A passion for sports will help improve the general condition of the body and regain its previous shape, become the owner of an ideal figure and attract the attention of others. A set of varied and useful exercises is developed and selected individually, this is possible thanks to the huge variety of areas of sports activity.
The practical and effective anatomy of fitness exercises makes it possible to work individual muscles or their groups and increase their elasticity.
By attending group or individual classes, you can increase your level of flexibility and strength, strengthen your endurance and achieve some success in losing excess weight.
Exercises for home and rules for doing them
First, I will introduce you to the exercises, and at the end I will tell you how to use them, which exercises to choose with your own weight, how many times to repeat them and how often to train.
And immediately remember the first rule: exercises should be comfortable. If you are not comfortable doing the exercise, then you are doing it incorrectly. Get into the essence, read the description of the exercise, do not limit yourself to just looking at the pictures. Then you will get much more benefit from doing simple home exercises.
Exercises should be performed smoothly, without sudden movements. But not too slow either. There should be a natural pace. For example, take 1-2 seconds to lift your body or limbs, and about 2 seconds to lower them. And do not make delays in intermediate positions (in the initial and final positions).
When performing exercises, you need to breathe correctly. Pay close attention to this! Each exercise is given a description with breathing rules.
Almost any bodyweight exercise can be made more difficult by holding small dumbbells, putting weights on your legs, or wearing a weight vest. But you need to complicate the exercises only when you can easily cope with their standard form - without additional weight.
Some bodyweight exercises can be combined into one approach. For example, abdominal exercises can be performed consistently without rest. This will significantly increase their effectiveness. The abs will quickly become sculpted and muscular. If you combine exercises such as squats and push-ups, it will have a powerful effect on losing weight and improving overall fitness. Of course, your weight loss effects will greatly depend on your diet.
Each exercise must be performed in 2-3 sets of 15 or more times. A smaller volume of loads, as a rule, does not give noticeable results. Rest between sets until your breathing is completely restored.
And just remember that some home workout exercises take time to master. The fact that the exercise did not work out right away only says that you are not yet sufficiently developed in various body parameters: coordination, flexibility, endurance and strength in different areas of the body. By learning to perform the most difficult exercises for you, you will take a big step forward in your physical and psychophysiological development. After all, even ordinary physical exercises seriously develop the brain-muscle connection, improve the circulatory system and generally stimulate a lot of systems and organs, on the coordinated work of which literally everything in your life depends.
So here is my list of exercises for home.
Reps and sets: quantity and quality
Carefully selected exercises for men in the gym help achieve one or a set of goals:
- building muscle mass must be combined with a proper diet;
- getting rid of excess weight, diet or fat burners will help fight it;
- study of the relief with the obligatory maintenance of a proven drinking regime;
- maintaining the achieved shape, while it is important to combine exercise with a healthy diet.
Push ups
Push-ups develop the chest muscles, triceps, deltoids, abdominal muscles and thighs. During its execution, the whole body actively works and the overall coordination of the large muscles of the body is perfectly formed. If you can do more than 25 push-ups, this is also a great endurance exercise!
Push-ups are perhaps one of the most famous and popular exercises for home workouts. However, to my surprise, few people know the important nuances of push-ups. The convenience and benefits of push-ups from the floor depend on the correct placement of your hands. They need to be placed wide, 80-90 cm. Otherwise, push-ups turn into an uncomfortable, painful ordeal. Most people who say they can't or don't like to do push-ups are doing them wrong. When I show them the correct hand position, not only can they do a surprising number of push-ups, but they begin to think about push-ups differently!
Pushups. Initial position.
Pushups
Performing push-ups
So, arms are 80-90 cm wide. The body is in line with the legs. Gently bend your elbows until your chest touches the floor. Then we vigorously extend our arms and return to the starting position. When bending your arms, inhale, when extending, exhale. Perform 2-3 sets of 5-25 push-ups each, depending on your fitness level.
I foresee legitimate outrage from the female audience about push-ups. Well, many women really find it difficult to do push-ups in the usual classical way. But no problem! There are several options for lightweight push-ups that are perfect for women. For example, push-ups from your knees.
Knee push-ups
This version of push-ups is much easier. The main thing is to remember to place a towel folded several times under your knees to make it comfortable. And place your hands correctly: 80-90 cm wide.
You can use other types of push-ups: T-push-ups, lateral push-ups, corner push-ups and others.
