Introduction
Are you one of those people who have the best intentions and want to start getting fitter and healthier but you keep being extremely creative in finding excuses for not starting a daily workout routine?
When talking to people, we keep hearing the same answers over and over again – the most common ones are:
- Lack of Time: Many people feel that they don’t have enough time in their day to fit in a workout.
- Cost: Some people feel that gym memberships, equipment, and workout clothes are too expensive.
- Lack of Motivation: Many people lack the motivation to start working out, or they find it difficult to stick to a routine.
- Self-Consciousness: People may feel self-conscious about their body or their fitness level, and feel uncomfortable exercising in front of others.
- Injury or Health Concerns: Injury or health might be an issue that prevents people from working out.
- Lack of Knowledge: Some people may feel that they don’t know enough about exercise or nutrition to start working out.
- Procrastination: Many folks keep putting off starting a workout routine, and keep finding excuses to delay it.
But with our list of 7 exercises to do everyday, none of the above excuses are valid any more! We’ve got you covered with these 7 simple exercises that you can do every day to keep your body in great shape.
And even better: we have chosen exercises that do not need any equipment at all – you will utilize just your body weight only!!
From burpees to squats, we’ve compiled a list of functional fitness exercises that target multiple muscle groups and provide a full-body workout.
Plus, we’ll give you some tips on how to maintain your workout routine and stay motivated.
So, grab your workout clothes and get ready to sweat!
7 Exercises to do Everyday
- Burpees
- Push-Ups
- Squats
- Hollow Rocks
- Mountain Climbers
- Plank
- Supermen
Burpees
Burpees are an excellent addition to any at home workout!
Burpees are a full-body exercise and burpees muscles worked are: arms, chest, quads, glutes, and core. Plus, burpees will get your heart pumping big time!
Burpees are a highly effective exercise for your entire body because they work multiple muscle groups at once, providing a whole-body workout in a short amount of time.
With just one exercise, you can improve your strength, cardiovascular endurance, and overall fitness.
Burpees are so effective because they are a high-intensity exercise that gets your heart going, making it an excellent exercise for cardiovascular fitness.
Additionally the also require a lot of energy, making them a great exercise for burning calories and losing weight.
Burpees are also versatile and can be modified to suit different fitness levels.
For beginners, modified burpees can be done by eliminating the push-up or the jump, making it a less intense exercise. As you become more advanced, you can add a push-up, a jump, or other variations, making the exercise more challenging.
Learn even more about Burpees here.
Importance
Burpees are a full-body exercise that provides both strength and aerobic benefits.
Benefits
They engage multiple major muscle groups, from the legs to the core to the arms.
This means they’re excellent for burning a significant number of calories in a short period.
Additionally, they enhance cardiovascular fitness and improve coordination.
The dynamic nature of the burpee, which involves jumping, squatting, and pushing up, offers a comprehensive workout in one single move.
How to do Burpees:
Starting position is in a standing position, drop down to a push-up position, perform a push-up, and then jump back up to standing. Finish the movement pattern with a high-jump.
On the push-up part of this exercise, many people tend to loose proper form in the push-up, which lets the push-up look like a “cobra-push-up”.
Always keep your core muscles tight and perform a proper push-up!
Push-Ups
Push-ups muscles worked are: chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Everybody knows push-ups! But still, there are things you can do wrong.
Find further information ion push-ups here.
Importance
Push-ups are foundational exercises that target the upper body but also engage the core.
Benefits
They work several muscle groups simultaneously, including the arms, chest, and core.
Regular push-up practice can lead to increased upper body strength and endurance.
Moreover, they can be modified in various ways to increase or decrease difficulty, making them versatile for all fitness levels.
How to do Push-Ups:
Start in a plank position, with your hands directly under your shoulders or even a little further down, keep your elbows tightly to your body. Avoide sticking your elbows way out!
Slowly lower your body down to the ground and let your chest touch the ground. If your hip touches down first then this indicates that your body doesn´t show a straight line but it arches through.
