Exercise To Lose Weight Fast At Home: Spoiler Alert, It’s Just As Effective As A Full-Blown Gym Workout!

The pandemic has affected our normal way of living. For the past year, we’ve had to change how we do things. Jobs, classes and even religious gatherings have been moved to various online platforms to help stop the spread of the virus. Since people are still meant to social distance, fun activities like going out with friends, going to the cinemas and even going to the gym have been stopped, or if you do them, you are constantly worrying. Being at home most of the time can lead to weight gain. This comes from the fact that you don’t move around as you used to hence you don’t burn a lot of calories. You are also always near your fridge and that means you have a higher chance of eating more than you previously did.The best part is that you can use that time at home to exercise to lose weight fast, as you will see in this read.

Advantages Of Working Out At Home To Lose Weight

Most people think they have to go to the gym for them to work out and get results and this is purely a misconception. You can get the results you want if you have an effective exercise program and you follow it to the letter. Working out at home comes with some advantages though. Here are some of these advantages:

It Is Cost Effective

Working out at home is very cheap.Unlike the gym where you have to pay monthly fees, which to be honest are sometimes on the higher end of the scale, working out at home does not require this. You always find gym subscription packages coming with a lot of activities which you necessarily don’t use. Most commonly, you will find a dance class, a pool and other services in the subscription charge and yet all you want to do is run on the treadmill for a few minutes, lift a few weights and you are done. Other expenses like taking a bus or taking your car to the gym are also done away with at home workouts.

It Is Not Time Consuming (2)

There are a lot of things a person needs to do before they can start working out at the gym.You need to wake up,dress up, pack your gym clothes, travel all the way to the gym, and change to your gym clothes before you can start working out. After working out, you have to take a shower and go through the entire process you went through before. This takes a lot of time. There are people who end up spending more time going to the gym and going back home than the time they spend working out and this makes no sense. You simply don’t experience this problem when you exercise at home. You won’t spend a lot of time travelling to the gym and this means you can spend even more time working out.

Read More: 5-Day Workout Routine At Home: A Step-By-Step Plan To Unleash Your Inner Fitness Beast

There Is No Age Limit (2)

Most gyms have an age limit, especially for minors. People under the age of 13 are usually not allowed in gyms or weight rooms. If they are allowed, they have to be accompanied by adults. If you work out at home, you don’t face this problem. You can easily exercise with your children. You can even make gym time a family bonding time. 

It Is Difficult To Find A Good Gym (2)

Finding a good gym can sometimes be difficult. You can find one gym that has no equipment that you need,you can find another gym that has the equipment but they are not functioning perfectly, you will find another gym that has no instructors, you will find your nosey neighbour in another gym and so on. These and many other reasons make settling for a gym so hard. The same cannot be said for home gyms. First of all your nosey neighbour won’t be there. Secondly, you can buy the equipment you need. You can also use certified online instructors who are cheap and help you with everything you need. 

Home Gyms Are Flexible (2)

Another advantage that home gyms hold is the fact that you can work out anytime you want. You can exercise after work, before work, and all. You are not restricted by time or anything. There are times when you go to the gym and you find it full as that is the time most people want to work out. With home gyms, this can never happen.

Freedom To Exercise What You Want (2)

With a home gym, you can do any exercise you want at whatever time you want. If you want to do planks all day, you can.The same is not possible in a gym as your instructors will not let you do that. The fact that other people also want to use certain machines means that you cannot hold them longer than you need to.  

Privacy (2)

Home gyms offer privacy which is something good. The privacy gives you the opportunity to be comfortable to work out, however you want. If you want to work out in your briefs, you can. If you want to exercise for only 10 minutes and stop without feeling judged  by other gymers, you can. 

Low Risk Of The Virus (2)

One of the most effective ways of reducing the spread of the virus is by staying at home and social distancing. In gyms you will find very many different people. It is hard to be careful as you can’t see if a person is unhealthy by just looking. Different people touching different gym equipment is likely to increase the risk of the virus spreading even further. At your home gym, you have less risk of the virus. This is from the fact you are not interacting with different strangers everyday. Anyone who has the access to your home gym is most likely a relative.

How To Lose Weight Quickly While Exercising At Home?

