The Best Home Workouts To Keep You Fit, Strong and Healthy

If you want to stay fit and healthy during a quarantine, home workouts may be your only option.

Luckily for you, there’s loads of home workouts to choose from that can help you crush your fitness goals.

You can get strong, build muscle, burn fat, and improve your conditioning all in the comfort of your house, apartment or outdoor patio.

In this guide we’re sharing 7 home workouts you can do so you can come out of the quarantine better, stronger, fitter and healthier than you were before.

Why You Should Do Home Workouts

Even a few weeks ago it seemed incredibly unlikely that we’d be quarantined and forced to exercise at home, but now getting a home workout in may be your only way to stay fit.

Welcome to the new normal.

While we all hope we’ll be able to get COVID-19 under control ASAP, building the habit of staying in shape no matter the circumstances is important for our mental and physical health. Here’s a few other reasons to begin your home workouts now.

5 Reasons to Do Home Workouts

1. "I don't have time" is no longer an excuse

No commute. Less traffic. No group activities. No public outings. All of this adds up to more time in your day. What you do with it determines how you're going to look and feel over the weeks and months ahead. 

2. Boost your immune system

Fitness is proven to improve health and boost the immune system. Has there ever been a more important time to do just that?

3. Take advantage of the pandemic and turn a negative into a positive

Looking back 6 months or 1 year from now, would you rather say you barely survived the quarantine or that you THRIVED!

Take each day as an opportunity to improve your life - and your fitness and health is an important pillar of that.

4. Reduce anxiety + stress

Let’s face it - this pandemic is a scary time, and can cause the most relaxed person to feel some anxiety about the unknown. Exercise is proven to reduce stress and can be a great way to sweat out any negative feelings about these uncertain times.

5. Motivate others!

Did you get a great workout in? Share it! People are online more than ever before, and you can help spread your healthy vibe with the world.

How to Start a Home Workout Program

Sure, you can just jump in and start doing exercises at random, and that’s much better than just sitting on your couch all day...but like everything in life, starting with a plan will lead to better results.

There’s a few questions you should ask yourself when starting any routine:

What are your goals?

Do you want to get stronger? Faster? Burn fat? Have more energy? Choosing your goals first will allow you to build the perfect home workout for you.

Although adding 25 pounds of muscle to your frame may be difficult if you don’t have the equipment to support it, you can still get in excellent shape with nothing other than your own body.

Speaking of which…

What equipment do you have?

For athletes and fitness lovers, dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells are more in-demand than the disappearing rolls of toilet paper from every supermarket in the USA.

If you’re lucky enough to own strength training equipment, that’s great. If not, think about what you can use - jugs of water, exercise bands, outdoor areas, walls, pull-up bars, scaffolding...be creative and assess exactly what you have access to.

How big is your space?

Do you have a 6x6 area in your living room that you need to stay in? No problem, there’s plenty of exercises you can do there. Do you have access to the outdoors so you can run? A grassy space for high impact exercise?

Understanding your location will allow you to choose the best home workout program for you.

Are you alone, or do you have a swole-mate?

Current guidelines suggest we should limit exposure to other people, but if you currently live with your workout partner, you may be better off that most. Bodyweight exercises can be taken to a whole new level - along with motivation - if you have a workout buddy.

7 Home Workouts To Do During Quarantine

Ok, now that you have a good understanding of your goals, equipment, workout space, and whether you’re doing this on your own or with a swole-mate, it’s time to choose your program.

We’ve laid out 7 home workouts you can do with limited space and minimal equipment. Select the home workout that best aligns with your goals and current situation.

And remember...there has never been a better time to test your willpower, dedication and motivation than now. So get your workout shoes, pump up the music and train hard...the world needs you to be at your best.

 

HOME WORKOUT 1

No equipment needed. Conditioning focused. 

This workout by The Greatist was designed for college students to perform in their dorm room without any equipment. If you want to improve your conditioning using a variety of bodyweight exercises, this workout is for you.