Push back up to plank position – push-up finished!
Note: If you are unable tp perform more than 7-10 really proper push-ups, you can still choose to make this exercise easier.
Do so by either doing knee-push-ups or elevating your upper body by using a box, a bench, or something similar.
The easiest version is the wall push-up, where you would perform the push-up against a wall.
If you have to do it that way in the beginning then it is also ok! You will get fitter and you will move on to more difficult versions very soon!
23 Hardcore Upper Body CrossFit Workouts
23 Hardcore Upper Body CrossFit WorkoutsSquats
The bodyweight squat is a highly effective exercise that targets several muscle groups, making it a great addition to any workout routine.
Squats primarily work the muscles of the lower body, including the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. However, when done correctly they also engage the core, back, and upper body muscles, making it a full-body workout.
Squats are also a functional exercise that mimics movements we do in our daily lives, such as sitting down and standing up from a chair or picking something up from the ground.
By incorporating squats into your workout routine, you can improve your balance, mobility, and overall quality of life.
Another reason why squats are such a great exercise is that they can be modified to suit different fitness levels.
For beginners, squats can be done using just body weight or with the assistance of a chair or wall. As you become more advanced, you can add weights or other variations, such as jump squats, pistol squats, or one-legged squats.
In addition to building strength and improving mobility, squats are also great for burning calories and losing weight.
Since they engage multiple muscle groups, they require a lot of energy, making them an effective exercise for increasing metabolism and burning fat.
Find even more info on squats here.
Importance
Squats are fundamental lower-body exercises that primarily target the thighs and glutes.
Benefits
They help in building leg muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.
Squats also engage the core, providing stability.
Regular squatting can improve lower body strength, flexibility, and balance.
They also support joint health, especially in the knees and hips
How to do Squats
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and slowly lower your body down – use full range of motion. The motto is: “ass to the grass”!
Keep your weight distributed evenly on your whole foot. Neither raise your tows or your heels off the ground!
Keep your back straight and as upright as possible. If you do this correctly, you will feel that the squat can become quite hard on your back muscles as well…
When standing up, focus to push your knees outward – never let your knees drop the inside as this puts too much strain on your knees.
Hollow Rocks
In order to target your core strength we chose hollow rocks instead of sit-ups or crunches. The reason why we did so was the fact that sit-ups and crunches tend to put a lot of strain on your lower back, once you get fatigued and loose good form.
We circumnavigate this issue by using hollow rocks instead.
Additional info on hollow rocks can be found here.
Importance
Hollow rocks are core-centric exercises derived from gymnastics.
Benefits
They challenge the entire core, from the upper abs to the lower abs to the obliques.
This exercise helps in enhancing core stability, which is crucial for almost every physical activity and for maintaining a good posture.
It also aids in improving body control and balance.
How to do Hollow Rocks
The starting position for this exercise will see you lying flat on the ground on your back with your arms stretched out over your head.
Now tighten your core, squeeze your butt, and lift your legs and upper body off the ground at the same time.
Keep the body tension, hold this position and start rocking forth and back. Only rock so far in a controlled manner that your legs just don´t touch the ground.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain Climbers is one of these bodyweight exercises that will quickly push your heart rate and get your blood flowing.
Read here for some more great info about mountain climbers.
Importance
Mountain climbers are a dynamic, full-body exercise.
Benefits
They offer both cardiovascular and muscular benefits. While the legs are moving dynamically, the upper body and the core provide stability.
This exercise helps in enhancing cardiovascular fitness, agility, and core strength.
It’s also a great exercise for burning calories in a short time frame.
How to do Mountain Climbers
The starting position for this exercise is the high plank position. Now start bringing one leg forward (left leg or right leg doesn´t matter) in a jumping motion.
Ideally you should bring your foot all the way next to your hand.
On the next “jump” bring your leg back and simultanously the opposite leg forward.
Plank
Planks are a great exercise for your core and overall stability. This low-impact exercise is a great strength endurance part in interval training routines.
