When it comes to keeping fit, hitting the gym is a widely accepted way to do so. At the gym, there are no set limits to what you can achieve. There, you can build muscle, lose weight by burning fat, or train to your heart content. However, what happens when you have no access to standard gym equipment? How do you keep fit when you either become too busy to work out or unable to pay gym membership fees?
For many people, losing access to a gym ends their fitness journey. It is easy to understand why. Gyms today are “where fitness happens”. Along with the wide range of equipment available, the gym atmosphere itself is a motivating one. Because of this, absence from the gym for a long period can kill your drive to work out. Thus, bringing you back to square one.
It doesn’t have to be this way, though. At least not for you. You see, there are many ways to keep fit without gym or gym equipment, and we will share them with you here.
What You Need to Do to Keep Fit
Now, we assure you that it is 100% possible to keep fit without gym equipment. From our collective years of experience, we’ve come to understand that there’s nothing wrong with having a few props. Additional equipment like adjustable dumbbells, resistance bands, and jump ropes are excellent additions to your regimen. Compared to gym memberships, which can be pretty expensive, these are quite cheap. Furthermore, you don’t need to renew ownership once you buy them.
With that being said, let’s get down to the free workouts you can do at home without any major gym equipment.
- Push-ups
For decades, push-ups have been one of the standard workout routines for armed forces worldwide. And the reason for this is simple. They are one of the most effective upper body exercises you can do without leaving the house. They build bigger and stronger chest muscles. From our experience, they even add more “pump” to your chest than any machine at the gym. They’re also an excellent way to build and tone your triceps. Therefore, they are a great exercise for flabby arms.
You can perform push-ups in many variations. Some are the diamond push-up, the close push-up, Hindu push-ups, and the one-arm push-up.
In particular, the one-arm push-up is hands down one of the best strength exercises you’d ever see. For your home workouts, aim to do at least 50 – 60 push-ups every morning if you’re a beginner. Break them down into smaller sets of 10, or use your knees for support if you aren’t strong enough. For those at a more advanced level, you should do between 100 – 200 push-ups. And if these get too easy, try your hand at the one-armed push-up or its variations.
- Squats
Squats work on thighs, hamstrings, calves, and butts at absolutely no charge. Depending on your goal, you can build muscular or toned legs with just bodyweight squats. Like push-ups, you can squat at any time of the day. You can make your routines more challenging by using dumbbells with the exercise. This is what results into two variations of the exercise called goblet squats or Bulgarian split squats. These test your strength, coordination, and balance. And in some ways, they are even more effective at working your legs than the leg press.
By adding them to your routine, you squat way more than your normal body weight and take your overall fitness level to a new height. You don’t need to hire any expensive personal trainers, and there are other variations such as jump squats, close-legged squats, and Hindu squats.
For your squat routine, do at least 50 squats every morning if you’re a beginner and at least 100 once you get stronger. When it becomes too easy for you, increase your number or add one-legged squats to your routine.
- Pull-ups/Chin-ups
Pull-ups or chin-ups are the best workouts for your back. There is no contest here. These two are strength exercises that give nightmares to some of the most dedicated gym rats. To perform them at home, you need an elevated horizontal bar that can support your weight. If you have no such bar around, you can purchase a pull-up bar and fix it right above your door frame.
If you’re strapped for cash and therefore unable to buy the bar, you can use resistance bands to work your back instead. As the bands are versatile, you can perform a wide variety of free workouts without ever stepping foot in a gym.
- Dumbbell workouts
If you have a pair of adjustable dumbbells, you can become even fitter than most regular gym-goers. For example, you can perform dumbbell overhead presses and lateral raises for your shoulders. This very workout is important as big and strong shoulders are fitness markers for guys. It also helps prevent shoulder injuries as stronger shoulders suffer less strain when lifting heavy objects. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can always train your shoulders with handstand push-ups. Other dumbbell exercises are bicep curls, tricep extensions, and dumbbell rows.
- Skipping
There is a good reason boxers always train with a jump rope. Believe it or not, this little piece of wire provides one of the most effective forms of cardio you can do. Thirty minutes of intense skipping will see your heart rate increase to astonishing levels. This will then boost your metabolism to a level you never knew your body was capable of. For this alone, the jump rope is perfect for you if you currently want to lose weight. You’d feel your excess calories begging for mercy at the end of your session.
Conclusion
As you have seen, it is possible to become and keep fit with equipment-free workouts. Get the right equipment and immerse yourself in the different exercises illustrated above.