10 Quick Exercises For When You Can’t Make It To The Gym
Working out is essential for your overall health. But sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t make it to the gym! When that happens, don’t skimp out on your workout! These quick exercises target muscles in your whole body and leave you feeling energized and empowered!
1. Full Body
It is always important to warm up before exercising your muscles! These quick exercises target muscles in your upper and lower body and will get your blood pumping!
Start with some push-ups. I recommend doing 3 sets of 15 push-ups. You can choose to do full push-ups, or go down to your knees. It is always better to have good form and get fewer reps than to have bad form and get more reps. If you feel strong enough, try to do your first set on your toes to push yourself!
Next, do some burpees! Burpees will get your heart rate moving, and they will target your abs, arms, and legs. I recommend doing 3 sets of 15 burpees. Again, you can do the push-up part on your toes or on your knees. Try to push yourself to do as many full burpees as possible! This will have your muscles burning in no time, but the burn is worth it!
2. Legs
Squats and lunges are quick exercises that will target multiple muscles in your legs. You can do a variation of these exercises for a full lower body workout, or just stick to regular squats and lunges.
After you have warmed up, do 3 sets of 15 squats. I recommend doing one set of regular squats with your toes forward, one set of sumo squats with your toes facing out, and one set of quad squats with your legs close together and parallel to each other. Combining these three types of squats will target your glutes, hamstrings, and quads, giving you a full upper leg workout!
Lunges are another great exercise to target multiple muscle groups in your legs. They are commonly used in workout programs to promote growth in your glutes. Do another 3 sets of 15 lunges. You can do these lunges in place, or walk from one end of the room to the other. For some variation, do one set of forward lunges, one set of reverse lunges, and one set of curtsy lunges. These lunge variations target muscles in your quads, glutes, inner thighs, and calves. Make sure that you do 3 sets of 15 reps on each leg so that you work both sides of your body evenly!
3. Abs
I prefer exercising my lower body over my upper body, so doing even these quick ab exercises is a challenge for me! Ab workouts can be discouraging if you don’t see results right away, but don’t give up! These two ab exercises are simple, but they will have your tummy burning!
Start with a plank. You can do multiple variations of a plank if you start to get tired. Do 3 sets of 1-minute-long planks. You can add variations to this exercise too! I recommend doing one plank on your hands, one on your elbows, and two single-arm planks. For the single-arm planks, do one on each side.
Next, move on to sit-ups! Most people dread doing sit-ups, but you can make them fun by doing some different variations! Again, do 3 sets of 1 minute’s worth of sit-ups. If you can’t do a regular sit-up, put your toes under the couch and push through the pain! You can also do sit-ups with a dumbbell over your head. I like doing sit-ups while holding a dumbbell over my head because it gives me a little extra momentum to get up!
4. Arms
The muscles in your arms are fairly easy to tone, which means that they show quicker results! It is important to strengthen the muscles in your arms, even if you do not enjoy working out your upper body!
Tricep dips are great exercises that target the muscles in the back of your arms. You can do these on the edge of your bed, couch, or chair if you don’t have home gym equipment! Do 3 sets of 15 tricep dips.
Next, do 3 sets of 15 curls! If you have dumbbells at home you can use the weight you feel most comfortable with. Try to do a heavier weight with each set. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can use resistance bands, cans of soup, or milk jugs. Be creative with the weights you use!
5. Back & Chest
The reason you need to exercise both your back and your chest muscles is that they depend on each other for strength. If you only exercise your back muscles, your chest will not be able to support your back. But if you only exercise your chest muscles, your back will not be able to support your chest! These quick exercises will target both your back and chest muscles.
For a chest exercise, do 3 sets of 15 chest presses. These are best done in a sitting position where you are slightly reclined. If you don’t have a chair to recline back in, you can lay on the floor and push your weight straight out from your chest. Again, you can use just about any heavy object in your house for a weight!
For a back exercise, do 3 sets of 15 supermans. Lay on your stomach with your arms straight in front of you. For each rep, raise up your arms and legs and clench your back muscles. You can hold weights in your hands, or just use your body weight for this exercise!
6. Accessories
If you don’t have time to visit the gym or don’t want to pay for a gym membership, consider buying a few pieces of workout equipment for your house! Resistance bands, dumbells, ankle and wrist weights, yoga mats, and a pull-up bar are easy pieces of equipment that don’t take up very much space!
As a reminder, these quick exercises will not provide results if they are not accompanied by a well-balanced diet! Make sure that you are daily fueling your body with protein, fats, carbs, and fresh fruits and veggies. For individualized nutrition advice, consult your doctor or dietician.
