To help you stay on track no matter how busy life gets, we asked Certified Personal Trainer Tracy McMaster, to share her top four effective home workout exercises that don't require a gym and can be done in as little as fifteen minutes! Using only your own body weight and an exercise band, these exercises can help you create a total-body at-home workout that suits your lifestyle, wherever you are.
To get the most out of this killer workout, we suggest doing each exercise 3 x 1 minute with a 20-second rest in between each exercise.
1. Push-up!
Push-ups not only help tone your upper body but it also helps you build a stronger midsection! You can modify intensity by changing dropping knees to the ground.
Push-ups not only help tone your upper body but it also helps you build a stronger midsection! You can modify intensity by changing dropping knees to the ground.
Direction:
Place hands wider than shoulders and have your feet hip-width apart and toes curled under (alternatively drop knees to the ground). Bend elbows to lower body toward the bottom position while maintaining proper alignment throughout the movement. Bring bellybutton to spine and keep shoulders, hips, knees an, ankles aligned. Engage the muscles in the core and push up through the hands to lift the torso and legs.
Place hands wider than shoulders and have your feet hip-width apart and toes curled under (alternatively drop knees to the ground). Bend elbows to lower body toward the bottom position while maintaining proper alignment throughout the movement. Bring bellybutton to spine and keep shoulders, hips, knees an, ankles aligned. Engage the muscles in the core and push up through the hands to lift the torso and legs.
Primary Muscles worked:
- Pectoralis major, deltoid, triceps, core and trunk
2. Front Kicks with a Squat
The squat is a fundamental body movement that strengthens and tones the lower body.
Direction:
Stand tall with back straight, feet hip-width apart and pull your belly-button towards your spine. Squat down and make sure the weight shifts into your heels. Push up out of your squat and shift weight into your left leg to kick out your right leg in front of you. Squat down again (making sure the weight shifts into your heels), push up out of your squat and shift weight into your right leg to kick out your left leg in front of you. Repeat this sequence three times.
Primary muscles worked:
-Glutes, quads, and hamstrings
Primary muscles worked:
-Glutes, quads, and hamstrings
3. Lat Row with a band
The row is one of the most effective exercises for targeting your back muscles.
Direction:
Grab each handle and place feet on band hip-width apart and toes forward. Stand tall with back straight, belly engaged. Bend forward from the waist with a flat back, arms extended under the shoulders. Have palms facing towards the body and pull up on the band for 12 reps. Repeat three times.
Grab each handle and place feet on band hip-width apart and toes forward. Stand tall with back straight, belly engaged. Bend forward from the waist with a flat back, arms extended under the shoulders. Have palms facing towards the body and pull up on the band for 12 reps. Repeat three times.
Primary muscles worked:
Lats, shoulders, Biceps, Hamstrings and glutes
4. Side Plank Knee Pull
This is a core exercise, but planks also help to tone your shoulders, obliques, and legs from heel to hip. This exercise also strengthens the deep muscles of your low back.
Direction:
Lie on your side and position yourself on your bottom elbow and the side of your feet. Lift hips in the air, tuck booty under and engage the core. Make sure to form a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Keep torso stable, raise top leg to top elbow and repeat for 12 reps. Repeat three times.
Primary Muscles worked:
- Arms, wrists, balance, upper/lower abs and obliques
