12 Exercises for a Total Body At Home Workout

One of the number one excuses that I (and many others) have used for not being able to get a workout in is saying, “There just is not enough time to get to the gym”. Yes, even though I work at a gym, I can find it difficult to stay that extra hour when things at home need my attention. A lot of us are faced with the same dilemma that has existed for a long time: busy schedules that don’t leave any time to get in a workout. Even if that is not the case, gyms are tough to get into and feel comfortable. An at-home workout theoretically sounds great, but buying equipment is expensive and what would you even do?

This post will take you through 12 exercises broken up into lower body, upper body and core. This will not be an everyday workout, but can maybe this will be the kick start you need to ease back into the workout routine!

LEG EXERCISES FOR AT HOME WORKOUT

Step-Ups

• Although we always talk about loading our posterior leg muscles, we can’t forget about those quads! Step-ups are a great exercise to not only burn out those quads, but also add a bit of heart rate. Simple and effective!

Bulgarian Split Squat

• One of the toughest leg exercises to me personally! This exercise forces you to incorporate every lower body muscle you have to help you out of the bottom of the split squat position. Having your foot elevated on your chair just adds to the difficulty.

Squat to a Chair

• I love this exercise because it forces you to hit the same depth every time. By making sure you tap your glutes to the chair and burst back up can add some great work in for those quads and glutes. For an added challenge, you can do an eccentric 5 count down to the chair to work your muscle differently or add some resistance.

Elevated Glute Bridge

• The glute bridge is one of our favorite exercises in the gym to encourage glute engagement and work our posterior leg muscles. By adding the elevation, it increases the difficulty of the exercise. For an even greater difficulty you can add a band above the knees or go single leg!

ARM EXERCISES FOR AT HOME WORKOUT

Incline Push-Ups

• Push-ups can be a difficult exercise from the ground for most, due to a large load on your biceps and anterior shoulder. By using your chair to elevate your hands it can make it easier to do more reps that you thought possible! Or, say push-up are too easy for you? Then try putting your feet on the chair and doing decline push-ups to have gravity working against you!

Tricep Dips

• To work those triceps a bit, this is a great exercise to utilize that chair to target this muscle group! The further out you have those legs, the more difficult it is going to be. This will burn out those triceps pretty quick, however!

3-Point Bent Over Row

• Using the chair to have one hand on and using a resistance to row to your chest in the other this is a great posterior shoulder exercise! If you do not have any weights, try using a gallon of milk or a paint can. During this one, be sure to focus on shoulder retraction.

Seated Single Arm Overhead Press

• One of the best parts of the workout, sitting down! This one is great for isolating each shoulder as it works to press the resistance of your choice overhead. Try facing your palm in different directions (forward, neutral, toward you) to give your shoulder muscles different work!

CORE EXERCISES FOR AT HOME WORKOUT

Paused Bicycle Crunches

• All of the core can be done on the floor, but I suppose this one could be done on the couch too! Similar to a normal bicycle crunch, this exercise can encourage great core engagement. By pausing as your leg is extended, you force yourself to slow down and feel that good core burn!

V-Sit Tuck

• This one can be done right on the chair! By sitting in that V position and tucking your legs in and out, you can create some great concentric work for your abdominals. For an added challenge, extend your legs from side to side! Be sure to stop the exercise if you experience any low back pain.

Side Plank Hip Taps

• For this core exercise, you will need to head to the floor. As you hold a plank position, tap your hip toward the ground in order to get some great oblique work. Doing so while holding the plank works your abdominals isometrically as well!

Shifting Plank

• Similar to the previous exercise, you will be in a plank position. By shifting your weight in front of your shoulders and then behind it creates a more difficult version of the regular plank! The slower and steadier you control your body back and forth, the more intense the burn.