Importance
The plank is a static exercise that targets the core but also engages other muscles.
Benefits
Regular planking can lead to a stronger core, which is essential for overall stability, balance, and posture.
A strong core also reduces the risk of back pain.
Planks also engage the shoulders, arms, and glutes, making it a comprehensive exercise.
It’s also a great way to improve endurance in the core muscle groups.
How to do the Forearm Plank
Start in a low plank position on your forearms and then hold yourself in this position.
Keep your core tight and make sure to hold your whole body in a straight line.
The most common mistakes are either loosing body tension and dropping the hip, or pushing the hip way up in the sky to make things easier.
If you are completely new to this exercise and need a rough reference on how long you should be able to plank: absolute beginners should try to beat the 30 second – mark. Once you did 30 seconds, increase your “time to beat” by 15-second increments.
We raised your heart rate, worked your core, upper body, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, and also your quads. Now we need an exercise to get your back doing some work.
Our go to exercise for that purpose are Supermen which are technically easily done, but yield massive results.
Back issues is one of the most common problems in our society. The reasons for that are numerous, but the cure is the same in almost all cases: muscle! The cure for your back is muscle!
Importance
Supermen exercises focus on the posterior chain, especially the muscles of the lower back.
Benefits
They are essential for strengthening the often-neglected lower back muscles.
Regular practice can lead to a reduction in back pain and an improvement in posture.
The exercise also engages the glutes and the upper back, making it beneficial for overall back health and strength.
How to do Supermen
Lie on the ground face down with your arms stretched out over your head.
Now build tension in your back and squeeze your butt and lift your upper body and your feet of the ground.
Keep this tension and move your arms in a semi-circular motion all the way from above your head all the way down to your lower back, where your hands meet briefly.
Then reverse this motion and bring your arms back above your head.
Make sure to always keep your arms straight and keep your body tension!
To make this exercise harder, hold light weights in your hands.
To make this exercise easier, you may keep your legs on the ground.
3 Bodyweight Workouts Using our Seven Exercises
Workout 1 - Beginners
This will be a two-round workout. This means you will work through these two rounds workout no matter how long it takes.
Perform two rounds – one round consists of:
- 15 Squats
- 10 Push-Ups
- 10 Supermen
- 15 Burpees
- 30 second plank hold
Workout 2 - Intermediate
This time you will do a workout “for time”. This means that you have to try to finish the workout within the given time limit.
Once the time is up, you stop – no matter, if you have some repetitions left to do or not.
If you can finish the workout within the given time – great!
Time cap: 15 minutes – within the 15 minutes try to finish:
- 50 Mountain Climbers
- 40 Squats
- 30 Push-Ups
- 20 Hollow Rocks
- 30 Push-Ups
- 40 Squats
- 50 Burpees
Workout 3 - Advanced
You will do an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) within a given time.
Count the numbers of rounds that you were able to finish within the time limit.
Perform AMRAP within 20 minutes – one round consists of:
- 10 Burpees
- 10 Push-Ups
- 10 Squats
- 10 Hollow Rocks
- 10 Supermen
- 30 Second Plank Hold
Say Goodbye To Boring Workouts With Metabolic Training
Metabolic Training ArticleHow to maintain your workout routine
Mix Exercises and Workouts Up
Doing the same exercises and workouts again and again is not only very boring, it also keeps you from making progress!
Your body will adapt quickly to the work it has to perform, while your brain loses interest in doing the same repetitions over and over.
That is why you need to constantly make variations to your exercise routine.
Always Focus on Good Form
The best exercise and workout routine doesn´t do much to help you on your weight loss journey or to support you in building muscle strength if you perform these exercises in bad form!
Once you realize you are getting so fatigued that you are unable to continue with good form, stop!
Good form is key to injury prevention and real physical progress. If your body starts to hurt in excess of normal sore muscles, then it gives you a clear signal that you did not perform an exercise properly.
We selected all of our exercises on the basis of being “fool proof” to the maximum extend possible. All of these exercises are technically rather easy to perform, but if you are completely new to working out, you might want search the advise of somebody knowledgeable who provides some kind of supervision for you.
