Home workouts can be a great way to stay active when you can’t make it to the gym or a fitness studio. While most homes do not have the equipment as a gym, there are plenty of effective workouts that can be done with minimal or no equipment.
We’ve asked three of our Personal Trainers to share their favourite workout plan at home to help you reach your goals, no matter what they are.
Remember to warm up before each workout and cool down after to help prevent injury and reduce soreness.
Home Exercise Workout Plan With Dumbbells
Dumbbells are great for home workouts; they take up little space and allow you to make exercises more challenging.
This dumbbell home workout plan from Zach Kingsbury, PT and Assistant Gym Manager at PureGym Cambridge Grafton Centre, uses both dumbbell and bodyweight exercises to challenge the body under weighted and non-weighted tension. It’s a full body workout that strengthens both cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
Repeat 2-3x a week or pair with other home or gym workouts. You can monitor your progress by tracking how long it takes to complete each exercise, and how this improves.
Workout format:
- 3 rounds
- 90 seconds rest between each round
- This is a EMOM (every minute on the minute) workout, which means you have one minute to complete each exercise before moving onto the next exercise – if you haven’t finished all reps you still move on. If you finish before the minute is up, you can use this time to recover before the next exercise begins
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Dumbbell thrusters
Round 1: 15 reps | Round 2: 17 reps | Round 3: 19 reps
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of each shoulder.
- Lower your hips into a squat position with thighs parallel to the floor.
- Explosively push through your heels up to standing. At the same time, press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are fully extended. This is one rep.
- Lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height as you squat down again.
- Repeat the movement for the number of repetitions.
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Squat jumps
Round 1: 30 reps | Round 2: 32 reps | Round 3: 34 reps
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides.
- Lower your hips into a squat position, keeping your back straight and chest up. At the same time, begin to swing your arms behind you.
- Once your thighs reach parallel with the floor, jump off both feet and straighten your legs. Swing both arms out in front to increase momentum and provide balance.
- As you land, bend your knees to soften the impact and immediately lower into the next squat jump.
- Repeat for the number of repetitions.
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Dumbbell push ups
Round 1: 12 reps | Round 2: 14 reps | Round 3: 16 reps
- Start in a high plank position with a dumbbell in each hand, keeping your wrists, elbows, and shoulders aligned. Your core should be engaged and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows, stopping when they are at a 45-degree angle.
- Press through the dumbbells and straighten your arms to return to the starting position.
- Maintain control throughout the movement, avoiding excessive arching or sagging of the back.
- Repeat for the desired of repetitions.
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Mountain climbers
Round 1: 40 reps (20 per side) | Round 2: 42 reps | Round 3: 44 reps
- Start in a high plank position, with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Engage your core by tensing your abdominals so they pull in towards your spine, and lightly squeeze your glutes to keep your hips low. Maintain this form throughout.
- Bring your right knee towards your chest, keeping your foot off the ground.
- As you extend your right leg back, quickly switch legs and bring your left knee towards your chest so that there is a moment where both feet are off the floor.
- Continue alternating for the number of reps.
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Dumbbell burpees
Round 1: 10 reps | Round 2: 12 reps | Round 3: 14 reps
- Begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand by your sides.
- Bend the knees and lower your hips back into a squat position, making sure to keep your back straight and chest lifted.
- Place the dumbbells on the ground in front of you, shoulder-width apart and jump or step your feet back into a plank position.
- Lower your chest towards the ground until your elbows are bent to 90 degrees, then push through your palms to return to the plank position.
- Jump or step your feet forwards towards your hands into a squat position.
- Drive through the heels back up to standing, bringing the dumbbells with you to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the number of reps.
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Dumbbell jumping lunges
Round 1: 20 reps (10 per side) | Round 2: 22 reps | Round 3: 24 reps
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
- Step forward with your right foot and lowering your body until both knees are bent at a 90 degree angle. Lean forward slightly and engage your core.
