Workouts result in a lot of benefits. To live a healthy life, people are encouraged to exercise, eat well, get quality sleep, avoid stress, and so on. With the year we are having, the pandemic and all the other things happening, it is difficult for most gyms to open. That should, however, not stop you from working out. You can easily turn your house into a gym and make the most out of this situation. When your house is your gym, you don’t have to worry about things like having to travel to workout or gyms being overcrowded and full of distractions.
If you are a man and you want to be ripped or even lose pounds, here are some workouts at home that you can try.
When you are working out from home, you don’t need a lot of equipment, and most of your exercises will be bodyweight exercises, which come with advantages of their own.
Advantages Of Bodyweight Exercises
Here are some of the advantages associated with bodyweight workouts:
They Are Cheap (5)
Bodyweight exercises use your body as resistance. What this means is that mostly they require little to no equipment at all. You might buy a yoga mat, a pull-up bar, and other cheap equipment, but mostly they are not expensive. This makes them accessible to everyone, even people who do not have money.
They Can Be Done At Any Place At Any Time (5)
Are you bored at work? Why not do some push-ups? Most of these exercises can be done at any place, at any time, since, for one reason, they do not require a lot of space. You can do them in your house, in the office, at a parking lot, and just anywhere you wish. Secondly, since most of them don’t require any equipment, it means that you don’t have to go to where the equipment is to do them since your body is the needed equipment and you are always with your body.
The other reason for this is that they are easy to do. Most of these exercises don’t require physical guidance, especially in this era of smartphones. You want to do a crunch, and you don’t know how to do it properly? You can just Google how to do a crunch properly and see the thousands of results you’ll have from articles to infographics, explaining the whole to very well taken videos on the same. At this age, you have no excuse for not working out.
They Do Work (5)
Most people think that for exercises to be effective, you need to go to the gym and lift as much weight as you can. This is not true. Bodyweight exercises can help you achieve your weight goals or body goals. Do you want to lose weight? Or you want to be more toned? Do bodyweight exercises, and you’ll achieve your goals.
Bodyweight Exercises Help Improve One’s Range Of Motion And Center Of Gravity (5)
Without the necessary balance and flexibility, working out becomes so difficult. Anyone who works out needs to be flexible and have the required balance. Exercises that work the core are instrumental in providing these two things. Examples of exercises that work the core include sit-ups, planks, and crunches. All these are bodyweight exercises, and hence they help with flexibility and balance.
Those are some of the benefits associated with doing bodyweight exercises. Now, since you’ve seen the general benefits of some of the exercises you’ll be doing, I am sure you are already moving things around trying to create some room where you can be getting your workouts done. Now all you need are examples of workouts you can do, and that is what we are going to highlight next.
Read More: Bodyweight vs Weights: Which One Caters To Your Fitness Goals?
Workouts At Home For Men To Build Strength
One of the reasons most people join gyms is to build muscles and strength. What if we tell you you can get ripped just at the comfort of your house? Here are examples of exercises you can do at home to build muscles and strength.
Push-Up
Push-ups are good exercises to help one get strong. If not done with the right form, they can cause injuries and may not be effective. Here is how to do them (2):
- First, start by kneeling on your yoga mat. Then bring your feet together right behind you.
- Then bend forward and bring yourself to a high plank position. Make sure your palms are flat on the yoga mat. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, and you can try to turn your fingers forward, or you can slightly turn your hand towards the inside. Your shoulders should be on top of your hands. Then make sure your feet are together behind you. Your back should be as flat as possible.
- Then the next step is to lower your body towards the ground. Make sure to have your head aligned to your spine while you are doing this. Make sure your back doesn’t sag down. Another thing you should pay close attention to is the position of your hips; make sure they are not higher than they should be.
- Lower your body until your chest almost touches the ground. Hold that position for about a second or more.
- Then raise your body using your hands to the initial position by fully extending your hands.
- Repeat every step all over again. You can start with 10 push-ups, increasing the number of reps as you get stronger.
Bridge
This is yet another exercise that will help you build strength. It works several muscles at once, which is a nice thing.
How to do it: (4)
- 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.
- Then raise your hips off the floor. Make sure your hips are aligned to your knees and shoulders.