It is also useful to read - push-ups, how to do push-ups correctly and a complete guide to push-ups with a load table.
Health improvement
Certain exercises with a fitness ball and Pilates can be classified as exercises that are necessary for the general health of the human body.
The general goal of such areas is determined by several factors that allow you to feel the health benefits of following a diet and leading a healthy lifestyle:
- thorough study of muscle layers;
- strengthening the abdominals and back;
- formation of correct posture.
Slow, controlled execution of assigned tasks ensures thorough work with all groups of designated muscles.
The intended purpose of such a technique is far from losing weight, building muscles and enhancing the functionality of the body, but such group fitness is perfect for improving overall health.
Squats
Squats are another extremely popular exercise to do at home, performed with your own weight or with an additional load. What is typical, and this wonderful exercise, many manage to dislike and do completely incorrectly :) Meanwhile, squats are one of the most useful and effective exercises for developing the body, increasing endurance, losing weight and improving flexibility. Plus, squats are extremely useful for strengthening your back, improving the shape of your legs and buttocks.
Performing squats
The most important rule in squats is that you should start the exercise not by bending your legs, but by moving your pelvis back and bending your lumbar region.
We stood up straight. Feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. The toes were slightly spread to the sides. The pelvis was moved back a little, and the body was tilted forward a little. And after that they began to bend their knees. It is also important to arch at the lower back to maintain a natural arch in the lower back. The lower back should not be rounded under any circumstances!
Knees – do not extend beyond an imaginary line drawn vertically from the toes. Adjust this by moving your pelvis further back and leaning your body forward more.
You need to squat as deep as possible. But the depth of squats will be different for each person, since it greatly depends on flexibility, general physical fitness, leg and body length. Try to keep your thighs at least close to parallel to the floor at the bottom. After this, vigorously straighten your legs and stand in the starting position.
A separate topic is the work of hands. I find the most effective squats are to raise your arms above your head. It is this version of squats that places maximum demands on the strength and endurance of the back muscles, and on your flexibility. If you can squat 50-100 times like me in the photo below, you are confidently protected from many of the problems of a modern person: back pain, lack of flexibility, heart problems.
Squats. Initial position.
Squats. Hands up.
But you can squat with other hand positions: hands forward, hands behind your head, hands in front of you, etc.
When doing squats, breathe like this: bending your legs - take a deep breath, straightening your legs - exhale. Perform at least 2-3 rounds of squats for 15-50 repetitions.
And please forget about this common myth that squats are supposed to harm your knee joints. This is only true if the squats are performed completely incorrectly! For example, like this (this version of squats will kill your knees in a couple of workouts):
How not to do squats
I recommend – Squats: 12 best options for all occasions
Back lunges
Lunges are great for developing balance and coordination. Absolutely every person who makes such lunges for the first time experiences “rolling” and loss of balance. But soon all the necessary adjustments take place and the lunges begin to turn out better and better. Using this exercise as an example, it is convenient to trace an important principle of training: the very fact of mastering an exercise is already training. This is extremely important for beginners to know!
The lunge exercise will perfectly pump up the muscles of the thighs and buttocks and help improve flexibility and mobility.
Performing lunges
We stand straight. Hands on the belt or slightly apart if it is difficult to maintain balance. We take a wide step back with our left leg, while simultaneously bending our right leg at the knee. Let's go as low as possible. Then we vigorously return to the starting standing position. Next, we take a wide step back with our right leg, while simultaneously bending our left leg. Etc. It is important to try to ensure that the main weight always falls on the “front” leg. Perform alternating lunges in this manner until you reach the desired number of repetitions. Usually 2 sets of 20-30 repetitions are enough. Moreover, each leg accounts for half of this number.
Back lunges. Initial position.
Back Lunge
Breathing: when lunging, take a deep breath, when returning to the starting position, exhale.
Here's what it looks like in motion.
Popular and existing types of training
When choosing exercises with elastic bands for fitness or techniques related to body plasticity, techniques for improving health, it is important to know all types of physical activity.
The focus of the classes and their intended purpose play a key role in the selection; focusing on the main differences, each person and beginning athlete can choose from the following training sessions:
- aerobic, characterized by a certain duration and the involvement of several muscle groups at once against the background of regular repetition of individual physical exercises;
- anaerobic, aimed at maximizing the consumption of energy consumed with food, accumulated in muscle tissue of various types, without oxygen replenishment;
- cardio training aimed at strengthening and stimulating the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system, preventing slowdown in blood flow;
- interval, targeted combination of training programs with alternating repetition of high-intensity and low-intensity exercises in several approaches;
- strength, for their implementation all kinds of sports equipment and attributes necessary to create and maintain a certain level of tension in the muscles are widely used.
