Are you a gym rat? Do you break into a cold sweat at the thought of going to the gym and sweating it out with a gym full of people you are not too chummy with? Or are you someone who loves to press the snooze button and get back to sleep again in the morning? All these things sound like terrible excuses! But even if you are not too fond of going to the gym, you can exercise right at home!
Do a couple of body weight exercises every day at home and soon you will snap out of your laziness and chart the course towards health and fitness. Working out is so addictive; once you get the hang of it, trust me you will miss the days you cannot work out. And of course, there are the healthy side-effects! Body-weight exercises not only help you lose weight but also help you stay healthy. Don’t believe me? Check out some of the top health benefits of bodyweight exercises here.
Bodyweight Workout – What are the Top Benefits?
So, should you do cardio (aerobic) exercises or strength-training (using your own body weight) to lose weight? Well, if you ask me, there is the importance of both in sculpting the perfect body! You cannot ignore the fact that you need to build muscles too. Yes, bodyweight workouts should be an integral part of your fitness regime, it is even more important to include it as you age, as there is more wear and tear in your muscles.
It is basically strength-training by using your own bodyweight as equipment. Now, the best part is that these workouts are completely free; guess why? You do not need any fancy expensive equipment to do them and what’s more, they can take care of your blood vessels, heart, lungs, bring about hormonal balance and increase brain activity. Let’s chart out some of the benefits here,
- Builds more lean muscle mass
- Helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
- Helps balance blood pressure levels.
- Lowers stress levels
- Promotes better sleep
- Increases energy
- Helps increase the usage of more oxygen by muscles
- Reduces joint pain
- Helps get rid of metabolic waste from muscles while resting.
- Brings about increased insulin sensitivity
- Increases resting metabolic waste
- Reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Stops muscle wasting in people who are prone to yo-yo dieting.
- Works out your entire body
20 Body Toning Exercises to Help You Lose Weight and Stay Fit
How do you tone your body? By doing bodyweight workouts of course, and the 20 mentioned here will help improve balance, flexibility, and strength. Basically, it will help work out your entire body!
1. Inchworm
The inchworm is a fantastic bodyweight exercise that helps warm up your entire body. Besides, it strengthens your entire body such as arms, chest, upper back, lower back and abs and helps increase your stability and balance.
Doing it right
Stand up tall with your legs straight and kneel down to reach for the floor. Ensure that your legs are not locked straight. Now reach towards the floor and then walk your hands, stretching them further to reach a plank position. Take baby steps and not giant ones. Get in at least 4-6 reps.
2. Bear Crawl
Bear crawls strengthen and increase endurance in your shoulders, arms, and chest, and they help increase the function and stability.
Doing it right
Bring out the bear in you. Drop down on your hands and knees, now go into your toes, brace your core. Now, reach forward with your right arm and right knee, follow it up with your left side. Now keep crawling for at least 8-10 reps.
3. Tuck Jump
Tuck jumps are great exercises to add to your HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and true to the spirit of HIIT, they burn an insane number of calories in less time.
Doing it right
Stand with your knees slightly bent and jump up as high as you can, bringing the knee towards your chest. Land softly on the ground keeping your knees bent and quickly go for your next jump.
4. Plyometric Push-Up
This kind of workout helps fast twitch the type II muscle fibers, which are great for regulating your blood sugar levels, initiating fat loss, and prolonging longevity.
Doing it right
Now, this is an advanced level push up, here’s hoping you have mastered the art of a perfect push up. Now you can start on a well-padded surface and lower your body down to complete a traditional push-up. Then, quickly and explosively push up to come off the floor and hang there for ten seconds. (Your fly in the air kinda moment!) As soon as you hit the ground, go for your next rep.
5. Mountain Climber
Mountain climbers are one of the best bodyweight exercises. They are a great compound exercise as they work several joints and muscle groups together. The continuous running motion works your glutes and leg muscles, and that includes your quadriceps and hamstrings.
Doing it right
Go on all fours and bring your left foot towards your chest while you get to straighten the right leg. Keep your hands on the ground and your core braced as you jump and switch your legs. Ensure that your left knee is extended behind the body while you keep your right knee forward.
6. Punch
Boost your strength and cardio and also improve your balance, reactivity, coordination, and agility with punching moves.
Doing it right
Begin with your split stance that starts with uppercuts, putting your right foot one step ahead of your left foot. Raise your fists up, pulling your elbows towards your rib cage. Now, punch with your left hand, by rotating your torso. Punch as hard as you can within half of your time, then start with the next right hand.
7. Plank jack
This body toning workout combines the plank and the jumping jack. When you add the jack, it becomes the perfect cardio workout, burning a great number of calories.
