If you don’t have a home gym containing the latest and greatest home exercise equipment there is no need to worry! There are still many ways you can get out of breath and move closer to your goal of improving your fitness or burning off a bucket load of calories.  While it might not be as easy as hoping on an exercise bike or treadmill, good home fitness training without expensive equipment is possible and it can even be fun. One such way is to use your bodyweight and perform a number of exercises at a fast pace with minimal amounts of rest in-between.

Always start with a good warm up that consists of some light movements to get your heart beating a little faster and the blood pumping around your body. Some light jogging on the sport interspersed with some star jumps should get you ready for a home workout without all that fancy equipment. Once you are sufficiently warmed up go straight into a routine that switches quickly between a number of different exercises (which I will list in a moment) while trying to rest as little as possible between the different sets. As you become more proficient at the exercises you will be able to add more repetitions to each set and also reduce the amount of rest between each set. Don’t worry if the first few times you run through this your pace isn’t very fast as it is more important to get the form correct for each movement than to finish it quickly. Once you get the hang of each exercise your speed will increase over time.

The Workout

Here are some suggestions for which exercises to include in your workout without home gym equipment:

• Jumping Jacks: start with your feet together and your arms by your sides. Jump up and open your legs so you land with your feet apart. As you jump also raise your arms up along your sides so your hands touch each other above your head.  Then jump again bringing your arms back down to your sides and your legs together so you are in the starting position. Do 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks.
• Bodyweight Lunges: lunges are great ways to improve your leg strength and tone up those pins! Traditionally performed with weights, bodyweight lunges can be just as effective at giving you a good cardio vascular workout without any expensive home fitness gear.  Stand with your feet slightly apart and then step forward in a lunging motion moving only one leg out in front of you. Slowly lower your body until your rear knee almost touches the ground. Push off explosively with your front leg to return to the starting position. Switch legs each time and keep going for 30 seconds.
• The Plank: now it’s time for a relaxing lie down, well almost! The Plank might look easy but don’t be fooled! This is an excellent way to work out your core muscles such as your lower back and abs but it will also leave you out of breath. Get in a press-up position with your toes the only part of your feet touching the floor.  Rest your forearms on the floor to keep your upper body off the ground and keep your back straight as a plank from head to toe. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then collapse on the floor!
• Oblique Twists: as the name suggests this exercise works the oblique muscles which are found around your midsection. This exercise should give you a nice rest after the plank so enjoy it while it lasts! Stand with your feet just beyond shoulder width apart and extend your arms at your sides to they are parallel with the floor and there is a straight line from the finger tips on one hand to the other. Now twist from the waist so that one arm is facing straight out in front of your while the other is facing out behind you. Keep your abdominal muscles tensed and feel the burn as you change direction at the end of each twist. Keep this exercise up for 30 seconds.
• Burpees: this is quite a complicated exercise to master so maybe practice it a few times before starting this whole routine just to get acquainted with it.  It is a great way to end this workout and should be a part of any fitness workout that doesn’t require home fitness equipment.  Start in the press up or push up position again and then push your legs up and bring them in under your body so you are positioned like a frog before it jumps. Then jump up vertically on the spot and raise your arms as high as you can. Drop back down to earth and then push your legs out to the starting position to complete the rep. Now do this for 30 seconds.

After you have completed all those bodyweight exercises give yourself a pat on the back, rest for a minute or two and then start again. It should’ve only taken your about two and a half to three minutes to work through them all so with a rest added in you should be able to work your way through it five or six times in 30 minutes giving you a great cardio workout without any expensive home fitness equipment.  As it becomes easier try adding in a few more exercises like press ups, bodyweight squats or sit-ups.

If you want more ideas for a great home workout head back to the Home Fitness Training Ideas hub.