- Push through both feet and jump into the air. As you jump, straighten both legs and bring both feet together.
- As you descend, switch positions of your feet and bend the knees so that you land with your left foot forward and your right foot back.
- As you land, lower down into a lunge.
- Repeat the jumping motion, switching the positions of your feet again and continue alternating for the number of reps.
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Dumbbell Russian twists
Round 1: 30 reps (15 per side) | Round 2: 32 reps | Round 3: 34 reps
- Sit on the floor with your feet flat on the floor in front of you and knees bent, holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest.
- Engage your core and lean back slightly while keeping the spine straight.
- Lift your feet off the ground so that you are balancing on your sit bones. The further your thighs and feet are from your body, the more challenging this exercise is.
- Keeping your legs still, exhale and twist your torso and upper body to the right until you can lightly tap the dumbbell on the floor by your side.
- Inhale and rotate back to centre, before repeating on the other side.
- Continue until you’ve completed the number of reps.
Home Exercise Workout Plan For Weight Loss
Looking for a workout plan for beginners at home that can help with weight loss? PureGym Hatfield PT and Gym Manager Jay Madeline has you covered with this 30 minute at home workout plan without equipment.
While losing weight is achieved with a calorie deficit, exercise can be a great way to burn some additional calories and tone up, and this HIIT workout burns plenty of calories while toning multiple muscle groups.
Workout format:
- 3 rounds
- 40 seconds intense exercise
- 20 seconds rest
Warm up:
- 30 seconds of each exercise: star jumps, standing marches, downward dog, mountain climbers
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Crawl outs
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and then bend forward at the hips to place both hands on the floor in front of your feet, bending your knees slightly if needed to reach the ground.
- Engage your core and walk your hands forward until your body is in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- From the plank position, walk your hands back towards your feet, one at a time, while keeping your legs as straight as possible.
- Extend the hips to stand up. This is one rep.
- Repeat until the 40 seconds is complete.
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Shoulders taps
- Start in a plank position with your hands, elbows and shoulders aligned and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Engage your core by pulling the bottom of your ribs towards the top of your pelvis.
- Push through your left hand to take more weight and lift your right hand off the ground to tap your left shoulder.
- Return your right hand to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
- Maintain a stable plank position throughout the exercise, aiming to avoid twisting or moving the hips. You can perform from your knees if this is too difficult.
- Continue until the time is up.
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Up downs
- Start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge forward at the hips and bend your knees slightly until you can place your hands on the ground in front of you.
- Jump or step your feet back into a plank position, so elbows and wrists are stacked under your shoulders and your body is in a straight line from head to heels.
- Lower yourself down into a forearm plank one arm at a time, maintaining the straight plank alignment.
- Push yourself back up onto your hands, one hand at a time, returning to the plank position.
- Jump your feet back towards your hands, returning to the squat position.
- Push through the heels and extend your legs to explode off the floor, reaching your arms overhead at the same time.
- Repeat the movement, moving fluidly between the squat, plank, and standing positions, for the 40 seconds.
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Squat jumps
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your side.
- Engage your core and lower your body into a squat position by bending your knees and pushing your hips back. At the same time, swing both arms behind your body.
- Once your thighs are parallel with the floor, push through both to explode off the floor while simultaneously swinging your arms forward and overheard for more momentum.
- As you leave the floor, extend both legs to get more height.
- During the descent, begin the bend your knees. When your feet touch the floor, immediately lower back into a squat position and bring your arms back to prepare for the next jump.
- Repeat for 40 seconds.
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Lunges
- Start by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart and hands by your sides.
- Engage your core and step forward with your right foot, keeping your knee, hip and ankle aligned.
- Lower your body until both knees are bent at a 90 degree angle, with your back knee just above the ground.
- Push through the right heel and step your foot back to meet the left, then repeat on the other side.
- Alternate for 40 seconds.
