If you’ve decided to start an exercise routine, congratulations! You’re already on your way toward a lifestyle where you lose weight, look great and enjoy better health. But did you know you don’t have to join an expensive gym or health club to get exercise? You can work out right at home – for free! In this article, we’ll talk about:
- The best exercises you can do at home to lose weight
- How you can work out without fancy gym equipment
- The best ways to stay motivated to exercise
Let’s work out! Here’s how you can lower your BMI and exercise at home to lose weight.
1. Go for a walk
The simplest way to exercise at home is just to walk! If you want, you can invest in a good treadmill. That way, you can keep close track of your speed and how many miles you’re walking each day. But you don’t need to do that. If a treadmill isn’t in your budget, just walking in your neighborhood will help you lose weight.
Okay, we understand that walking isn’t technically exercise at home. You’re going to have to leave the house. But you don’t have to join a gym just to walk, and you can lower your BMI and lose weight just by exploring your neighborhood.
Walk the dog, or walk with your kids. If you prefer, just go for a stroll on your own. No matter how you do it, you can get some great exercise just by putting one foot in front of the other, burning around 100 calories per mile.
- Walking is great low impact exercise that anyone can do
- You don’t need a treadmill, but if you’d rather walk while you watch tv you can
- You’ll burn about 100 calories per mile walking
2. Do yoga
You don’t have to be a yogi to do yoga at home. Just grab a yoga DVD or search videos on YouTube and start working out. There’s really no equipment required – you can use a yoga mat, but a beach towel will do just fine. And yoga is another low impact exercise that will help you lose weight.
Yoga doesn’t look too difficult, but you’d be surprised at the workout your muscles will get! You’ll be stretching and toning muscles you may not even have known about, so you’ll definitely feel it the next day.
We love that just about anyone can do yoga – no matter how much you weigh. Even kids can get in on the action – just do a Google search for children’s yoga and you’ll find a ton of resources for your family. When you start doing yoga, you’ll not only feel the muscle burn but you’ll also see the numbers on the scale dropping right along with your BMI.
- Yoga is a low impact exercise you can do in the privacy of your own home
- It’s easy to find yoga instructions online or with a DVD
- Even the kids can do yoga, so go ahead and get the whole family involved
3. Take up jogging
For those of you who want to do more than just walking, you can exercise at home with jogging or running. You can actually burn up to 520 calories for every 30 minutes of jogging, and it’s considered “vigorous” physical activity. That means you’ll only need to get about 75 minutes per week.
Jogging isn’t for everyone. If you have joint pain or arthritis, for example, you may feel uncomfortable jogging or running. If you have a heart condition, it’s a good idea to make sure jogging is right for you, so talk to your doctor.
With that said, a healthy routine of jogging is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health and lower your BMI. You can lose weight quite quickly when you jog regularly, especially if you also follow a healthy diet.
- Jogging isn’t for everyone, but for many people it’s a great way to lower your BMI
- If you have joint disease or a heart condition, talk to your doctor before you start jogging
- Jogging is considered vigorous, so you’ll only need to do it around 75 minutes each week
4. Bodyweight workouts
You can improve your muscle tone, lose weight and lower your BMI by doing bodyweight exercises at home. Bodyweight exercise is just what it sounds like – you’re going to build your strength by lifting your own body weight.
You’ve probably done some of these exercises before. Lunges, for instance, are an example of bodyweight exercise. So is the push-up and the plank. You can actually work every major muscle group in your body when you do this type of exercise and you’ll begin to see results very quickly.
For ideas on how to build a complete bodyweight exercise routine, just do a search online, or download an app. You’ll find total body workouts on YouTube, too, so look around and find something that looks interesting to you. You’ll also find recommendations as to how many repetitions of each exercise you should do for optimal results.
- You can exercise at home using nothing but your own body weight
- Bodyweight exercises are familiar to most people, like lunges and squats
- Search around online to find exercise routines you’d like to follow
5. Use resistance bands
Resistance bands are like giant rubber bands that you use for strength training. They’re very inexpensive and you can buy them online, in your neighborhood mass market retailer or in a fitness shop. Once you have a quality set of resistance bands, you have everything you need to get a full body workout at home.
Like bodyweight exercises, you’ll find many resources online to help you use your bands the right way. Your bands may even come with an instructional booklet or an app that will demonstrate the exercises you can do.
In some ways, using resistance bands is even more effective at helping you build muscle and lower your BMI than free weights. Your muscles will work differently when you use bands, making them an effective way to help you lose weight.
- Resistance bands are inexpensive and available in many stores
- You can work all your major muscle groups with resistance bands
- Some band sets come with instructional books or connect to apps with workouts demonstrated
6. Get a stability ball
You’ve probably seen stability balls before. They’re giant balls that inflate to between 45 and 75 centimeters and you can get a full body workout at home using your stability ball to exercise. Look online to determine which size you need, but generally speaking if you’re up to 5 feet tall you’ll need a 45 centimeter ball. If you’re over 6 feet, you’ll need a 75 centimeter ball.
So what types of exercise can you do with a stability ball? Well, you’ll drop your BMI and lose weight by doing hamstring curls, decline pushups, wall squats, hip thrusts and more. As with exercise bands, your stability ball will probably come with an instructional booklet. If not, there are videos online that will teach you how to use your ball.
When you’re not exercising with your stability ball, you can use it as a chair. This is said to help you develop your core strength even when you’re not exercising. It doesn’t count as a workout, but you may see some benefit to your balance.
- Stability balls provide an easy and cheap way to work out at home
- There are different sizes of balls, so be sure you get the right one for your height
- When you’re not working out, consider using your stability ball as a chair
7. Install a home gym
If you’re really serious about losing weight and dropping your BMI, you might be interested in setting up a home gym. You can do this in a spare room or even the garage, and invest in any type of equipment you want.
There are oodles of manufacturers out there who will deliver your equipment to your home. Choose from treadmills, elliptical trainers, weight benches, ankle weights, rowing machines and much, much more. Customize your fitness plan any way you like and get the benefits of a health club without ever leaving your home.
Home gym equipment can be pricey, so be sure to shop around. Second hand equipment can usually be found, too. Check with your online marketplace, thrift stores and auction sites to find home gym equipment at a big discount compared to buying it new.
- If you’re committed to working out at home, consider investing in fitness equipment
- You can install a complete home gym in your garage or a spare room
- Equipment can be expensive, but you can usually find second hand equipment online or in thrift stores
Conclusion
You don’t have to join an expensive gym to lose weight and lower your BMI – you can work out right at home. Choose one, two or more of these strategies for exercising at home, and enjoy watching your weight drop and your health improve, all from the privacy of your own home.