Such areas have practical significance, and they can be combined with each other, but to draw up a development plan it is necessary to involve an instructor.
A professional in his field will help you clearly set a goal and select the most effective tools to achieve it, including the type of training program to obtain the optimal effect.
King's deadlift
This home exercise is one of the best for developing the muscles of the legs and buttocks. In fitness, it is considered an analogue of the deadlift exercise. But in home training conditions, when it is not possible to use a heavy barbell, the King deadlift is a very valuable alternative.
Performing King's rows
We stand up straight. We leave our right leg back, touching its toe to the floor. This leg helps maintain balance, but should not bear any significant load. We shift the center of gravity to the left leg. Then we simultaneously lean forward and bend our knees. We try to reach the floor with our fingers. Touching the floor with your fingers, reverse the movement and powerfully straighten your left leg, straightening your body. Return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise at least 10-15 times. Then change the position of your legs and perform the same number of repetitions on your right leg. King deadlifts should be performed in 2-3 sets of 10-25 repetitions on each leg.
King's deadlift. Initial position.
King's deadlift
When performing King's rows, breathe like this: bending your legs and moving down - inhale, extending your legs - exhale.
Forward bends
This is another home workout exercise that has been used by an entire army of fitness enthusiasts! Again, because people did not understand the essence of the exercise. And its essence is to bend exclusively through the work of the hip joints, and not through flexion of the spine.
Bends forward are great for developing flexibility and strengthening your back muscles. In addition, bending over with additional load perfectly develops the muscles of the back of the thighs and the muscles of the buttocks.
Performing forward bends
We stand up straight. Feet shoulder-width apart or wider. Don't put your feet together! It is not necessary. Start bending by moving your pelvis back and tensing your lower back - lower back. It should be bent to the position of a natural arch - lordosis.
Next, carefully and quickly bend over, trying to reach the floor with your hands. Your legs can be slightly bent at the knees. And you definitely shouldn’t keep them absolutely straight. This is extremely harmful to the knee joints. Not every person is able to reach, let alone the floor, even his own knees, if he holds his back correctly. But this is not a reason to be upset! Regular bending will gradually increase your flexibility, at the same time solving a lot of problems with posture and spine.
Bend over as far as possible and stop. Hold this position for a moment. Feel the stretch in the muscles behind your knees and at the back of your thighs. Then vigorously return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 2-3 sets 15-25 times. It’s not a bad idea to do 50-100 inclines every day in total per day at any convenient time.
Bend forward. Initial position.
Forward lean
When bending, breathe like this: when bending, inhale, when bending, exhale.
Pull-ups
Different variations of pull-ups develop the latissimus dorsi and arm muscles, and increase grip strength. Pull-ups can be done on a regular home horizontal bar, which is mounted in a doorway or on a horizontal bar mounted on the wall. Wall bars, rings or TRX loops will also be useful for pull-ups. The main thing you need to know about pull-ups is that even if you cannot do a single pull-up on the horizontal bar, this does not mean that pull-ups are not for you! This is too valuable an exercise to pass up. After all, there are a lot of pull-up options available even to completely unathletic people. For example, this option is on a low crossbar. By adjusting the height of the crossbar, you can easily select a feasible level of load and practice pull-ups seriously. These low pull-ups, also called Australian pull-ups, can be performed using TRX rings or loops. In the photo below, I adapted a regular power rack and barbell for low pull-ups.
This version of pull-ups is recommended if you are already able to do at least 5-7 pull-ups. Pay attention to your grip. It is narrow and the palms are turned towards you. This is very important and very effective.
Performing pull-ups
We take the starting position in the selected version of pull-ups. We energetically lift our body up as far as possible. We make a short delay at the top of the movement. Then we smoothly return to the starting position. Repeat without delay at least 5-15 times. In total, you should perform 2-3 sets of pull-ups.
Important detail: When performing pull-ups, always keep the muscles along the spine tense. To do this, move your pelvis back a little and keep tension in your lower back throughout the entire approach, even if your legs move a little forward when doing pull-ups.
Exhale when lifting your body, inhale when lowering.
