Whether you are a beginner wanting to start a fitness routine or someone who simply enjoys the liberty of at-home workouts, then this guide is for you! From convenience to privacy, there are many reasons why you might want to start incorporating home workouts into your routine.  All you need is to adopt the right mindset about fitness, stay motivated, spend some time warming up and make it happen. With a little bit of effort, a home workout can be just as effective as a gym workout.

Elite Master Trainer at Fitness First, Abhinav Malhotra shares his best home exercises that you can easily and safely incorporate into your fitness routine.  With a couple of simple body weight workouts, you can build muscle and enhance your strength while improving balance and flexibility.

Warm-up

Warming up is the most important step of any workout routine. No matter how tempting it is to directly dive in, try to invest a couple of minutes warming up to increase your heart rate and release any muscle tension. The most important reason to warm-up is to prevent any acute injuries. Begin with on-the-spot exercises such as jogging and jumping jacks, for 30-seconds each.

Planks

Now that you are all warmed up, it’s time to plank! Planking is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your entire body at once. Planking is a form of isometric exercise that works by holding one position until you can no longer keep your body in proper alignment, and you start to feel your muscles burn.  Start by making sure that your shoulders are away from your ears and your heels are aligned over the balls of your feet. The right way to plank is by pushing up with your elbows under your shoulders, squeezing your abs while keeping a straight back and, contracting your glutes and quads.

Wall squats

Wall squats are perfect when it comes to strengthening your glutes, quads and hamstrings. This exercise requires you to hold a seated position for up to 60 seconds against a vertical surface. If you like a little bit of a challenge, then try extending one leg alternatively and shift your body weight on the other leg. This exercise will increase your muscular endurance while burning a lot of calories.

Burpees

Are your ready for a full body workout? Burpees may look simple and straight-forward from afar but try doing a burpee for 30-seconds and you will find out how powerful this exercise is.  Burpees work a wide range of muscles which boosts your cardiovascular fitness while improving strength and mobility.

Tip: There are two steps to a classic burpee – a pushup followed by a leap in the air, or if you are up for a challenge, try throwing in a couple more press-ups to ramp up the difficulty.

Walking lunges

This is another great exercise to work your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. The secret to doing lunges correctly is control. Step one leg forward and bend your knee to a 90-degree angle by lowering your hip. Make sure your knees and ankles are aligned. Gently lower your back knee without touching the ground and then press the heels of your forward foot to the ground and walk forward stepping into a lunge. With three sets of 20, your thighs will feel the workout.

Mountain climbers

Mountain climbers work your upper and lower body. Not only does this exercise get your blood pumping and burn calories but it also improves hip joint mobility and core stability. Ideally, you should try to complete at least three sets of 15-20 reps on each side. Alternatively, you can swap between walking lunges and mountain climbers for three sets, a set of mountain climbers and then a set of lunges.