5 Exercises to Do Every Day at Home Without Weights

Believe it or not, basic exercises you can do every day are real, and you likely won’t need rest days between these moves as they’re easy on your joints and effectively engage your whole body. 

Today, you’re going to learn about 5 exercises to do every day at home without weights – simple, body-toning, and accessible to everyone, with the aim of shaking things up on a regular basis. They’re particularly beneficial if you’re working at your laptop, or just spending too much time sitting (lying down too). 

Get ready for 5 killer moves you can do at any time you desire. They won’t take up a lot of your time as you’ll only have to commit to 5 exercises.

What Are 5 Exercises to Do Every Day for Consistency?

You might think that doing daily exercises isn’t okay – you need to slot at least one rest day in your workout schedule. However, if you’re doing low-impact non-weighted training with correct technique, you can likely train daily with minimal issues. The key is to vary your intensity and exercise programming so that your body can handle daily training. If you’re curious about 7-day workout routine, check out our earlier article.

So, here are 5 exercises you can do daily – no equipment needed, just some space and energy to complete a physical activity. 

1. Bird dogs
2. Jumping jacks
3. Mountain climbers
4. Calf raises
5. Sumo squats

Bird Dogs

A truly underrated exercise that smokes your core and muscles on the backside of your body – hamstrings, glutes, shoulder blades, and low back. The bird dog move incorporates balance work and coordination, as you have to maintain proper positioning with only two limbs on the ground (1).

It’s also low-impact, which makes it scaled to different fitness levels and ages.

How to perform the move:

• Get in the tabletop position with your wrists stacked under your shoulders and your knees stacked under your hips. 
• Extend your left arm forward and your right leg back, maintaining a straight back. Hold briefly.
• Squeeze your abs to return your arm and leg to the starting position. This counts as one rep. 
• Do 11 reps on one side, then repeat with the other arm and leg.

The next two exercises are more high-intensity moves than the others, but you can still do them daily as they target multiple muscle groups. Beginners should aim for 20-30 seconds of each exercise. 

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Jumping Jacks

Touted as a great cardio exercise, jumping jacks target your entire body. Jumping helps elevate your heart rate, decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve metabolism (2).

Another perk is scalability – you can change the tempo of the exercise by starting slower and then picking up the pace. Jumping jacks also strengthen your hip muscles by working your hips in two directions: abduction (when your legs move away from your body) and adduction (when both legs return to the starting position). 

How to perform the move:

• Stand tall with your feet together and your arms at your sides.
• Inhale and jump out, spreading your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
• At the same time, raise your arms out to the sides and overhead, bringing your hands close together.
• Exhale and jump back in, bringing your feet together and lowering your arms to your sides.
• Continue jumping smoothly for at least 30 seconds. 

Mountain Climbers

You don’t need to climb real mountains to get the benefits – you can climb your mountain at home (it’s much more comfortable as real mountains may be too challenging for some individuals).

As one of the best exercises to do every day, mountain climbers build endurance and fire up your core. As you perform the move, your shoulders, arms, and chest stabilize your upper body. As it’s cardio training, your heart will pump faster – say “hello” to heart-promoting benefits, and you’ll burn more calories. 

How to perform the move:

• Get into a high plank position, keeping your hands under your shoulders and your legs straight. Your back should be flat, your abs engaged, and your head in alignment. 
• Pull your right knee into your chest, then switch legs, bringing your left knee in.
• Keep your hips down, running your knees in and out as fast as you can. 
• Alternate inhaling and exhaling with each leg change.
• Move like this for up to 30-40 seconds. 

Calf Raises

It feels like people pay too little attention to their calves, but they’re just as important as your glutes, hamstrings, or core. According to one study, calf raises boost your leg power (3).

Calf raises improve ankle strength and stability – they enhance your balance and coordination (4). By doing calf raises, you decrease the risk of lower leg injuries and improve your posture. 

How to perform the move:

• Stand on a yoga mat with your feet shoulder-width apart, your toes pointing forward.
• Keep your back flat and your shoulders back and down.
• Slowly raise your heels off the ground, keeping your knees extended.
• Pause for one second while standing on the tips of your toes.
• Lower your heels back to the ground, returning to the starting position. 
• Do at least 10 reps.

Sumo Squats

Traditional squats are a foundation of the move, but if you’re looking for something that leaves your legs and glutes burning, we’ve got another variation for you. 

Sumo squats can recruit more of the glutes and hamstrings via the feet positioned wider than shoulder-width apart. The exercise is celebrated for being a joint-friendly version of the traditional squat. Sumo squats also promote core engagement, stability, and mobility, which boosts performance (5).

How to perform the move:

• Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart, your toes pointing out at approximately 45 degrees. This is the starting position.
• Inhale and push your hips back to lower into a squat position. Keep your core tight and your back straight.
• Exhale and return to the starting position. 
• Do at least 10 reps. 

