Finding exercises to lose weight fast at home can be a challenge.
People work out at home for a variety of different reasons:
- Its cheaper
- Not living close to a gym
- It saves time
- You feel more confident
- Flexibility
Exercising at home is a great option, and it can be cost and time effective as well. Not everyone has money to spend on a gym membership or even on workout equipment.
The great thing about working out at home is that it is easy and FREE!
This article is about exercises to lose weight fast at home.
1. Push-ups
The great thing about push-ups is that there are many different varieties. No matter what your ability levels are, you should be able to find one that works for you.
How to do a standard push-up:
- Start off in a high plank. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart. Your shoulders should be straight above your wrists, and your legs should be extended straight behind you.
- Bend your elbows until your chest is lowered to the ground.
- Push yourself back up until your arms are fully extended.
- This is 1 rep. For a beginner, aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
If you need to modify a push-up, drop down to your knees or doing them against a wall or a bench. If you want to make them more challenging, try using only one arm or placing your hands in the shape of a diamond.
2. Crunches
Crunches are an easy, but effective exercise to help strengthen your abs.
This is an exercise that anyone can do regardless of their activity level, and there are also several variations you can do to maximize your workout.
How to do a standard crunch:
- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent. Your feet should be flat on the floor.
- Cross your hands in front of your chest, or place your fingertips behind your head or neck.
- Lift your shoulder blades off of the ground and hold for 1-2 seconds.
- Lower your shoulders back onto the floor.
- This is 1 rep. Beginners should aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
3. Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are a great exercise for your legs and your core.
This is also an exercise that helps with your cardio and muscular endurance, which makes it a great option to include in any workout aimed at helping you lose weight.
How to do a mountain climber:
- Start off in a traditional plank position (see exercise #5). Your arms should be extended over your wrists and your legs extended straight back behind you.
- Lift up your right knee and bring it towards your elbow.
- Return your knee back into the plank position at the same time that you are lifting your left knee and bringing it towards your elbow.
- Continue switching legs and increase your pace until you are running in a plank position.
- Do this exercise for 3 reps of 30-60 seconds each.
4. Squats
Squats are a fantastic exercise to help strengthen your legs and your glutes.
Adding these into your home exercise routine will have the lower half of your body looking toned in no time.
How to do a squat:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly turned out.
- Set your hips back as if you are sitting down in a chair. Make sure that you are keeping your chest up and facing forward.
- Sit down as low as you can. Aim to have your thighs parallel to the floor.
- Stand back up.
- This is 1 rep. For beginners, aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps each.
To make this exercise more challenging, try adding in a resistance band, and increase the resistance over time.
5. Plank
Planks are an incredible core exercise.
They are easy to do, require no equipment, and there are many different variations that can be done.
How to do a plank:
- Start with your forearms planted on the ground beneath your shoulders. You can also have your arms extended over your wrists to do this exercise.
- Have your legs extended out straight behind you. You should be up on your toes.
- Your body should be in a straight line from your head to your toes. Make sure to keep your butt down and not piked up.
- Keep your abs tight and hold for as long as you can.
- Aim to do 3 sets of these. Aim to to hold each plank for 30-60 seconds for beginners. Hold them longer if you are able.
6. Lunges
Lunges are a great exercise to engage all of your leg muscles.
They also help to engage your core to keep you balanced. If you want to see toned legs and core, then these are crucial to include in your home workout.
How to do a lunge:
- Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart.
- Take a large step forward with your right leg. Shift your weight forward.
- Bend both of your knees until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your shin is straight. If you can, lower your left knee all the way to the ground.
- Stand back up until you are in the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
- This is 1 rep. For beginners, aim to do 3 sets of 10-15 reps for each leg.
7. Wall Sit
Wall sits might be an exercise that you haven’t done since you were in high school gym class, but they are an easy, yet effective at-home workout.
They are one of the important exercises to lose weight fast at home because all you need to complete them is a wall.
How to do a wall-sit:
- Put your back up against the wall, with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
- Slowly slide your back down the wall until your knees are bent, and your thighs are parallel with the floor.