Respect your Limits - and Gradually Raise Them!
If you are just starting out you will quickly reach your limits! Bodyweight workouts are hard workouts! The lack of weights doesn´t make these workouts easy at all.
It doesn´t matter if you can do only 10 burpees in a row in the beginning. The most important part is that you started working out at all!
You will see your limits. Accept them and then start working on pushing your limits.
Mental Boost: The Holistic Benefits of Daily Exercise
While we often lace up our sneakers focusing on toned muscles or a slimmer waist, there’s a profound transformation happening upstairs in our minds.
Every squat, push-up, or brisk walk is like a symphony for our brain, releasing a cascade of feel-good chemicals that elevate our mood and sharpen our focus.
Ever had a rough day and felt instantly better after a quick jog?
That’s endorphins at play, our body’s natural painkillers. These little warriors combat stress and bring about a sense of euphoria that runners often term the “runner’s high.”
But the magic doesn’t stop there. Regular exercise acts as a meditation in motion, helping us find clarity and calmness amidst life’s chaos.
It’s like giving your mind a refreshing break, allowing it to rejuvenate and reset.
Mastering a new exercise or beating your personal best isn’t just a physical achievement; it’s a mental victory.
It’s a reminder that with dedication and perseverance, we can overcome challenges, both in the gym and in life.
So, the next time you’re on the fence about that morning workout, remember it’s not just your body that’s reaping the rewards. Your mind is cheering you on, ready for that mental boost. Dive into the rhythm of exercise and let the holistic healing begin!
Tips To Stay Motivated
Set Yourself Reachable Goals
This a very basic but nonetheless important advise for any person who works out. In order to stay motivated, it is always very useful to set goals. Not everybody is preparing for a big competition, although this might help for your goal setting efforts…
But you could also simply take a snapshot of the status quo and see where you are right now.
You are now at 90kgs? And you want to reach 80kgs? Well, your next goal might be reaching 88kgs.
You can do 10 push-ups in a row and you want to be able to do 30 in one month from now? Well, your next goal should be 20 push-ups in two weeks from now…
Keep your goals within a sensible range!
Keep Track of Your Success
Keeping track of success is also one great way to stay motivated. You have a target – your goal – and now you should observe yourself how you make progress.
Like waypoints on a route to your destination, your successes are a visualization of your progress.
Be Creative - Build Your Own Workouts!
With our 7 exercises to do everyday you have a huge number of variations of workouts in your hands!
You could go easy without pushing your heart rate by only using supermen, hollow rocks, and planks.
Or you could push your limits by combining burpess, push-ups and squats.
You can build your own bodyweight strength training workouts and train all important muscles at home quick and easy!
Change Workout Locations
Go outside! You don´t have to move any heavy gear around! Train at the beach – next to the lake – in the woods – up on a mountain!
Change your workout locations and by doing so, experience nature!
Enjoy being outdoors and see new spots and places.
This brings additional change to your workout routine.
Celebrate Your Successes!
You will have successes – lots of successes! And you need to celebrate them. You don´t have to cut everything you like from your life in order to become fitter every day.
Your fitness is a journey and on a journey, you also have days where you will simply enjoy life without being on the move.
Don´t get caught in the conception that you can not have that beloved meal anymore!
One way of celebrating your successes can be to make Sunday your “cheat day” where you will celebrate the past week.
Another possibility of celebrating your successes can be to embrace all the nice little compliments that you will get from the people around you, once they see your consistency and your changes towards a fitter person.
Make Yourself Accountable!
This is one very important factor for motivation! Accountability!
Once you have set your goal and chosen what you need to do in order to reach your goal, tell somebody who is important to you and who you do not want to disappoint!
Now you are officially committed! It´s one thing to only commit to yourself in your head, but it is a whole different thing to show to the outside world that you can pull it through!
Face Your Deficiencies With Overhead Squats
Face Your Deficiencies With Overhead Squats