Your Guide to a Full Body Home Workout Without Equipment

Working out is hard to fit in a busy schedule and gyms can get crowded and expensive. The good news is you can get a full body workout without investing in any workout facility or equipment. You can do the following bodyweight exercises for a full body home workout without equipment.

Upper Body

The following exercises can strengthen your arms and engage your chest.

Push Up 

Push ups are one of the standard upper body exercises seen in grade schools and bootcamps. They might seem boring but are an effective way to strengthen the muscles in your arm without any equipment.

To get the most out of your push up, feet in line with your hips and parallel with one another. Your hands should be in line with your and just outside your shoulder width. Try to keep your body as parallel with the ground as possible. Keep your hips in a line with your shoulders to create a neutral curve in your lower back. Tightening your abs and squeezing your glutes can help align you.

Align your neck by positioning your ears in line with your shoulders. Keep your head centered and look directly downward.

Bend your elbows to lower your upper body through your hips down towards the ground. Once you’re as close as you can be to ground, push up with your arms to resume your original position.

Burpee

This exercise is far from easy but is great for building your upper body strength and getting your heart rate up.

Start with standing. Align your feet and shoulders and place your arms at your side.

Go from there to a squat position, place your hands on the floor and pop the back of your body out until you are in a push-up position. Complete the push-up, jump back into the squat, stand back up and jump with your arms toward the ceiling.

Tricep Extension 

This exercise is often done with dumbbells but it doesn’t have to be–here’s how to make it a bodyweight exercise.

Start on your hands and knees. Place your elbows and palms in line and should-width apart on the floor. Place your feet behind you and straighten so your forearms are holding most of your weight. Keep your hands level with your face and your elbows tucked in.

Straighten out your elbows to move your body up and slowly lower back down to your forearms.

Core

These workout moves aid your abdomen and back.

Crunch/Reverse Crunch

Crunches work your abdominals to strengthen your core.

To do a standard crunch, lay flat on your back and bend your knees so the soles of your feet rest flat against the floor. Cross your arms in front of you and place your hands on your shoulders. You could also bend your arms behind you with your hands resting behind your head.

Try to keep your feet on the floor as you use your abs to raise your upper body. Once you’ve lifted your upper body off the floor as far as you can, gently lay back down using the same form as when you came up.

A reverse crunch engages your lower abs instead of your upper ones. Lay on the ground as you would to start a standard crunch but keep your hands to your sides. Instead of sitting up into the crunch, engage your lower abs and back. Raise your legs until your ankles are parallel with the ground. Then, slowly lower your legs and until your feet are flat against the floor once more.

Plank 

A plank is one of the most difficult core exercises but one of the most impactful. There are two versions: a high plank and a low plank.

You can start both plank positions by getting into a pushup form. Straighten your arms and press up to widen your shoulder blades and engage your upper back. Keep your legs straight and use your core to hold your midsection up. Your back should be in a smooth line with the rest of your body.

For a low plank, maintain the same position but rest on your forearms instead of your palms. In either plank position, the goal is to rely on your core more than your arms. If you feel it more in your forearms than your abs, you likely need to adjust your form.

Scissor Kicks 

Scissor kicks rely on different sections of your abdominals by raising and lowering your legs.

Lie on your back and rest your arms at your side with your palms pressing into the ground. You can also place them under your glutes. Engage your core and press your lower back to the ground as you lift your legs off the ground. Try to keep them at around a 45-degree angle from the ground. As you lower one leg, lift the other higher up and switch them back and forth before resuming the angle.

Keep your core engaged throughout the movement until you relax your legs back against the ground.

Lower Body

These moves work on your legs and glutes.

Step Ups 

Step ups are a simple and effective lower body exercise.

Use a bench or other solid surface that you can stand on and that places your leg at a 90-degree angle when you place one leg on it.

Step onto and back off of the bench. The last leg you bring up should be the first leg you take off of the surface. When you step up, place both feet flat against the top so you feel steady. Don’t tumble back down. Try to keep control over each step.

Lunges 

To perform a proper lunge, begin in a split stance. Your front foot should be two to three feet in front of your back one. Keep your shoulders down, midsection straight and core engaged. You can gain extra stability by placing your hands on your hips.

Bend your knees, lowering your body until your back leg is close to the floor. Your back knee should face directly to the floor.

Evenly distribute your weight between both legs as you lower and raise your body.

Squats

A proper squat engages your legs and glutes. It not only strengthens your lower body but serves as a way to maintain your flexibility and keep you safe when lifting heavy objects.

Stand placing your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Stand with your feet firmly on the ground, your shoulders relaxed and your core engaged as you sit back into the air. Once you go as low as you safely can, slowly raise back up.

Getting a Full Body Workout Without Equipment

Building strength evenly in your body can help you stay healthy. The only thing you need if your body to get a full body workout.