- Hold that position for three deep breaths.
- Return to the original position and repeat the exercise.
Burpees
This exercise will also help build muscles and strength.
How to do them (10):
- Begin by standing straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees and place your hands on the floor. Let’s call this the “frog” position for clarity.
- Jump and push both your legs back and get into a plank or push-up position.
- Hop and get back to the “frog” position.
- Jump vertically and extend your hands above your head.
- Land softly on the floor.
- Get into the frog position again, then go back to the plank position.
- You should do 3 sets of 8 reps while taking a 10-second break between the sets.
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Ab Workouts At Home For Men
Having a six-pack is almost every man’s dream. Everyone who has tried getting them knows it requires a lot of work to get rid of that pot belly. Here are some exercises that can help with that.
Bicycle Crunches
Crunches, in general, are highly effective when it comes to working one’s abdominal muscles, and the same is true when it comes to bicycle crunches.
How they are done (9):
- First, lie down on a mat, flex your knees, and lift your feet off the ground.
- Place your hands at the back of your head and lift your head off the floor.
- Push your left leg down and extend it straight. Simultaneously, curl up and twist to your right. Try to touch your left elbow with your right knee.
- Curl back down and bring your left leg back to the flexed position. Do the same with the other leg.
- You should do 2 sets of 12 reps.
Crossbody Mountain Climbers
Another exercise that will help you get that six-pack.
How they are done (10):
- 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.
- Lift your right foot off the floor, flex your knee, and bring it close to the right side of your chest.
- Place the right foot back to its original position.
- 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.
- You should do 2 sets of 25 reps.
Plank
This is yet another common exercise effective in working your abdominal muscles and other muscles as well.
How they are done (1):
- First, kneel on a mat.
- Place your elbows on the mat.
- Extend your right leg back, then your left leg.
- Keep your neck, back, and hips in the same line. Keep your core engaged.
- Hold this pose for at least 30 seconds.
- You should do 3 sets of 30-60 seconds hold.
Read More: 14 Day Plank Challenge To Build A Killer Core And Lose Weight
Sit-Up
Can you really say you have worked your abdominal muscles without doing sit-ups? Here is how they are done: (2)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Gently lower yourself back to the original starting position as you inhale.
- If you are new to the sit-up, you should try to do 10 reps at a time.
Crunch
It is important to know how to do a crunch properly so that you do not injure yourself when attempting to do one. Here is how you do them (4):
- First, lie down on the ground with your back. Bend your knees and make sure your feet are flat on the floor.
- 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.
- Gently raise your shoulders upwards from the floor to about a 30-degree angle.
- Hold that position for about one second. You should feel your abdominal muscles being engaged.
- Lower yourself to the original position.
- If you are new to crunches, you can try 3 sets of 15 reps.
Home Workouts For Men To Build Lower Body Strength
Squats
Squats mostly work the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Apart from that, they also work on the back muscles and core.
How to do Squats (2):
- First, stand with your feet wide apart. Make sure your legs are as straight and parallel to each other as they can be. To make it easier, you can turn your feet slightly outwards, not more than fifteen degrees.
- Then with your arms straight out, lower yourself. While lowering yourself, you should make sure your knees are well bent, your bottom is pointing outwards, and you are leaning forward at your waist. A position is almost similar to the one you make while seated.
- You should lower yourself until your hips are parallel to the floor, then you can return to the original starting position.
- You should do 20 reps of 3 sets. While doing squats, it is important to always look ahead and try as much as possible to align your knees to your ankles.
Workouts For Men To Workout Their Full Body At Home
At the end of the day, one needs to make sure they work every part of their body, and here are two exercises that will engage most of your muscles.
Pistol Squat
This is a variation of the normal squat, but it is a bit advanced.
How to do a pistol squat:
- First, stand with your feet together and extend your hands out in front of you.
- Lift either your left or right leg from the floor and extend it in front of you.
- Squat down using the other leg, lowering yourself until the leg lifted is parallel to the ground.
- Stand up and repeat with the other leg.
Side Plank
This exercise is effective in working out the glutes, lower back, chest area, arms, and pretty much most of the muscles (2).