Read more: Home Calisthenics Workout Plan: A Clear, Beginner-Focused Guide with Pro Tips

Can You Work Out 7 Days a Week?

Generally, daily workouts won’t harm your health as long as they’re programmed properly and emphasize proper form.

However, a smart 7-day workout routine balances intensity and recovery. An example workout schedule could include strength training up to 3 days a week, cardio 2-3 days, and lighter activities on the remaining days. 

The 5 exercises mentioned above could be okay to do on a daily basis for a more experienced fitness enthusiast. However, it’s important to remember that the more intense the exercise, the more rest and recovery you’ll need afterward. 

Giving yourself time to rest isn’t optional, but essential for proper muscle recovery – it reduces the risk of injuries, improves energy, and performance. Long story short, rest days help your body to strengthen and repair itself after a workout (6).

Your rest days don’t necessarily need to be passive – brisk walking for 30 minutes or so, or yoga, or light Pilates moves. Take advantage of foam roller exercises. One study demonstrated the positive outcomes of using a foam roller on performance, flexibility, and alleviating muscle soreness (7). 

If you have a possibility, get a foam roller to use for your warm-up before the training or as a prop for other physical activities. 

What Happens If You Work Out Every Day?

If you choose to work out daily, you can expect both positive and negative outcomes. Essentially, it depends on the type of workout you do. Picture this, you’re picking exercises to do every morning and stop with the 5 moves from this article.  For more details about the 7-day at home workout plan, take a look at our prior publication.

Daily squats, mountain climbers, or calf raises aren’t necessarily dangerous – you can even use them as your morning physical routine to wake up your body and could even see the following: 

Positive: 

1. Improved cardiovascular health
2. Better sleep
3. Improved strength, flexibility, and mobility
4. Supported weight loss efforts by smashing daily caloric expenditure
5. Building a new habit of staying active, which is generally good for you and for the quality of your life (8)

BetterMe: Health Coaching app helps you achieve your body goals with ease and efficiency by helping to choose proper meal plans and effective workouts. Start using our app and you will see good results in a short time.

However, if your workouts are intense, especially weighted, some issues can occur due to the lack of recovery days:

Negative: 

1. Muscle fatigue and soreness
2. Worse performance
3. Poor-quality sleep
4. Injury

Therefore, you need to give your muscles time to heal. A proper recovery time allows your muscles to repair and get stronger. You’ll also replenish ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP fuels your muscles so that they contract and work harder, which makes you capable of more difficult exercises. Rest helps your body build ATP levels (9).

What Exercises Are Good to Do Every Day?

Low-impact mobility exercises are great for your daily routine. Even looking for quick exercises to do at work or at home that don’t require any equipment can be a perfect place to start. 

We’ve already listed some of our top exercises to perform every day (bird dogs, sumo squats, mountain climbers, calf raises, and jumping jacks). However, we personally believe that the best plan is one you can stick to and remain consistent with. Find what you love to do for exercise and try your best to stick with it. The results will be apparent before you know it.  

The 5 exercises in this article target multiple muscle groups, which prepares your body for new errands and activities throughout the day. Feel free to add them to your 7-day at-home workout plan without weights. Our previous post goes into great detail about the daily calisthenics routine.

Read more: Beginner Calisthenics Workout Plan At Home With Exercises, Tips, And FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the ideal exercise every day?

The ideal exercise every day should be low-impact, target your entire body, and boost your mood. If you’re talking about home training, then one good exercise is jumping jacks – they elevate your heart rate and engage the entire body, which makes them an ideal at-home calorie burner. For outdoor training, something as simple as brisk walking can be your main form of cardiovascular exercise. 

• What are some signs of overtraining?

Common signs of overtraining include persistent fatigue, muscle soreness, poor sleep, loss of motivation, and decreased performance. Rest days are essential for your body’s recovery, so don’t neglect them. 

• Is 24 hours rest enough for your muscles?

For light to moderate training, a 24-hour rest day is sufficient. After intense workouts, your body will need at least 48 hours to recover (10). 

• What kills muscle gains the most?

Inadequate calories, overtraining, and insufficient protein intake may kill your muscle gains. If you neglect these factors, you prevent proper repair and hypertrophy. 

• Do muscles grow on rest days?

Yes, muscles repair and grow during rest days. If there are no rest days between strenuous workouts, continuous muscle breakdown can hinder your progress (11).

The Bottom Line

We’ve covered the top 5 exercises to do every day at home without weights: bird dogs, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, calf raises, and sumo squats. 

You can do them daily as they offer health benefits due to being low-impact and are suitable for all levels. 

Individuals who engage in more vigorous training should consider adding rest days. 

Recovery days benefit you by reducing the risk of overtraining, muscle soreness, and injuries.