10 At-Home Workouts That Require Zero Equipment
If you’re living like much of the world right now (read: social distancing at home), do yourself a favor and get sweaty from your living room with an at-home workout.
Your gym might be closed or you might be camped out in a small apartment, but you can still get stronger and maintain your fitness with home workouts.
Not only are at-home workouts time-savers, but they’ll boost your mood and keep you strong for your runs. They’re also a great way to relieve stress amid all the coronavirus news updates.
To accommodate everyone’s different living conditions, these at-home workouts assume limited space and no equipment. Just lay down a towel or mat, lace up your sneakers, and you’re ready!
At-Home Workouts that Require Zero Equipment
How to Warm-Up for At-Home Workouts
Cardio Focused At-Home Workouts
Strength Focused At-Home Workouts
How to Cool Down for At-Home Workouts
How to Warm Up for At-Home Workouts
While working out at home allows you to roll straight from bed into your workout, that doesn’t mean you should skip your warm-up. The limited amount of walking you might be doing right now (I’m right there with you) makes warming up all the more important to reduce your risk for injury.
A proper warm-up gets your heart rate up, primes your nervous system for exercise, and wakes up your joints and muscles for moving in multiple planes of motion.
Here is a quick warm-up you can pair with any at-home workout or run:
- 10 alternating knee hugs
- 10 air squats
- 15-second squat hold
- 15-second yogi squat hold
- 20 high plank shoulder taps
- 30 seconds down dog hold
- 10 air squats
- 20 high knees
- 20 butt kicks
- 10 side shuffles each direction
- 20 mountain climbers, alternating knee to elbow
Cardio Workouts
If you don’t own a Peloton bike or elliptical, cross-training while the gyms are closed is a little tricky. But with these bodyweight cardio workouts, you can get your heart rate up and strength train all at once. Forget the treadmill and say hello to burpees!
Full Body High-Intensity Tabata
This Tabata session only takes 8 minutes, uses only bodyweight moves, and hits the entire body.
The workout: Alternate between moves in the set, moving for 20 seconds and resting for 10 seconds. Keep moving for 4 minutes. Rest 2 minutes between sets.
Set 1 (4 Minutes: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
- Alternating reverse lunge
- High knees – think of this as running in place, using your abs to bring your knee up high into your chest
Rest for 2 minutes between sets.
Set 2 (4 Minutes: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
- High plank hold
- Jump squats – for a low-impact option, modify with a regular squat into a calf raise
Want to follow-along instead? Try the entire workout led by Coach Holly here:
12-Minute Cardio Tabata
Tabatas are great when you’re feeling impatient and low energy because they only require 20 seconds of work before you rest. Try this 12-minute Tabata for an amazing full-body sweat.
The workout: Do each move for 20 seconds, taking 10 seconds rest before moving to the next move. Complete 4 rounds for a total of 12-minutes. If you need to take a longer rest between rounds, do so!
The movements:
- Jump lunge
- Mountain climber, knee to elbow
- Low squat pulse
- High plank to forearm plank (or as Coach Holly calls them, Up Up Down Downs!)
- Jumping jacks
- Butterfly sit-ups
Watch Coach Morgan demonstrate all the moves here:
5 Minute HIIT Workout
This workout is as simple as it gets, but don’t underestimate its burn! Set the timer for 15 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible of the below exercises for the number of reps listed.
If you have more time, rest for 1 to 2 minutes and complete another round.
The workout: Set the timer for 5 minutes. Do as many rounds as possible of the below bodyweight exercises.
The movements:
- 15 Jump squats
- 30 Russian twists (15 each side)
- 30 Speed skaters (15 each side)
- 15 Burpees
Get full instructions on the moves from Coach Morgan here:
Follow Along Full Body HIIT
This workout is short and snappy. You’ll do three sets of two different exercises, finishing each set before moving on to the next one. If you have a pair of dumbbells, that can be a great way to take it to the next level.
Set 1
- Squat
- Sit-up
Complete 12 reps, then 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of each exercise
Rest 30 seconds
Set 2
- Forward Lunges
- Push-ups
Complete 12 reps, then 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of each exercise
Rest 30 seconds
Set 3
- Burpee
- Squat jump
Complete 12 reps, then 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of each exercise
Done! Give yourself a high-five and cool down.
Want company? Do this workout with Coach Holly:
Strength Workouts
You don’t need much for a good strength training workout. Your body, some space, and some high energy music will do the trick.
Add these workouts to your workout routine on your cross-training days to build muscle and prevent injury.
Agility and Strength Home Workout
This bodyweight workout works your lower body and stabilizing muscles. And it helps with injury prevention for runners. You’ll move in multiple planes of motion and focus on balance and leg and core strength.
The workout: Do the following three moves for the reps listed, repeating 4 rounds total.
The moves:
- Reverse lunge x 20 reps
- Place your weight into your front heel. Don’t let your front knee move in front of your ankle!
