There are so many reasons you would want to know how to workout at home. One of the biggest reasons many of us choose to skip joining a commercial gym and rather exercise at home is that working out from home works out cheaper and convenient in the long run.
As someone who lost over 40 pounds by working out at home, I totally love working out at home because I can wear whatever I want during a workout as long as it’s comfortable. I also appreciate the fact that I’m able to save money and time, by not going out of my way to drive to the gym.
Sometimes life happens, and there are occasions when going to the gym is practically out of your hands.
Whatever your reasons for deciding to workout at home, I’m here to show you how to work out from home, and also give you a home gym workout plan that requires little to no equipment. All you have to do is to show up and do the work.
What I would like to take you through before I give you the best home gym workout plan is the actual how to workout at home process. This is because working out from home is not as easy as 123.
There’re so many things that can distract you and make it okay to skip your exercise routine every now and then. If you aren’t disciplined enough, you will find it an impossible mission to fully workout from home.
These tips are your road map to exercising from home. Follow them and you will achieve that dream body in no time, and will never want to go back to the gym again.
How to workout at home
1. Define your goals
By defining your fitness goals, you will be working out with intention, and this will ultimately help you achieve amazing results. Making the choice to be fit, and live a healthier lifestyle is a lifetime commitment.
This means that your fitness goals should not be for the moment, but rather, focused on the long game.
People give up on their fitness journey most of the time, because either the goals are unrealistic and hard to achieve, or simply because the goals were never defined from the beginning.
Related post: How to build a home gym on a budget
2. Plan how you will achieve your goals
So, once you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve from working out at home, you need to know HOW you will reach your goals. You have to have a plan in place, and this is where the best home gym workout plan will come in. Just having dumbbells in your home gym is not enough. You have to have a workout plan that you can follow at least 3 times a week.
Essential reading:
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3. Establish the best time for you to workout
While you can rightfully exercise anytime you want at home, you need to follow a daily routine and set up a time that you’ll be working out at home. Here’s why you need this:
If your exercise time is not set aside as part of your daily routine, you’ll eventually start working out less and less every day.
Working out at home needs to become part of your stay at home habit. If you get up at 7, wake up an hour earlier to workout. If you prefer exercising in the evening, set aside a time that you will be putting on your workout clothes and getting to work.
It’s hard to fall into a habit of putting off a workout because you are just not feeling it. This is how most treadmills at home end up being cloth hangers.
Your home gym equipment will end up gathering dust if you don’t make exercise a habit – it’s hard to stick to something that is not part of your routine.
Why I choose to workout in the morning
Working at home or at the gym out requires energy, and if at the end of the day, you are drained, you will find reasons to hit the couch than exercise room.
I exercise first thing in the morning and have made this my ‘me’ time. As a single mum, there are school activities that require my attendance, on most evenings. I also used to find that my social life activities would just demand a piece of me in the evenings, making it hard for me to get my exercise in.
Now that I choose to workout at home in the morning, the number of things that tend to get in the way of my exercise time is almost zero.
Read: How to motivate yourself
4. Determine the home gym equipment you will need
This is what is brilliant about working out at home- you can buy only the equipment that fits your goals.
You don’t have to pay the gym for machines that you never even use. With your own home gym, you can figure out the equipment that will help you achieve your fitness goals and then spend your money only what’s useful to you.
You might like: How to build a home gym
Another thing that you will appreciate is that if your money is tight right now, you are free NOT to buy any home gym equipment. There are amazing bodyweight exercises that I will give you to help you learn how to workout at home.
Home gym workout plan
This is a 5 day home gym workout plan, if you would like a FREE 30 workout plan for beginners, please click here.
If you are more advanced or are looking for a bikini body workout, then this FREE 6-week summer body workout is all yours!