When it comes to losing weight, reducing the calories you take in and burning an amount of calories through working out is the way to go. As you have seen there are many advantages that come with working out at home. An advantage we failed to mention is that working out at home can help with weight loss. For you to lose weight while at home, you need to do various aerobic exercises, as those exercises burn the most calories. Apart from aerobic exercises, strength training exercises can help with weight loss by building muscles.Muscles are metabolically active and this means they burn calories even while at rest. With that said, here are some exercises that will help you lose weight fast while at home.

Wall Squat

This is a variation of the squat. It is mostly done by people with knee problems because the wall helps offer extra support. It also helps with weight loss and can easily be done at homes as long as you have a wall.

To do this you need to:

1. Stand with your back against a wall and make sure your feet are at least 12 inches away from the wall.
2. You then bend your knees while dropping into a squat position. While doing all this, you need to keep your back on the wall.
3. Stop when your thighs are in a position parallel to the ground. When you get there, push up through your heels back to the original position.

Jumping Lunges

Jumping lunges are a variation of the basic lunges. Lunges are known to be generally hard and there is no exception when it comes to this lunge variation. What makes it a good exercise to promote weight loss is the fact that the jumping aspect of it makes your body burn more calories than the normal lunge.  

How to do it:  

1. The first thing to do is to stand with your knees slightly bent; your feet staggered so that your right leg is in front of your left leg.
2. Then jump up straight while switching your legs in the air. You should land with your left leg before your right leg. It is important to make sure your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. This helps to prevent injury, and getting injured is the last thing you want.
3. Repeat this move 20 times to complete one set.

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Bridge

This exercise helps with weight loss by building strength. Bridges are known to work the various butt muscles. Apart from that, they also help improve your posture. A good posture reduces the risk of back pains. 

How to do it (3): 

1. Start by lying down on your back with your knees bent. Try to keep your back in a neutral position while doing all this and should not be pressed to the ground, nor should it be arched. You should also avoid tilting your hips and then tightening your abdominal muscles.
2. Then raise your hips off the floor. Make sure your hips are aligned to your knees and shoulders.
3. Hold that position for three deep breaths.
4. Return to the original position and repeat the exercise.

Single-Leg Deadlift To Reverse Lunge

This particular exercise combines the deadlift and the lunge into a single exercise. Due to that fact, it is able to work many different muscles and also helps with weight loss. This also helps with balance and coordination.

How to do it:

1. You begin by standing with your feet together while holding a dumbbell in each hand. You should hold the dumbbells in front of your legs.
2. Then shift your weight to your left leg while keeping a slight bend in your left knee. Raise your right leg straight behind your body, hinging at the hips to bring your torso to a position parallel to the ground, and then lower the weight towards the ground.
3. Make sure to keep your back flat. Your torso and the right leg should be almost parallel to the ground at the bottom of the movement, with the weight just a few inches from the floor.
4. While keeping your core tight, push up using your left heel to stand up straight and pull the weight to the initial position. Bring the right-left back down to meet your left leg. Hold that position for a couple of seconds as you squeeze your butt.
5. Then step back into a reverse lunge with your right foot, landing on the ball of your right foot and keeping your heel off the ground. Then bend both of your knees to create two right angles with your legs.
6. Push through your left heel to return to the standing position. That counts as 1 repetition.
7. Aim to do 8 – 12 reps before switching sides.

Squat

A squat is a crucial exercise in every workout program. Squats help strengthen your core, they help strengthen your lower body muscles like your quads, your calves and your hamstring. Another benefit of squats is the fact that they can be done by anyone and anywhere thus a good home exercise.

 How to do a squat (3):

1. You start by putting your feet shoulder-width apart. Your toes should be slightly out, and your hands should be at your side.
2. The next step is to hinge your hips and to bend your knees as you sit back as if you are going to sit down and allow your arms to raise up in front of you. While doing this, you need to make sure your knees don’t fall inward and that your back stays straight.
3. When your thighs are parallel to the ground, stop and raise up by pushing through your heels to return to the starting point.

Read More: Ways To Exercise At Home: Going Full Throttle On Your Body Transformation Plans

Crossbody Mountain Climbers

This exercise is mainly known for working the abdominal region.It mainly works the obliques and the hip flexors. Crossbody mountain climbers also help to strengthen the upper body as they work the chest, shoulders and triceps. 

