Unlike most fitness freaks out there, you would rarely find me running up and down the street, let alone in gyms. No, no!

I don’t adhere to these notions of fitness. I am not too fond of these places either. It offends my soul and makes me feel sick to the core. The room full of heavy machinery, the lack of natural light, with rock music blaring from loudspeakers, is not the aesthetic I want to start or end my day with.

While I can give you a hundred more reasons for my dislike for gyms, the fact that I won’t work outdoors is another story. Let’s just say, both seem to be very problematic. The idea of a random stranger staring at my sweaty self is unacceptable for me.

If you sail the same boat of shaky self-esteem, this blog is for you. If the work-life doesn’t spare any minutes for you to exercise, our home Workout routine can be your knight in shining armor.

How to get started

Let’s start with some words of wisdom by Greg Nuckols. The founder of StrongerByScience.com says: “The most important thing is just to do something.”

Turn this advice into your life’s motto.

The easiest way to ensure you are on track for a long, healthy life is to move more. A recent World Health Organization’s study found that a quarter of the world’s adults do not perform enough Physical Activity to keep themselves fit.

To weed yourself out of this fraction, you might start by playing touch footy with friends or work in a shed. But if you find the ad hoc approach tough to maintain, then you need a more structured program, at least for the first six months.

Also, try to alter your routine every six to eight weeks so you can keep progressing. Once you reach a milestone, reward yourself with some incentive to keep up the motivation level.

Four home workouts to hit the fitness goals

There is a whole lot of physical activity that you can do at home. Here is a bunch of ideas you can start with:

1. Circuit Training

Circuit training is a great way to cram a lot of physical activity into a short period. It works well because it keeps your heart rate up while targeting muscle groups. The process involves going through exercises in a cyclical progression.

You can design your circuit in different ways, based on your physical strength. But let’s keep things to a minimum here. Try opting for five exercises:

• Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
• Walking lunges: 10 each leg
• Jumping Jacks: 30 reps
• Push-ups: 10 reps
• Plank: 15 seconds

Within no time at all, you will accomplish a full-body exercise and a cardio routine. It contains plenty of benefits besides fat loss.

2. 30-minute High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Trainers everywhere love this High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It is fast, efficient, and can be adjusted to different levels of expertise. Essentially, it involves following a specific regimen where you continuously change the intensity and speed of your exercise.

The six-move workout below will take 30 minutes, and if you’re consistent with your routine, it will bring oodles of difference in your physique:

• For pop squat, perform a classic squat and remove the hop
• For butt kickers, march in position and focus on deploying your core to pull your knees at hip height on every step
• For skaters, skip the jump and take a big step at each side
• If reverse lunges feel uncomfortable, try split squats.

Each circuit will be seven minutes in total. Make sure you begin slowly and take rest in between the sets. At the end of every set, rest for 60 seconds. Do the entire routine four times.

3. 10 –minute Pilates for Butt and Core

It is hard to state how important a strong core and firm glutes are. Pilates is a great option to work on the two. It is a low-intensity workout that focuses on controlled, minute movements that target specific muscles.

As per Manuela Sanchez, the certified Pilates instructor at Club Pilates in Brooklyn, focusing on that control helps isolate the targeted muscles. It allows you to work them deeper. This is what makes Pilates so effective for working the core and butt.

Sanchez suggests the below circuit before a high-intensity workout to get your glutes and core fired up. You can even do it alone to do some extra core and glute strengthening that will keep you healthy and stable for other workouts.

• One Hundred: 5 reps
• Articulated Bridging: 8 reps
• Single leg bridge: 8 reps each side
• Criss-Cross: 30 reps on alternative sides
• Leg circles: 20 reps on each side

We suggest you take a good time learning each move. After all, butt-blasting asks for some serious dedication, right?

4. Upper Body Moves

If you luckily get the lower portion of your body in shape, it’s time to move up.

Personally, the routine given below is my favorite. You just need one thing to complete the circuit: a crazy level of determination.

• Push-ups: 20 reps.
• Dips: 2 sets of 10
• Deadlifts: 20 reps

If you are just getting started, try each move for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of rest. As you slowly get comfy with the exercise, increase your workout time, and reduce your rest.

Importance of warm-up

Working at home doesn’t mean laying down a mat and get on with the exercises. You can’t avoid warm-up even if you’re working out at home. Here are some tips you should follow to warm-up before your workout session:

1. Get into comfortable workout apparel (boxer briefs, trouser, or t-shirt)
2. Stretch for 10 minutes (side bend, forward bend, jumping jacks)
3. Start with fewer reps. and slowly increase the intensity

Verdict – the gym is not the only right path

The path to fitness does not only goes through machines. Remember, the gym is merely a means. The idea is to activate yourself physically. All those dumbbells, treadmills, and bench-press are the streamlined ways to do it. But not the only way!

Want to start right away? Alright, an eager beaver, take the plunge.