How it is done:
- Start by kneeling and placing your palms on your yoga mat. Make sure you keep your elbows underneath your shoulders and extend your legs behind until you attain a high plank position.
- Then roll both of your feet to the right and take your right hand from the ground and extend it straight above.
- Hold this position for 10 to 20 seconds before going back to the high plank position.
- Do the same for the other side and try to repeat this exercise at least 3 times.
It is important to know that all these exercises will help with weight loss, and hence if your goal is to lose weight, you can do any of the highlighted exercises. Since most of the exercises are strength-training exercises, they help one lose weight by building muscles. Muscles have a higher resting metabolism compared to fat mass; this thus enables the person to burn more calories, leading to weight loss.
If you want to make the workouts more effective, you can also increase the intensity by either adding a resistance band or even dumbbells to your workout. This goes without saying, but if you have been unfit for a time, you need to ease yourself into these exercises. Start by warming up before starting the workouts. You can warm up by stretching or even jogging on the spot due to the limited space. Do not do more than you can handle, and listen to your body at all times. It is also recommended you see an expert before you try any new workout program.
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Workout Plan
Using the exercises we’ve highlighted above, we have created a workout plan you can follow just to make things easier for you. Here it is:
Day One
- Warm-Up: Stretching or Jogging/Walking;
- Push-ups;
- Side plank;
- Bicycle crunches; and
- Warm Down: Stretching or Jogging/Walking
Day Two
- Warm-Up: Stretching or Jogging/Walking;
- Pistol squat;
- Crunches;
- Bridges; and
- Warm Down: Stretching or Jogging/Walking
Day Three
- Rest
Day Four
- Warm-Up: Stretching or Jogging/Walking;
- Sit-up;
- Cross body mountain climbers;
- Push-ups; and
- Warm Down: Stretching or Jogging/Walking
Day Five
- Warm-Up: Stretching or Jogging/Walking;
- Bridges;
- Bicycle crunches;
- Side plank; and
- Warm Down: Stretching or Jogging/Walking
Day Six
- Warm-Up: Stretching or Jogging/Walking;
- Planks;
- Squats;
- Burpees; and
- Warm Down: Stretching or Jogging/Walking
Day Seven
- Rest
That is a seven-day workout plan you can follow right at the comfort of your home.
The Bottom Line
Those are some workouts at home for men to try. Just like all exercises, these exercises are associated with all the benefits you would get from going to the gym and working out. One of its benefits is to help with weight control (8). If you want to lose weight, a calorie deficit diet and exercise is the way to go. Being overweight or obese is associated with many diseases that are likely to lower your quality of life.
To reduce the risk of getting such diseases, you need to control your weight, and you can do that by working out. Exercising also helps improve one’s mood. This is due to the release of the so-called ‘happy’ hormone when you workout. This makes you have a better mood in general (6). Exercising also helps improve the quality of sleep, and thus, if you have been experiencing insomnia, you should start exercising, and soon you’ll be sleeping like a baby (7).
Do you want a good posture? Another benefit of exercising is it helps with your posture. Exercises that work the core like crunches and sit-ups help with one’s posture and make you stronger. This is particularly true when it comes to strength-training exercises. They help you build strength, which makes doing daily activities easy (3).
These bodyweight exercises should be performed with caution, just like any regular exercise. Most people usually think that just because they use your body as the resistance, they can’t cause injury while they actually can. Before doing an exercise, make sure you know the right form of doing it and do it properly.
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:
- 7 Exercises Men Should Do Every Day (n.d., health.usnews.com)
- 10 Best Exercises To Do At Home For Men (2018, urbancompany.com)
- 13 Unexpected Benefits of Exercise (2020, greatist.com)
- 27 of the Best Exercises for Beginners to Try at Home (2020, menshealth.com)
- 34 Best Body Weight Exercises for Men (2019, manofmany.com)
- Benefits of Exercise (n.d., medlineplus.gov)
- Benefits of Physical Activity (n.d., cdc.gov)
- Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity (2019, mayoclinic.org)
- Exercise Routines And Home Workouts For Men (n.d., nextluxury.com)
- The Perfect At-Home Workout for Men, No Equipment Necessary ( 2019, livestrong.com)
