Bodyweight Training Basics

Not everyone wants - or indeed needs - to get into a gym to achieve their goals. You already possess a home gym - your body. Using the most basic bits of home furniture as an aid, just look at some examples of what you can do:

Lower body - squats, lunges, burpees, calf raises, tuck jumps, mountain climbers

Upper body - press-ups (of which there are tens of different variations), tricep dips, bicep curls, one arm rows

Core - v-sit ups, crunches, leg raises, bicycle crunches, planks...abdominal work has endless possibilities.

Throw in just £50 worth of additional equipment (like a kettlebell and a chin-up bar) and you can add literally hundreds of additional exercises into your home workout repertoire.

How does it all fit together?

When planning your home workout, think about what you want to achieve. If you want to get 'fitter', then we need to do a lot of circuit style work, high reps, and keep you moving quickly between exercises. We need to get you out of breath, and keep you there.

Improving 'Fitness'

Squats x 20 reps

Lunges x 10 reps on each leg

Mountain climbers x 50 reps

Rest 60 seconds, and repeat. Try to complete 3 times. Then:

Press-ups x 20 (from the knee if necessary)

Dips (using a chair) x 10

Crunches x 20

Plank position for as many seconds as possible

Rest 60 seconds, and repeat...again, 3 times.

That should get you out of breath, and if you're new to exercise, be a very challenging workout. If you find it too easy, add another 10 reps onto every exercises, and cut down the rest time. If it is still too easy, add more circuits. Do it 4, 5 or 6 times - the beauty of training at home is that you can keep going as long as you want. Aim to train every other day at first, and don't be afraid of some aches - that's the feeling of your body waking up!

Keep an eye out for the next blog in this series, where we'll take a look at how to incorporate some very cheap additional equipment into your home workouts. It'll not only make your training even more effective, but it'll add some variety to keep you on your toes.