- Tighten your ab muscles and hold for as long as your can.
- For beginners, aim to do 3 set of wall sits. Each rep should be held for at least 30-60 seconds. Hold for longer if you can.
8. Burpees
Burpees are a great workout that helps to increase your cardio endurance, while also being a full body strength workout.
Even though they are such an amazing workout, they are also insanely challenging. Once you master this exercise, you will soon see the changes all over your body.
How to do a burpee:
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor directly in front of you.
- Jump your feet back into a plank position. Your body should be straight from your head to your toes. Make sure your back doesn’t sag or you butt is not piked in the air.
- Lower your body down to floor or lower into a push-up.
- Push your body back up into a plank position.
- Jump your feet in to your hands.
- Reach your arms over your head and jump into the air.
- This is 1 rep. For beginners, aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps
9. Jump Rope
Jumping rope is such a fun workout.
The good news is that you don’t even need a jump rope to reap all of the benefits of this exercise.
This is a great cardio move that will help you burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time, so it is a great exercise to add to your weight loss workout.
How to jump rope:
- Start by holding a handle of the jump rope in each hand with the rope behind you against your heels. If you don’t have a jump rope try using a dish towel or you can just move your wrists as if you had a jump rope.
- Swing the jump rope forward using your wrists
- As the rope swings overhead, wait until it gets to about your knees and jump up to clear the rope. Start off slowly so you can get the timing down.
- As you jump, make sure to stay up on your toes. If you get tired, try alternating your legs instead of using both at the same time.
- For beginners, aim to do 3 sets with each rep being 30-60 seconds long. Jump rope longer if you can for each rep.
10. Deadlift
Deadlifts are one of my favorite exercises to do.
These are such a good workout for your arms, legs, core, and back, and thankfully they are very easy to do.
This exercise is better done with some dumbbells. If you need a good set of dumbbells, check out my recommendations page.
How to do a deadlift using dumbbells:
- Start by holding your dumbbells at your side with your arms straight and knees slightly bent.
- Bend at the hips and lower your weights as low as you can to the floor. Make sure to keep your back straight and not rounded.
- Use your glutes to pull you back up to a standing position.
- This is 1 rep. For beginners, aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
11. Running/Jogging
Running is a classic part of most people’s workouts.
This is because running is an easy way to burn a ton of calories, and it really does aid in weight loss.
How to run properly:
- Start with a warm-up, especially if you are new to running or haven’t run in a long time.
- Gradually build up your endurance. Your initial runs might only be 15-20 minutes long. Over time increase the duration of your runs until you are able to run for an hour or more.
- Make sure that you have proper running form: stand up tall, swing your arms, and be light on your feet.
- Aim to do a few runs per week. Since these take longer, try to do them 3-4 times a week.
12. Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are a great cardio exercise that is really easy to do.
This is another exercise that will help burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time, so it is a great addition to any weight loss workout plan.
How to do jumping jacks:
- Start by standing with your legs together and your arms by your sides.
- Open your arms and legs out to the side. Arms should go above your head, and your legs should jump outwards so they are wider than your shoulders.
- Move arms and legs back in to the starting position.
13. Bicycles
I am going to round out this list with a great ab exercise.
This exercise is very similar to a crunch, but it is way more difficult. However, it is a better exercise to strengthen your core so it is important to add to your at-home workout.
How to do bicycles:
- Lay flat on the floor with your hands behind your head.
- Bring your knees into your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
- Straighten your right leg while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow towards the left knee.
- Switch sides and do the same motion on the other side.
- This is 1 rep. For beginners, aim to do 3 sets of 10-15 reps on each side.
Conclusion
Working out at home is a great option for everyone looking to get in shape.
Creating a list of exercises to lose weight fast at home can be difficult, which is why I put together this workout.
It is completely FREE, and it can be just as effective as doing a workout at the gym.
Remember, the most important part of your workouts is not where you do them, but that you actually do them!
This article is about exercises to lose weight fast at home.