Basic plan for the upcoming workout
Basic exercises form a comprehensive basis for loading all muscle groups, involving the maximum number of joints:
- squats with a barbell to develop the lower extremities;
- bench press with a barbell to strengthen the abs and torso;
- deadlift for effort, which contributes to the development of the upper torso.
An athletic training program consists of exercises that target different muscle groups and ensures their effective development.
Home core exercises
Gluteal bridge
The glute bridge is one of the best home exercises for your butt muscles and strengthening your back. It must be done if you are actively training your abdominal muscles in order to balance muscle strength and flexibility in the waist area.
Performing a gluteal bridge
We lie down on a sports mat. Bend your knees to an angle of 90 degrees. The distance between the feet is from 0 to 60 cm, as is more convenient. We place our hands on the lower abdomen. Raise and lower the pelvis. At the same time, we feel how the muscles of the back of the thighs and buttocks contract. The exercise should be performed in 2-3 sets of 15-25 repetitions. When lifting the pelvis, exhale, when lowering, inhale.
Gluteal bridge. Initial position.
Gluteal bridge
And this is a more complex version of the gluteal bridge, performed on one leg. This is a more serious and difficult exercise, used even by professional athletes. Its implementation is completely similar to a regular bridge, but one leg must be kept straight.
Single leg glute bridge. Initial position.
Single leg glute bridge
Sitap exercise
The situp exercise is one of the best for the abdominal muscles. Working out at home without a sit-up is a waste of time! As a rule, even the most unathletic people can cope with this exercise.
Performing sitap exercise
Lie down on an exercise mat. Bend your knees. There are about 60-70 cm between the feet. Stretch your arms towards your head. Vigorously stretch your arms toward your legs and immediately lift your body to a sitting position. Then smoothly return to the starting position lying down. When lifting your body, exhale; when returning to a lying position, inhale.
Sitap exercise. Initial position.
Sitap exercise
Lying straight leg raises
Lying straight leg raises may seem difficult. If so, your legs can be slightly bent at the knees. We use this exercise not only to train the abdominal muscles, but also to improve the situation with lumbar lordosis. If you don’t have enough strength, use this exercise more actively. And if you feel that when performing this exercise, your lower back is more tense than your abs and hips, then this exercise is not for you. It should be abandoned, like all other leg raises.
How to do straight leg raises
We lie down on the mat. The arms are bent at the elbows. Palms on the sides of the head. The head is slightly raised, the chin is slightly lowered to the chest. Vigorously raise your legs to a vertical position. Then slowly lower them down. Touch your heels to the floor and immediately begin lifting your legs again. Do not place your feet completely on the floor until you complete the set.
When raising your legs, exhale, when lowering, inhale.
Lying straight leg raises
Lying straight leg raises
By the way, this exercise is great for helping with stooping! It is important to keep your head up.
Oblique crunches
With this exercise you will perfectly pump up your oblique abdominal muscles and significantly improve your body flexibility. The first attempts to perform such crunches are usually awkward. But it doesn't matter! Gradually, as your flexibility improves, the exercise will get better and better. Your task is to achieve complete symmetry of sensations when performing it on each side.
Performing oblique crunches
We lie on our backs, hands behind our heads. We bend our legs at the knees and tilt them to the left so that the left thigh rests firmly on the mat. The shoulder blades are pressed to the floor. In this twisted position, we begin to perform body lifts. You should immediately feel the right oblique muscle contract. You only need to lift your body a little. But be sure to ensure that the distance between the ribs and the lateral pelvic bone (ilium) changes. This will mean that the oblique muscle is working perfectly.
Smoothly raise and lower your body. Then reverse the position by turning your legs to the right. And do the same number of repetitions. Usually 2 sets of 15-25 repetitions are enough for this exercise.
Oblique crunches
Oblique crunches
The oblique crunch exercise often produces a very pleasant feeling in the back (relaxation, warmth).
Combined crunches
As the name suggests, this exercise is a combination of two movements: the legs and the body. With our legs we perform something like a bicycle, and our body performs axial rotations. It turns out to be a very decent load on all the muscles of the abdomen and thighs. When practicing at home, this exercise is a godsend!
How to perform combination crunches
We lie down on the mat. Hands behind head. Starting position – the left leg is pulled to the chest, the right leg is held straight. The body is turned to the left. We begin to rotate the body to the right, while simultaneously changing the position of the legs to the opposite. We repeat at least 20-30 times in total on both legs. That is, each rotation of the body counts for one count. Perform 2-3 sets of 20-30 or more repetitions. The exercise causes a strong burning sensation in the abdominal area! Hold on! : )
Combined crunches. Initial position.
