There are those who believe that trying to lose weight without an available gym is a fight against the current… but is that so? For many people, losing a little weight is an important goal, so we must clarify this issue. It is perfectly possible to make progress on our weight loss goals by exercising in the comfort of our home.
Let’s talk about this in high intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short bouts of intense exercise alternating with periods of less intense recovery. It is, therefore, all a question of intensity – and we mean HIGH INTENSITY!
Squats with the weight of the body and delicate and little enthusiastic jumps for a minute do not count as high intensity, since they will not stimulate the metabolism in the way necessary to burn those calories.
Let’s describe an assortment of exercises for the upper and lower body, as well as for the full body, perfect for losing weight at home. You can also choose and combine the exercises in different ways, creating your own workouts.
Ready? Let’s do this.
Full Body Exercises For Weight Loss At Home
Some of the most intense exercises can be a considerable difficulty, but all four are worth the effort, helping you to burn calories and tone muscles all over your body. They can be grouped in the same category as a plan, or mixed with upper or lower body exercises for greater variety.
1. Burpees
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Bend your knees (but not your back) and place your hands on the floor
- Jump or step back until you’re in a plank position
- Lower your chest to the floor
- Rise up to the plank position and jump forward with your feet
- Push your legs and jump in the air as high as you can
- Bend your knees on landing and start the next repetition immediately
Regression – Take a step, instead of a jump, backwards or forwards, and keep your knees in down during movement. If you can’t take the jumps, skip step 5 and work within your limits.
2. Bear Crawl
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Place your hands on the floor, under your shoulders, and your knees bent, about 10 cm from the floor, directly below your hips
- Advance your left hand and right foot a little bit, and then repeat to the opposite side
- With each step forward or back, you should concentrate on fully activating your abs to avoid twisting your hips
- Remember to breathe throughout the exercise
Regression – If you start to experience difficulties, let your knees rest for a moment before starting the next repetition
3. Mountain Climbers (“Climber”)
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Starts in the plank position (hands under the shoulders and legs stretched with the knees above the floor)
- Supporting the weight of your body on your arms, bend one knee forward, towards the space between your elbows
- Return the leg to the starting position and repeat with the opposite side
- It is desirable that the exercise be performed at speed, but without losing the correct technique
Regression – simply perform the exercise more slowly to reduce the intensity
4. Sit Throughs
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Position yourself with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips and about 10cm above the floor (as for Bear Crawl )
- Lift your left hand off the floor, while crossing your right leg, under the body , towards the left side
- Your hip should be just a few inches off the floor in the final position
Regression – Keeps both hands on the floor for added stability and performs a less wide movement.
Lower Body Exercises for Weight Loss at Home
The lower part of our body includes some of the largest muscle groups. Training them will burn calories effectively. In this section, we will tone the thighs, develop the glutes and get the heart pumping.
5. Squat Jumps (Squats With Jump)
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Place your feet hip-width apart or slightly apart (as you feel more comfortable)
- Squat until your hips are parallel to the floor or until you cannot lower your body without bending your lower back
- From the deepest position of the squat, push yourself up with your feet as hard as you can, to jump into the air
- Keep your chest high and your eyes straight
- On landing, bend your knees to absorb the impact and start the next repetition immediately
Regression – Performs without jumping, like a simple squat with body weight
6. Skaters (One Foot Side Jumps)
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Starts the foot movement, with feet shoulder-width apart, and with the knees and hips slightly flexed.
- Jumps to the left giving momentum with the right foot and orienting the movement with the left
- Lands on the left foot and bends the knee to absorb the impact (try to keep the right foot from touching the ground)
- Repeat with the opposite side
Regression – Let both feet touch the ground between repetitions, but always try to have the force exerted by just one foot .
7. Burpee Thrusters
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Bend your knees (not your back) and place your hands on the floor
- Jump or step back to stay in a plank position
- Jump with your feet forward, raising your hands at the same time, to land in the crouched position
- In this position, you should try to have a high chest, straight back and hips parallel to the floor
Regression – Step with your feet instead of heels, to reduce the intensity
8. High Knees (High Knees)
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- It consists simply of running in the same place, but raising your knees to your hips
- Keep contact time between your foot and the ground as small as possible
- Use your arms to help you maintain a strong, rhythmic movement
Regression – Slows down and lowers the height at which you raise your knees to reduce the intensity of the movement
Upper Body Exercises for Weight Loss at Home
It is completely possible to do a workout focused on the upper body with intensity and that puts the heart to work, to burn calories. For maximum effect, try mixing two or three of these exercises with the full body and lower body workouts.
9. Plank Walks
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Starts in the plank position, with your feet about the width of your hips
- Lower your right elbow towards the floor, then your left
- Contract your belly and tighten your abdominals to minimize the twisting of your hips (they should keep pointing downward during the movement)
- Return with your hands to the starting position, starting with the right and then moving to the left
- Repeat the movement, but alternate the arm that moves first after each repetition
Regression – Spread your feet to increase stability
10. Inchworm With Jump (“Worm Walk With Jump”)
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Standing and with your knees slightly bent, place your hands on the floor, and then move them forward until you are in the plank position
- Activates the abs, in the same way as for the Plank Walks , to prevent the hips from bulging and being below shoulder height.
- Make the return movement with your hands to return to the starting position, ideally with your knees only slightly bent (you can bend them more if necessary)
- After standing up again, bend your knees and perform a squat jump
- When landing, make sure your knees are bent to absorb the impact
Regression – If the lack of flexibility is an obstacle, bend your knees more when you put and remove your hands from the floor. To reduce the intensity, don’t jump
11. T Press Ups
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Place your hands immediately beside your shoulders and activate your abdominals (make sure you don’t arch your lower back and let your hips drop)
- Lower your chest so that your shoulders are in line with your elbows, or slightly lower
- Think about the distance your chest travels, not your face. Resist the temptation we all feel to move our heads like a pigeon with each repetition – you know what we’re talking about!
- Returns to the starting position, exerting strength with the hands and deliberately contracting the chest muscles
- At the top, rotate your entire body so that you face the wall, while raising your arm on the same side so that the wheels
- In this side plank position, let your ankles touch the floor (remember, full rotation)
Regression – Do not perform rotation or flexion to reduce the difficulty of this exercise.
12. Dive Bomber Press-Ups
Series: 3 – 4 | Repetitions: As many as possible in 30 seconds
- Begin the exercise with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet hip-width apart, with your hips elevated so that your head is down.
- Lower the chest towards the hands, bending the elbows
- The chest should pass through the arms as close to the hands as possible
- The hips should follow the trunk and end the movement just above the floor
- Complete the movement by straightening your arms and lifting your chest
- To return to the starting position, lower your chest again and lift your hips while pushing with your arms
Regression – This is an advanced exercise, so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t. If you have difficulty, do traditional push-ups instead. For something a little more difficult, try a shoulder flexion (also in the video)
Final Message
No matter what your fitness level is, there are always ways to create a challenge at home, with little or no equipment.
You don’t need to feel the pressure of other people’s judgments about what constitutes your training.
Train in the comfort of your own home, or in a family environment, such as the nearest park, without failing to make incredible progress in your goals, whether these relate to weight loss, physical conditioning or simply Cheers. The only thing you need to do is to work as hard as possible for those 30 seconds.
We recommend that you try a full body workout, another for the lower body, and another for the upper part, giving your maximum effort and speed without losing the correct technique. Think in terms of time instead of repetitions: the goal is to get as many repetitions as possible within the available time window.
Be First to Comment