drive through the heels to return to the start position. Do not bounce out of the bottom position and perform the repetitions slowly, doing enough to feel a pleasant burn. To work the inner thigh more, take an extra wide stance with toes pointing outwards before you start. However you do it, include it in your home workout as it’s a gem of an exercise.

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