5 day home gym workout plan
Monday
5-minute warm-up
Jogging in place – 30 sec
Arm circles – 30 sec
High knees- 30 sec
Hip circles – 30 sec
Jumping jacks -30 sec
REPEAT 2X
Round 1
Legs and cardio
- 12 dumbbell squats
- 12 dumbbell deadlifts
- 12 dumbbell backward lunges
- 12 kettlebell swings
- 12 glute bridges
REPEAT 2X
Cardio
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15-sec rest
- 20 jumping jacks
- 15-sec rest
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15-sec rest
- 20 high knees
Round 2
- 12 bodyweight jump squats
- 12 single-leg deadlifts (6 each leg)
- 30-sec wall sits
- 12 dumbbell side lunge (6 each leg)
- 12 donkey kicks (6 each leg)
REPEAT 2X
Cardio
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15-sec rest
- 20 jumping jacks
- 15-sec rest
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15-sec rest
- 20 high knees
Cooldown
Standing quad stretch -15 sec
Standing forward stretch -15 sec
Figure 4 stretch -15 sec
Wall shoulder stretch – 15 stretch
Tuesday upper body and cardio
5-minute warm-up
- Jogging in place – 30 sec
- Arm circles – 30 sec
- High knees- 30 sec
- Hip circles – 30 sec
- Jumping jacks -30 sec
REPEAT 2X
Round 1
- 12 triceps kickbacks
- 12 bicep curls
- 12 dumbbell overhead triceps extension
- 12 hammer curls
- 12 pushups
- REPEAT 2X
Cardio
- 15 burpees
- 15 sec rest
- 15 mountain climbers
- 15 sec rest
REPEAT 2X
Round 2
- 12 dumbbell floor chest press
- 12 bent over dumbbell rows
- 12 overhead shoulder press
- 12 supermans
- 12 lateral raise
REPEAT 2X
Cardio
- 15 burpees
- 15 sec rest
- 15 mountain climbers
- 15 sec rest
REPEAT 2X
Cooldown
15-sec child’s pose
15-sec tricep stretch
15-sec bicep stretch against the wall
15-sec forward stretch
Wednesday -Abs and cardio
5 minute warm-up
Jogging in place – 30 sec
Arm circles – 30 sec
High knees- 30 sec
Hip circles – 30 sec
Jumping jacks -30 sec
Round 1
- 20 Russian twists
- 12 crunches
- 12 reverse crunches
- 30 sec planks
- 12 flutter kicks
REPEAT 2X
Cardio
- 30 jumping jacks
- 15 mountain climbers
- 12 rockstar jumps
- 30 butt kicks
- 15 burpees
- 30 skaters
- 30 high knees
REPEAT 3X
Home gym workout plan- Thursday -Legs and cardio
5 minute warm-up
Jogging in place – 30 sec
Arm circles – 30 sec
High knees- 30 sec
Hip circles – 30 sec
Jumping jacks -30 sec
REPEAT 2X
Round 1
- 12 dumbbell squats
- 12 dumbbell deadlifts
- 12 dumbbell backward lunges
- 12 kettlebell swings
- 12 glute bridges
REPEAT 3X
Cardio
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15 sec rest
- 20 jumping jacks
- 15 sec rest
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15 sec rest
- 20 high knees
REPEAT 2X
Round 2
- 12 bodyweight jump squats
- 12 single-leg deadlifts (6 each leg)
- 30-sec wall sits
- 12 dumbbell side lunge (6 each leg)
- 12 donkey kicks (6 each leg)
REPEAT 3X
Cardio
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15 sec rest
- 20 jumping jacks
- 15 sec rest
- 15 rockstar jumps
- 15 sec rest
- 20 high knees
Cool down
- Standing quad stretch -15 sec
- Standing forward stretch -15 sec
- Figure 4 stretch -15 sec
- Wall shoulder stretch – 15 stretch
Friday- Upper body and cardio at-home workout
5 minute warm up
Jogging in place – 30 sec
Arm circles – 30 sec
High knees- 30 sec
Hip circles – 30 sec
Jumping jacks -30 sec
REPEAT 2X
Round 1
12 triceps kickbacks
12 bicep curls
12 dumbbell overhead triceps extension
12 hammer curls
12 pushups
REPEAT 3X
Cardio
15 burpees
15 sec rest
15 mountain climbers
15 sec rest
REPEAT 2X
Round 2
12 dumbbell floor chest press
12 bent over dumbbell rows
12 overhead shoulder press
12 supermans
12 lateral raise
REPEAT 3X
Cardio
15 burpees
15 sec rest
15 mountain climbers
15 sec rest
REPEAT 2X
- Cool down
- 15 sec child’s pose
- 15 sec tricep stretch
- 15 sec bicep stretch against the wall
- 15 sec forward stretch
Final thoughts on how to workout at home
You have to always remember that working out from home requires a lot of discipline. Just because no one is watching you, does not mean that you should phone it in.
You will only be cheating yourself at the end of the day because results never lie. What you put in, is what you are going to get. Nothing comes for free.
You have to always hold yourself accountable. Always go hard, and always be consistent with each and every workout. Consistency with your meals and consistency with your home workouts is what will get you your dream body. Consistency.
Thanks! Just got this home workout plan in your email and I am sooo doing it with you!