Doing it right
Get into a high plank position, keeping your core tight. Now jump both feet apart (as you would do in a jumping jack workout, while standing up, do the same on the plank position) then jump them back together. Maintain this at hip levels and do it as many times as you can.
8. Burpees
The burpee is a full body workout and one of the best parts of functional fitness. You can work your chest, arms, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and abs with thisbodyweight workout routine.
Doing it right
Start with a low squat and your hands on the floor. Now, kick your feet back so that you can go into a push-up position. As soon as you complete one move return to your squat position, leap as high as possible and then get back to the squat-pushup-leap move.
9. Plank
The plank is simply one of the best workouts for your core. It improves posture, ensures you have a healthy back, improves your movement and coordination and also tones your midsection.
Doing it right
Start by lying face down, keeping your arms on the floor and your hands clasped. Balance your body, as you raise it up on the elbows and your toes. Keep your back straight, brace your core and stay in this position for at least 30-60 seconds, gradually increasing the time.
10. Plank-to-Push-Up
Fire up your core with this killer move; it combines the best of both worlds, a plank and a push up.
Doing it right
Start in the plank position, now place hands one at a time to raise your body into a push up. Keep your back straight and your core engaged. Now balance your body on the forearms one at a time right back into the plank position. Repeat the moves starting with the other arm.
11. Wall Sit
Wall sitting is one way of improving your isometric strength and endurance in calves, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, also the adductor muscles.
Doing it right
Skip your chair, but you can still sit; no, not on the floor but on the wall. Slide your back down a wall till your feet are parallel to the ground. Keep your feet directly above the ankles and your back ramrod straight. Start with 60 seconds, this is enough to work your legs like crazy. Increase the time, as you start mastering the move.
12. Squat
Your legs love them, as it builds your leg muscles and includes quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. It also helps create an anabolic movement in the body, thus helping you build muscles.
Doing it right
Stand with your feet parallel or turned out 15 degrees, whichever makes you more comfortable. Now crouch down as you bend the hips and knees until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Keep your heels on the floor. Press through the heels to enable you to stand up.
13. Lunge
Lunges help effectively to work your glutes and quadriceps besides engaging your hamstrings.
Doing it right
Stand with your hands on the hips and keep your feet hip-width apart. Now, step your right leg forward and lower your body until your left knee touches the floor keeping it bent at 90 degrees. Return to the starting position and repeat the same on the other side.
14. Clock Lunge
Add some novelty to your same old exercise routine by adding the clock lunge. These lunge exercises help build strength in your ankles and the knees.
Doing it right
Once you get into a forward lunge, take a big step to the right and lunge again. Round off the semicircle keeping a backward lunge, then return back to the standing position. It completes 1 rep, try for 10 reps as you switch legs.
15. Lunge-to-Row
They work your leg muscles, tone your glutes and improve your balance and stability.
Doing it right
Start with a regular lunge. Now do not bring your forward leg back to the starting position, instead raise it up off the floor while you lift your arms overhead. Keep your legs bent at about 90 degrees.
16. Pistol Squat
Say hello to balance, leg strength, coordination and flexibility with the pistol squat.
Doing it right
Stand hip distance apart and bring your arms straight out in front of the body. Raise your right leg, flex your right ankle and push your hips back. Lower your body while you keep the right leg raised. Hold it and then get back to standing.
17. Curtsy Lunge
The curtsy lunge helps improve your glutes, abductors and adductors.
Doing it right
When you attempt the lunge, step your left leg back behind your right, bend your knees and lower the hips until you keep your right thigh is parallel to the floor. Square your hips and keep your torso upright.
18. Single Leg Deadlift
The single leg deadlift is great for improving your hamstrings and the glutes and increases your core stability and strength. Not only that, this full bodyweight workout increases the balance and posture and improves the muscle strength.
Doing it right
Stand straight, keeping your feet hip-distance apart. Lift your right leg slightly and lower your arms and torso while you try to raise the right leg behind your body. Keep your left knee slightly bent and reach the arms near the floor (as much as possible). Lift your torso while you try to lower the right leg. Repeat with the other leg.
19. Butt kick
Butt kicks warm your body, keep your heart rate up and help burn some major calories.
Doing it right
Start with running in place while you kick your heels toward the glutes. Now swing arms at your side, as your heels kick the palms. Ensure that the movements come from your hamstrings.
20. Squat Reach and Jump
Squat jumps help tone your calves, core, glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps.
Doing it right
You can also call this a cardio squat as you perform a normal squat and immediately jump up, extending your arms overhead. Aim for 15 reps first and then start adding more reps as you go. Start with your body toning exercises today and reap the benefits tomorrow!