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Glute bridges
- Lie on your back and place the soles of your feet on the floor hip-width apart, knees bent towards the ceiling, and arms by your side.
- Engage your core by pulling your lower abs towards your spine, pressing the lower back into the floor.
- Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to roll your hips off the ground until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Hold the top position for a moment, focusing on squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
- Lower your hips back towards the ground, maintaining a straight spine throughout. Stop before you touch the ground.
- Repeat until the 40 seconds is up.
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Butterfly sit ups
- Lie on your back and place the soles of your feet together so your knees bend out to the sides.
- Extend your arms overhead, making sure they are in line with your shoulders.
- Begin by sitting on the floor with the soles of your feet together and knees bent out to the sides.
- Use your core muscles to curl your torso up off the floor. At the same time, reach your arms forward to touch your feet.
- Slowly lower back down and raise your arms overhead.
- Repeat until the time is up.
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Leg raises
- Lie flat on your back with your arms by your sides, palms facing down, and legs extended.
- Brace your core by pulling your belly button in towards your spine so your lower back presses into the floor. Maintain this connection throughout.
- Keeping both legs together and straight, lift your legs off the ground until they are at 90 degrees to the floor, or as high as you can comfortably go without arching your lower back excessively. The movement should come from your core – avoid swinging the legs.
- Pause and then slowly lower your legs back down towards the ground, stopping just before they touch the floor.
- Repeat for the 40 seconds.
Home Exercise Workout Plan For Building Muscle
To build muscle, the muscle fibres need to be significantly challenged. While this is easier to do at a gym as you can use weights to load the muscles, you can build muscle at home – especially if you’re new to working out.
This leg workout plan for beginners at home from PureGym PT and Cluster Manager Chris Collett will help to build lower body strength and muscle mass, with no equipment needed. As you get stronger, consider adding a dumbbell to these exercises or increasing the number of sets.
Workout format:
- 4 rounds
- 40 seconds exercise
- 15 seconds rest
- 2 minute rest after each round
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Tip toe walking
- Hold something heavy in both hands in front of your chest, or in each hand by your sides.
- Brace your core and push up onto your tip toes.
- Walk around the room on your tip toes until the 40 seconds is up.
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Lunge on tip toes – hold (right leg)
- Stand with feet hip width apart and core engaged.
- Step forward with the right leg and lower your body down until both knees are at 90 degrees, with the left knee hovering above the floor.
- Press through your right toes to lift the heel off the ground.
- Hold for 40 seconds.
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Lunge on tip toes static – hold (left leg)
- Repeat the above on the left leg for 40 seconds.
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Sumo squat pulses
- Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, hands in front of your chest.
- Brace your core and then sink your hips down until your thighs are parallel with the floor, knees bent.
- Push through the heels back up half way to standing, and then pulse back down and up to this point three times
- After three pulses, push up to standing.
- Repeat for 40 seconds.
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Curtsy lunges both legs
- Start by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips or in front of your chest for balance.
- Step your right foot back and behind your body so that it crosses behind the left leg.
- At the same time, bend both knees and lower your body until both knees are at a 90 degree angle and your left thigh as parallel to the floor.
- Push through your left heel to return to the starting position, bringing your right foot back to meet your left.
- Repeat the movement on the opposite side, stepping diagonally back and behind with your left foot.
- Continue alternating curtsy for the 40 seconds.
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Lateral ski jumps
- Start in a standing position with your feet together and your knees slightly bent.
- Engage your core and jump off your left foot as far as you can to the right, landing on the ball of your right foot with your left foot off the ground.
- Without putting your left foot down, jump off your right foot to the left, landing on your left foot.
- As you jump, use your arms to help generate momentum, swinging them in the direction of your jumps.
- Continue jumping laterally from side to side, mimicking the motion of skiing, for 40 seconds.
You can more home workout ideas here, or why not combine some of these with gym workouts to keep things varied. Our gym workout plans for beginners is a great place to start. You can find your nearest gym here.