We all know the key to a healthy lifestyle is eating healthy and exercising frequently, but did you know that you don’t necessarily need all the bulky work out equipment or gym memberships to get your fitness on? In this article we will show you 6 really simple exercises to lose weight, build muscle and stay in shape. Whether you want to start exercising to trim down some pounds or bulk up your muscle, we are here for you. Not all of us have the time or the resources to get to the gym everyday so we created this article to help you get to your ideal weight or body type right in your own home.

Sometimes simple is better! This is also true with workouts. The key is proper technique and consistency. If you are not utilizing the proper techniques when performing these exercises, it may

lead to injury. We want to make sure that you are safe and not causing your body any unnecessary strain or pain. Consistency may be the hardest part, as it can be difficult at times to stay motivated with your workout routine. We will give you tips to keep you focused on your exercise regimen to ensure you stick with it.

Where should you start first?

If you are struggling to find where to start with your workout regimen, you are not alone. There are so many people out there that get stressed out just thinking about exercise, if you are feeling this same way, take a deep breath and try to relax, we will try to make this as simple as we can for you. We are going to go over several different exercises that even beginners can do.

If you are not used to a lot of physical activity (living a sedentary lifestyle) or are older than 40 years old, we recommend starting slow at first and gradually working your way up to the other exercises listed later in this article. Always talk to your doctor if you have concerns or any questions about starting a workout routine.

No matter what exercises you choose for your routine remember to always warm up first with some stretches and a quick warmup. This warmup could include doing simple arm circles and jumping jacks. warming up before your workout is super important because if you jump right into your workout before loosening up your muscles, you put yourself at a higher risk of injury.

What is Functional Training?

We are going to be focusing on one specific type of exercise in this article. That type of exercise is called “functional training”. We all probably know what physical fitness means right? Our definition of physical fitness is simply: A state of physical well-being through a combination of self-care, regular exercise and a healthy diet. Functional fitness is your abilities to perform everyday tasks without easily becoming fatigued or worn out. Functional training consists of different exercises that utilizes movements, that you would make in your everyday life, to strengthen large groups of different muscles working together to achieve the same goal. For instance, a push-up is considered a functional training exercise. This is because not only does it utilize your chest muscles it also utilizes your core and your arm muscles. There are so many different functional training exercises out there such as:

• Push-ups
• Walking lunges
• Jump squats
• Regular squats
• Jumping
• Lunging
• Stair-stepping
• Running from side to side
• Jumping jacks
• Yoga
• Aerobic exercises
• Gymnastics
• Pilates
• Bear crawling
• Hiking
• Parkour

And the list goes on and on and on. Especially if you incorporate weights in your exercises here are just a few more examples:

• Deadlifts
• Overhead presses
• Farmer’s walking
• Kettle-bell swinging
• Weighted squats
• CrossFit

As you can clearly see this is a lot more than just 6 exercises in this article. This is because we want you to have multiple options for the at home workout routine. It is very true that not switching up your workout routine can cause you to get bored and loss motivation to do the exercises, which, as we know, will prevent you from truly reaching your goal. Whatever your goal it is important to stick to a schedule and stay consistent.

How often should you workout?

Well, you were probably taught that everyone should be at least getting in 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of more intense exercise per week. You may be thinking to yourself, “This cannot be right, can it?”. Or, “Who has the time to exercise that much?”. We get it. That does seem like a lot but if you break it up that is only a little less than 22 minutes a day of moderate exercise. You can honestly do this anytime of day whenever you have an extra 20 minutes or so. You could also just work out 5 times a week for 30-Minute intervals.

While 150 minutes a week sounds like a whole lot when you prioritize this time in advance it is completely doable. You do not need to go to a fancy gym or have any equipment at all either. Keep reading to learn more about a workout routine that is simple and effective that pretty much everyone should be able to at least work up to.

Simple at home workout that can work for most busy, real-life people.

There are so many options out there to choose from when it comes to a full body workout. We want to make this really easy to understand. A full body workout essentially means a workout program that exercises every muscle in the body. For a full body workout, you must include:

• Buttocks and hamstrings. (Hamstrings are the muscles in the back of your legs).
• Quads (Quads are the muscles in the front of your legs).
• Chest, shoulders and triceps (These are the muscles that are used to push with).
• Back, biceps and grip (These are the muscles that you pull with).
• Core (abdominals, obliques and lower back).

The workout we want to show you incorporates all of these muscles to get you to a place where you feel healthier and more functionally and physically fit. we recommend with this workout doing it 5 days a week for 30-minute intervals.

• Stretch for 2 minutes to loosen up your muscles before your workout.
• Jumping jacks for 2 minutes to warm you up before your workout.
• Regular squats for 5 minutes for your buttocks, hamstrings and quads.
• Push-ups for 5 minutes for your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
• Pull-ups for 5 minutes for your back, biceps and grip. You could also alternatively do one-arm rows instead and if you do not have a dumbbell, you can always use an old milk jug filled with water. Assisted pull-ups with a resistance band or a partner is completely acceptable as well.
• Bear crawl 5 minutes for your core.
• Stretch for 1 minute to cooldown after your workout.

Is it really this simple?!

Yes, in fact, it is really this simple. If you can set aside at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days out of the week you will be on your way to becoming more healthy and fit. If this workout becomes too easy, because chances are it will, you can either add weights, such as ankle and wrist weights or dumbbells, or you can increase the amount of time you spend on each one of the exercises.

In conclusion it really is doable to get everything you need to get done during the week and also include a healthy workout routine. It doesn’t cost anything, and you can do it virtually anywhere. Remember that the key to good health is consistency in your healthy habits such as good diet and exercise.

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