- Running Dead Bug x 1 minute
- Lying on your back, float your knees above your hips, bending your knees so your shins are parallel to the floor
- Engage your core and slowly straighten one leg, hovering it just above the ground
- Bring the leg back to starting position and alternate legs
- This move will help stabilize your back and prevent injury in your hips, knees, ankles, and feet
- Box drill x 1 minute per leg
- You’ll need a little more space for this one. With anything you have in your apartment (books, cups, pillows), create four corners of a “box.”
- Hop from one foot to the other to opposite corners of the “box” for one minute, starting diagonally, then sideways, backward, sideways, landing with a slight knee bend
- After the minute is up, switch to the other leg with no rest. Take this slow, making sure you find your balance between each hop.
Repeat each move for 4 rounds!
Get a full breakdown of all the moves here:
5-Minute Full Body Strength Challenge
Don’t think you have time to workout? Think again! This bodyweight challenge can be done anywhere and trust me, it’s a scorcher.
The workout: Set a timer for 5 minutes. Alternate between the 2 moves, starting with one rep of each, then 2, increasing your reps as high as you can for 5 minutes.
The moves:
- Jump squat
- Hand release push-up
Do 1 rep, then 2, then 3, etc. until the 5 minutes are done.
Pro tip: Record your rep count and repeat this workout once a week to track your fitness progress. Come out of social distancing fitter than ever.
Here’s video demo of the two moves with Coach Nate:
Partner Body Strength Workout
Staying at home with a roommate or partner? Mix up your evening Netflix routine with this partner body strength workout.
The workout:
- This is a “chipper” style workout, meaning you and your partner complete all the reps of each move before moving on.
- Reps are listed per person. So, for example, each person should do 50 split squats per leg.
- You can split up the reps however you like.
- The catch? While Person 1 is completing their reps, Person 2 is holding some kind of plank, either front, side, or reverse.
The moves:
- Split squat x 50 per each leg.
Place your back foot onto an ottoman, coffee table, couch, whatever. Or keep both feet on the ground.
Alternate between partners until each of you complete 50 reps on each leg. For example, maybe Person 1 does 10 reps on each leg, planking while Person 2 does their 10 reps, going until both of you have reached 50 reps
- Wheelbarrow shoulder taps x 100.
Person 1 gets into a stable plank position while person 2 holds their legs. While holding the stable plank, Person 1 taps opposite hand to shoulder, making sure to keep stable hips, not rocking them back and forth.
- V-Ups x 100
- Broad Jump x 100
For a no-jumping alternative, do 100 side shuffles up and down a yoga mat. One yoga mat length equals one rep.
Watch Coach Holly and Coach Morgan tackle this workout together:
Core
With all the lounging going on, we need core workouts now more than ever. Imagine coming out of quarantine with visible ab definition! Here are a few core workouts to bring six-pack energy to your living room.
Core Tabata with Coach Holly
The workout: For each set listed below, alternate between the two exercises listed, doing each for 20 seconds and resting for 10 seconds for a total of 4 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes between sets.
Set 1:
- High plank shoulder taps for 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Hollow body hold 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Repeat for 4 minutes
Set 2:
- Tuck ups 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Superman hold 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Repeat for 4 minutes
Set 3:
- Side plank on your right side 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Side plank on your left side 20 secs
- Rest 10 seconds
- Repeat for 4 minutes
Do the entire workout with Coach Holly below!
10-Minute Plank Workout
This is the perfect ab session to tack onto a full-body workout or after a run. You just need 10 minutes and a towel or yoga mat. Not only do these moves work your core, but they also strengthen your upper body.
The workout: Complete each move for the time specified below, taking 15 seconds in between moves. Do 3 to 5 rounds in total.
The moves:
- Reverse plank. 30-second hold, 10-second rest.
- Single-arm plank. Keep your feet wider than normal for stability. Shift weight into one shoulder and pick up the opposite hand. Hold for 15 seconds on each side.
- Side plank. 30-second hold each side.
Pro tip: To make it harder, increase hold time or add a set of dumbbells to your hips
Watch Coach Holly demonstrate all the moves here:
Home Ab Workout
Combine core work with a sneaky bit of cardio in this quick ab burner.
The workout: Alternate between the two moves in each set, starting with 12 reps, then 10, 8, 6, 4, 2.
You will complete all the reps of one set before moving on to the next set. Rest 15 to 30 seconds between sets.
Set 1:
- V-Up.
- Mountain Stepper. Bring your foot to the outside of the same hand (each step counts as 1 rep).
Set 2:
- Hollow rock. Give a slight bend in the knees if your hip flexors are tight.
- Arch body rock. Lay on your stomach, and reverse the movement of the hollow rock. Squeeze those abs and glutes!
Follow along with Coach Holly in the workout here:
Cool-Down
Just like a good warm-up, don’t end your work out without a proper cool down to help relieve muscle tension, calm down the nervous system, and accelerate recovery.
Here’s a 5-minute cool-down you can do anywhere:
For many more at-home strength, cardio, and mobility workouts, download The Run Experience mobile app. We’re currently offering FREE premium workouts and will be releasing even more at-home workouts to our app and YouTube Channel in the coming weeks.