Best At Home Workout For Beginners You Can Start Today

The getting started part of any workout is always one of the hardest parts for me. I would’ve been grateful for a decent at home workout for beginners when I was getting started.

As it is, even now, sometimes I don’t want to exercise and I’ve been back at it for awhile.

So, I can imagine if you never exercised before or used to exercise but don’t anymore and are looking to get back at it, it could be challenging to get something to start with.

Well, there are a few exercises I found that helped get me started again after I’d been away from any kind of fitness regimen for some time.

They are pretty straight forward and not complicated at all. You can do them just about anywhere, indoors or outside depending upon the weather.

That means you can do them at home on your own or with friends. Whatever you happen to be in the mood for at the time.

You can do this without equipment and create your own exercise program out of it that will eventually help you gain endurance, burn fat and start feeling stronger and more energized.

It’s easy to start a workout for beginners

Before I get into the specific moves that make up this workout for beginners, a quick note.

Now, if you happen to be a real beginner. That is, you’ve never really exercised before and are not now into any kind of physical activity, check with your doctor to see what kind of exercise is good for you.

You don’t want to injure yourself in any way that will slow down your progress at the starting gate.

Also, you can take it easy out of the gate and start simply by going for a brisk walk.

A walk is a great workout for beginners because it ticks all the boxes. It gets your heart rate going, strengthens your muscles and improves your balance and coordination.

You can start with a ten minute walk and build up from there. You can try going for longer distances as well and see how you feel.

Start walking regularly, gradually build up your pace and distance I bet you’ll find you’re burning fat and getting stronger. It’s a great place to start with exercise as a beginner.

Now you’re thinking come on, give me something a little more challenging because I need a real workout for beginners. Fair enough.

Related Article: Bodyweight Strength Training For Beginners

The push up is an essential part of the workout for beginners

Find yourself somewhere where you have some room and you’re not going to knock anything over that is of value.

The first move you’re going to do is push ups because this is one of the best exercises you can do for your whole body. It’s really great for your core as well and yes I know, the core is part of the whole body.

Here’s a great demonstration of the push up performed by Anna Renderer over at Popsugar Fitness.

I also go into a little more detail about how to do push ups properly here. There’s also an explanation of a variation for beginners.

There’s only one thing I would add to what Anna discusses above. Think of it as an added challenge. When you bring your body down, don’t let your body rest on the floor. Hold your body just above the ground, and then push up.

Whatever variation you choose, you’re going to try and do five push ups. If it’s really easy for you then do ten. Otherwise five is a good place to start. If you can’t get to five, just do as many as you can up to five.

Remember to focus on doing them with good form.

Once you finish, stand up and shake yourself out. And congratulations, you just finished one of the best bodyweight exercises out there. You’re on your way!

Related Article: At Home Workout To Build Lower Body Strength

Take a high knee

The next thing you are going to do is a set of high knees. This one is also really easy. It’s like running on the spot but really lifting your knees up as high as they can go.

Here is a great demonstration of how to perform the high knee movement along with a modification if it’s a little tough at first, offered by Jenny Schatzle.

I go a little more in depth about how to do high knees properly here. Along with how you can work the movement into your regular routine once you’re up and running. That’s a terrible pun I know.

For the high knees you’re going to do a set of 15 repetitions. So, you lift your left leg, then your right leg and that is considered one repetition. Try that 15 times. Again, if it’s too tough out of the gate, try for ten.

This one you’ll really feel in your legs and will get your heart rate going.

After you finish the high knees, lie down on your back with your legs straight and together.

Target that core

Now lift your legs, keeping them straight and together and hold them about six inches off the floor.

From that position, lift your legs another couple of feet up and then back down to the starting position six inches off the floor. That is one leg lift. Keep the movement smooth and try not to bounce.

You can see how to perform the leg raise as demonstrated here by James J. Rizzo over at Howcast.com.

Don’t worry about the reference to it being a men’s ab exercise. This movement is also great for women.

Try for ten leg lifts. If it’s really tough, start with five. You can build up from there. If you’re finding it tough to do the lift, just try holding your legs at the six inch position for five to ten seconds and relax back down to the floor. Do that five to ten times until you feel strong enough to do the lifts.

You’re going to really feel this one in your abdominal muscles.

Related Article: One Of The Best Beginner Workouts To Strengthen Your Abs

Back Up On Your Feet

What better way to round up an awesome at home workout for beginners than with the legendary burpee.

If you’ve never heard of the burpee before and are wondering what in the world I’m talking about, check out my post here.

You’ll see that I’ve broken down the movement and included a great video so you can get a couple variations of it.

If you can’t be bothered to trek over to that post, not to worry. I’ve included a great video demonstrating how to do the burpee here by Kelsey Lee and the folks over at XHIT Daily.

The only thing I would add is that if you’re a real beginner, start with the basic form first, keeping your arms straight when you come down to the floor. You can add other variations, such as the push up, as you get more accustomed to the form and build your upper body strength.

Once you’ve got the technique down you can start mixing it up. But hey, if you’re feeling strong now, go ahead and add the push up the way Kelsey is doing it.

For the sake of this workout, try and do 10 repetitions. This is a great full body exercise.

A quick note that I like to include for beginners. Something that is often overlooked when it comes to starting a new fitness regimen is having the right equipment.

For me, comfortable clothes and the right shoes make all the difference. You want to have solid dependable footwear to give you the support you need and help prevent injury.

‘Nuff said. Let’s check out this routine!

Related Article: High Intensity Interval Training For Beginners

Now put it all together

So here is what the full exercise routine should look like:

5 Push ups

15 High Knees

10 leg lifts

10 burpees

Looks pretty simple and straightforward on the page right? Trust me, if you’re new to working out, this is a great start.

Try and work your way through the routine three or four times. See how it feels. As a beginner I think you’ll really feel this. If it’s really easy try increasing the number of repetitions.

Oh, and don’t take a break in between exercises. Wait until you’ve gone through each one once to rest. That should get your heart going good.

But I don’t think it will be that easy. Consider this a challenge and try sticking with it a few times a week for a month. Then see where you’re at.

If it’s still really easy, guess what? You’re probably not a beginner and can start incorporating other exercises into the routine. I’ll be getting into those with other posts. In the meantime, check out my warm up block and try doing that as your routine and see how it feels.

Remember, you can start this routine by going for a five or ten minute walk just to warm up. If you don’t have anywhere you can do that, try walking on the spot for five minutes. Put on some music so it doesn’t get too boring.

This is how I started

This is a variation of the exercise routine that I started with to burn fat and build strength.

The only difference was that instead of the high knees, I was running a staircase. I would do push ups at the bottom, run the staircase and then the leg lifts at the top. The burpees came a little later for me.

If the routine I gave you starts to get real easy, try mixing in a staircase run instead of the high knees and see how that feels.

This routine really helped me start on my fitness journey and I bet it will be great for you too.

Again, you can do these exercises anywhere. They’re great for when you don’t have a lot of time but want to get some exercise in. And, you don’t have to worry about equipment because they all utilize your own bodyweight.

I think you’ll really enjoy this routine… eventually. You’ll see and feel yourself improving as you move yourself up to the next level of training on your journey to physical fitness.