Complete each move for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest between. At the end of all 8 moves, rest for 2 to 3 minutes. That’s 1 circuit. Complete the entire circuit 3 to 5 times.

• High Knees
• Butt Kicks
• Jump Squats
• T Push-Ups
• Mountain Climbers
• Down Dog to Up Dog
• Leg Lifts
• Supermans

 

HOME WORKOUT 2

What you'll need: kettlebell and pull-up bar

Do you have a kettlebell and pull-up bar? This 5 week workout program designed by kettlebell expert Pavel Tsatsouline featuring these two pieces of equipment can help you build strength, burn fat, and improve conditioning.

The program goes in waves, meaning each week and every workout is different. Some days are easy, some are not, but overall this program will definitely get you results.

 

HOME WORKOUT 3

What you'll need: one kettlebell

Are you one of the lucky ones to own a kettlebell, or even a few? If so, this home workout designed by Onnit for beginners is great for improving strength and conditioning.

Use this routine to build strength and burn fat, and develop the stability and mobility to graduate to more advanced exercises later on.

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence without rest in between.

When you’ve completed the entire circuit, rest 1–2 minutes, and then repeat for 3 total rounds.

Duration: 20-25 minutes
Frequency: 1-2x per week
Rest: 1-2 minutes

Exercises:

• Goblet squat: 10 reps
• 1 arm row: 8 each side
• 1 arm press: 5 each side
• Kettlebell Chest-Loaded Swing: 15 reps
• Shoulder halo: 8 each direction
• Hip halo: 8 each direction
• Around the leg pass: 5 each direction
• Kettlebell Chest-Loaded Swing: 15 reps
• Single-Arm Squat to Press:
• Kettlebell Chest-Loaded Swing: 15 reps

 

HOME WORKOUT 4

What you'll need: 1 dumbbell

Have a dumbbell? Awesome. If not, can you use a suitcase or gym-bag packed with rocks, or water bottles? If you have any weighted object with a handle, this program by Men's Health could be a great way to build strength and burn fat over the weeks ahead.

Circuit A

Do 4 rounds of this circuit

• Single-Arm Standing Shoulder Press
• Goblet reverse lunge
• Bent over row (batwing row if you have access to a bench or table)

Circuit B

Do 3 rounds of this circuit

• Hollow-Body Single-Arm Press
• Single-Leg Body-weight Hip Thrust
• Plank Row

 

HOME WORKOUT 5

Workout focus: bodyweight + HIIT

Performing a HIIT workout (High Intensity Interval Training) is one of the most efficient ways to blast fat, build muscle and improve your conditioning.

You don’t need anything special for this workout, other than your own body-weight and a timer. Designed by OCR athlete and trainer Charlotte Curtis, this workout is sure to blast fat and improve your conditioning.

5 rounds

• :30 on/:10 off each exercise
• lateral burpee
• side to side mountain climber
• pop squat
• plank jack pushups
• tuck jumps
• :60 rest after each round

 

HOME WORKOUT 6

What you'll need: outdoor space or a treadmill

 

Don't have any equipment at home and want to improve your conditioning and run times? Yasso 800's will boost your metabolism, burn fat, and get you in excellent cardiovascular shape. 

If you want to add an extra element to this workout, mix in some of these core exercises before or after your workout. 

 

HOME WORKOUT 7

What you'll need: outdoor space + pull-up bar

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005, this Crossfit workout is sure to test your will and endurance.

If you have access to a pull-up bar and an outdoor running area, or treadmill, this full-body workout will improve your strength and conditioning like nothing else.

For time:

• 1 mile Run
• 100 Pull-ups
• 200 Push-ups
• 300 Squats
• 1 mile Run

So there you have it - 7 home workouts to help you crush quarantine. Stay fit, train hard, and take care of your health. It's more important now than ever before.

And remember, recovering after your workout is just as important as your workout itself. Check out our workout recovery guide packed with info on why it's important to recover, along with nutrition tips + more to help you recover faster so you can get back to your workout harder tomorrow.