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Equipment-Free, Small-Space Workout

Don't Want to Go to the Gym? Try This Equipment-Free At-Home Workout Instead

Jun 10 2018

Too tired to go to the gym? Think you don't have enough space at home to get a workout in? Wrong! Say goodbye to the excuses with this full-body workout that only takes 20 minutes to complete. Do it in your bedroom, your living room — anywhere you please.

Directions: Begin with a warmup to prevent injuries and get your muscles activated. After you're done with the warmup, complete two rounds of the circuit, followed by a five-minute stretch.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Sheila Gim

Warmup, Exercise 1: Plank Walkout

  • Stand at the back of your mat and circle your arms out to the sides to reach toward the ceiling. Look up and feel your chest opening up.
  • Keeping your back straight, bend forward, hinging at your hips to bring your hands to the mat. This position brings length to the back of the legs. If your hamstrings are tight, bend your knees a bit to take tension off the muscles.
  • Walk your hands forward, moving into a plank, and hold each step to stretch your calves a bit. This warms up the shoulders and hands nicely.
  • Hold the plank for a few seconds to really wake up your core.
  • From your plank, walk your hands back to your feet until you are in another forward bend. Slowly roll up to standing, letting your head hang and keeping your neck relaxed. Once you are fully upright, you're ready to repeat the walkout for a total of 10 reps.
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Warmup, Exercise 2: Traditional Bridge Exercise

  • On your mat, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Be sure to keep your feet underneath your knees, not in front. Plant your palms by each side, face down.
  • Raise your hips up to the ceiling, tensing your abs and squeezing your butt as you do so. You should be making a long diagonal line with your body, from shoulders to knees.
  • Hold for a few seconds, making sure your spine doesn't round and your hips don't sag. Keep your abs and butt muscles engaged.
  • Lower down to the ground. This is considered one rep.
  • Complete two sets of 10 reps.
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Warmup, Exercise 3: Fire Hydrant

  • Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
  • Keep your right knee at a 90-degree angle as you slowly raise your leg to the right until it is parallel to the ground. Avoid lifting your right hip, as you should keep both hips square with the floor.
  • With control, lower your leg back to the ground.
  • This completes one rep.
  • Complete two sets of 10 reps on both legs.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

Warmup, Exercise 4: Mountain Climbers

  • Start in a traditional plank — shoulders over hands and weight in your toes.
  • With your core engaged, bring your right knee forward under your chest, with the toes just off the ground. Return to your basic plank. Switch legs, bringing the left knee forward. That completes one rep.
  • Complete 20 reps.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

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  • Stand with your hands behind your head, with your elbows wide, and bring your right knee to the floor, onto a yoga or exercise mat for padding.
  • Bring your left knee down so you are kneeling.
  • Lift your right knee up and place your right foot in front of you. Bring the left foot forward, coming into a deep squat, then press through your heels to come to standing.
  • Reverse the move and bring your left knee to the floor to repeat the sequence on the other side to complete one rep.
  • Complete 10 reps, and then take 30 seconds of rest.
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Single-Leg Bridges

  • Lie on your back and place your hands on the floor for stability as you bend one leg and lift the other leg off the ground.
  • Pressing your heel into the floor, lift your pelvis up, keeping your body in a stiff bridge position.
  • Slowly lower your body to the floor. This completes one rep.
  • Complete 10 reps on each leg, and then take 30 seconds of rest.
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Bicycle Crunches

  • Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull your abs down to also target your deep abs). Interlace your fingers and put your hands behind your head.
  • Bring your knees in toward your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
  • Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure your ribcage is moving and not just your elbows.
  • Now switch sides and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep (and to create the "pedaling" motion).
  • Complete 20 reps, and then take 30 seconds of rest.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Kathryna Hancock

T Push-Up

  • Begin in plank position.
  • Bend your elbows, lowering into a push-up.
  • Straighten your arms and lift your right arm toward the ceiling, twisting into a side plank to make a T shape with your body.
  • Rotate back to plank, placing your right palm on the floor to lower into a push-up.
  • This time as you straighten your arms, rotate to the left, lifting the left arm up. Return to plank to complete one rep.
  • Complete eight reps, and then take 30 seconds of rest.
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Forward Backward Lunge

  • Stand with the feet together.
  • Put weight on the left foot, lift your right knee up, and step into a forward lunge. The front knee should be at a 90-degree angle, with the left knee just barely hovering above the ground.
  • Push into your right heel, come to stand, and immediately step the right foot behind you into a reverse lunge with the left knee at a 90-degree angle.
  • This counts as one rep.
  • Complete 10 reps on each leg.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Studios

Tabletop Reach

  • Begin in a strong tabletop position, with your hands under your shoulders, your knees over your ankles, and your fingers pointed away from you.
  • Lift your left leg up and reach your right hand toward your left toes. Return your hand and foot to the floor, lifting the pelvis back to tabletop by squeezing the glutes. This completes one rep. Switch sides for the next rep.
  • Complete 10 reps.

Take two to three minutes of rest, then repeat for one more round.

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