Combined crunches
10 effective exercises for the abs
Plank exercise
There are several different variations of the plank exercise. These are static exercises, the essence of which is to hold the body in a certain position. This is very effective for strengthening the muscles of the abdomen, back, and waist. When performing such exercises, it is important to breathe calmly and rhythmically, without delay. Statics are a very convenient type of exercise for home, since they do not require any equipment or additional space.
How to do a front plank
It is necessary to take a rest position lying on your elbows. You support your body using only your toes and forearms. You need to stand like this for at least 30-60 seconds. If you feel tension in your lower back, the front bar is not for you.
Front plank exercise
How to do a side plank
You must take the position shown in the photo.
Side plank
If your elbow hurts, place a folded towel under it. It is necessary to hold in this position for at least 30-60 seconds. Then you need to change the position to the opposite one in order to pump up the other half of the body, and hold out for the same amount of time.
Exercise boat
This is an excellent exercise for good posture and to strengthen the back muscles along the spine. Use it no more than 2-3 times a week, as the lower back muscles take a long time to recover, and unnecessary tension can accumulate in them.
How to do the boat exercise
We lie face down on the mat. We extend our arms towards the head. Raise your arms, body and legs above the floor. They raised it, paused for a second, then lowered it smoothly. Repeat at least 15-25 times. If this version of the exercise is difficult to perform, you can stretch your arms along your body, pressing your palms to your thighs. Or you can spread your arms to the sides (in an airplane manner). When lifting your body and legs, inhale; when lowering, exhale.
Exercise boat
Exercise boat
Strength complexes, sports class for endurance
Trainings that include strength and fitness exercises are united by the main goal, which is designated as increasing the volume of muscle tissue.
In addition, at a certain intensity of training, optimal development of strength qualities is achieved against the background of creating tension, and several different programs can be used.
Separately, you can select functional trainings, these are special areas of fitness classes necessary to stimulate the development of individual qualities.
These include agility and balance, coordination and precision of movements, which are necessary for athletes to improve their qualification skills.
Jumping arms up
This is a good jumping exercise that develops the leg muscles and trains the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The exercise also develops coordination well and causes a noticeable increase in heart rate.
Be sure to perform jumps in good sports shoes! You can perform 30-50 or more jumps at a time. It is worth repeating this in 2-3 approaches. Breathing is voluntary, rhythmic.
It is important to remember that this exercise is contraindicated if you have serious problems with the spine and veins in the legs.
Work with dumbbells
Strength exercises with dumbbells for men are an excellent option for both home exercises and gyms.
In addition to the dumbbells themselves, you need a bench. Stand sideways on a bench, place one leg and arm on it. Bend your back so that your body is parallel to your lower base. Bend your knees slightly.
Take a dumbbell in your other hand. The arm should be completely straight. Lift the projectile as high as possible, but do not lift by turning the body.
Having reached the top position, hold for a couple of seconds and then return to the original position. This training well develops the trapezius, latissimus and rhomboid muscles.
Burpee exercise
Burpees are perhaps the most challenging bodyweight exercise at home on my list. It combines push-ups and jumping jacks. And it raises the pulse very strongly. No wonder this exercise is used in programs to get rid of extra pounds!
Doing the burpee exercise
Take a lying position, as for push-ups, since the first movement will be a push-up. Do a push-up, then quickly stand up and jump up. After landing, quickly assume a prone position and perform a push-up again. Etc. Try to do everything as quickly as possible! And be sure to do burpees in shoes.
In one approach, 5-30 burpees or more are usually performed, depending on the level of training.
Breathing is voluntary, but must be rhythmic, frequent and deep, since performing the exercise quickly leads to a lack of air.
You can learn more about the burpee exercise here. This article gives a simplified version of the exercise and even explains where this military exercise came from.
Weight loss
High-quality and most effective fitness exercises for weight loss are combined into a group related to aerobic exercise. They are associated with the release of an increased amount of oxygen, which, when stimulating the blood flow, enriches not only muscle tissue, but all parts of the brain thanks to aerobics:
- step aerobics;
- fitball aerobics;
- water aerobics.
Due to the increased fat burning effect, these training programs are classified as intensive weight loss techniques that are beneficial for humans.
Thanks to the large number of variations and basic movements, it is practical to quickly lose excess weight with a customized program.