How they are done:

1. Begin by getting into a plank position. Make sure your elbows are directly below your shoulders. Keep your neck, back, and hips in a straight line.
2. Lift your right foot off the floor, flex your knee, and bring it close to the right side of your chest.
3. Place the right foot back to its original position.
4. Lift your left foot off the floor, flex your knee, and bring it close to the left side of your chest. Add some speed and do this as if you are running.
5. You should do 2 sets of 25 reps.

Push-Ups

Push-ups help with upper-body strength as they work multiple upper-body muscles like the triceps and the pecs. They are also quite effective when it comes to building overall strength. Another major advantage of push-ups is the fact that they help exercise the cardiovascular system. This is achieved from the push-ups working multiple muscles at the same time and the heart has to work harder to provide all the various muscles with oxygen-rich blood. 

How to do push-ups (3):

1. The first step to doing push-ups is to get into a high plank position. While in that high plank position, try to make sure your hands are a bit wider than shoulder-width length. Your palms should be directly under your shoulders. Your body should be able to form a straight line that runs from your neck to your heels.
2. While you are in that position, try to engage the muscles of your core and pull your shoulder blades down and back.
3. The next thing to do is to lower yourself to the ground. You should be able to do that by bending your elbows and pushing your shoulders forward.
4. Make sure to lower yourself down until your chest is almost about to touch the floor. Relax in that position for a couple of seconds, breath out, and push your body back to the starting position.

Crunch

This is yet another exercise you can add to your home workout routine for fast weight loss.

How to do a crunch:

1. First, lie down on the ground with your back. Bend your knees and make sure your feet are flat on the floor.
2. Hold your hands behind your head. Make sure you hold them loosely to not pull on your neck when you move. Too tight, and it might cause an injury.
3. Gently raise your shoulders upwards from the floor to about a 30-degree angle.
4. Hold that position for about one second. You should feel your abdominal muscles being engaged.
5. Lower yourself to the original position.
6. If you are new to crunches, you can try 3 sets of 15 reps.

Sit-Up

Sit-ups help work the abdominal muscles and also help build strength and muscles. 

To do sit-ups you: 

1. Start by lying down on your back. Make sure you are on a flat surface. Then bend your legs at your knees and make sure your feet are firmly flat on the ground. You should bring your heels close to your bottom so that you can create a 90-degree angle at the knee area.
2. Then take your hands and place them behind your head. You can choose to put them there or cross them on your chest. This is the initial starting position.
3. Then raise your body until it is no longer on the floor, and your chest is close to your thighs. Exhale as you raise your body upwards.
4. Gently lower yourself back to the original starting position as you inhale.
5. If you are new to the sit-up, you should try to do 10 reps at a time.

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Running

Going for a morning run or an evening run is yet another way you can shed those extra pounds off. Running is a cardio exercise and it burns so many calories.The faster and longer you run, the more calories you burn (1,4).

Swimming

You can swim to relax and at the same time lose weight. Swimming is a full-body exercise and it burns a lot of calories (1,4). Floating on its own is responsible for burning some calories.  Different swimming strokes burn calories differently. For example, the backstroke burns more calories compared to the butterfly.

Cycling

You can choose to buy a stationary bike or buy a mountain bike. Cycling is yet another exercise that burns a lot of calories at a go. The higher the intensity the more calories you burn (4). This means the faster you go the more calories you burn. The terrain you take will also influence how many calories you burn. Hilly and tough terrains will burn more calories compared to straight soft terrains.

Jump Rope

Jump rope requires so little yet it burns so many calories (4).The only thing you need for this exercise is a skipping rope and a small space.

The Bottom Line

You can easily exercise to lose weight fast at home using the various workouts highlighted above. Keep in mind that working out is not a magic spell and that means it does not happen instantly. You need to invest a lot of time and energy. To avoid being injured, make sure you warm-up before you start working out. You should also make sure to do the exercises in the required form.

DISCLAIMER:

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!

SOURCES:

1. 11 Best Exercises for Weight Loss in 2020, According to Experts and Research (2020, prevention.com)
2. ADVANTAGES OF WORKING OUT AT HOME (n.d., us.humankinetics.com)
3. Exercises At Home: 10 Ways To Lose Weight Without Equipment (2012, huffingtonpost.ca)
4. What are the best exercises for weight loss? (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)