There’s a popular saying that is well known by fitness enthusiasts that goes, “Everyone wants to get jacked, but no one wants to lift these heavy weights!” Simply put, too many people have excuses. Whether you are “too busy”, don’t have time with your work and social schedule, or you’re simply just too lazy. But what people don’t know is that it doesn’t take hours upon hours at the gym to get into shape and have a great physique.
The truth of the matter is, there are plenty of home workouts for men that you can do around your house with limited equipment, and only a little bit of space. So if your too embarrassed or don’t have enough time to go to the gym, set your alarm 30 minutes earlier each day and check out some of the home workouts on this list to start building a leaner and more muscular you.
The Exercises:
1. Body Squat
If you took a poll of workout enthusiasts, 11 out of 10 would all tell you how much they hate leg days. People want ripped abs and huge arms, so often times leg days are skipped or go forgotten. However, building your legs will create a strong core that will help you have a well-rounded physique.
The body squat is simple and easy. You don’t need any weights and it can be done anywhere in your home. To complete this exercise, put your arms behind your head and squat down. Once your legs are at a 90° angle, come back to the starting position. Repeat this form and you will certainly feel the burn in your quads, hamstrings and glutes.
2. Jumping Jacks
If you thought that your high school gym teacher would make you do jumping jacks just so they had enough time to finish the last few words on their crossword puzzle, you were probably right. But what you didn’t know is that jumping jacks are a great full body workout. Not only do they work your legs and abdomen, they also help build stamina that is great whether you are exercising in the gym, or spending time with your favorite lady at night. Everyone is familiar with how to do a jumping jack, so stop reading and start jumping!
3. Burpees
The name ‘burpee’ can be a bit misleading. After all, they are more likely to make you gag than burp, but this is only for the first few times you do them. Burpess are a great all around exercise that will help you work your arms, your legs and everything in between.
To perform a burpee, start in a crouched position with your hands just touching the ground just in front of your knees. To start the exercise, kick your feet back and go into a pushup position. Then, go down into a full pushup and come back to upward position. From there, kick your feet back to the original position and jump up (yes, literally get off your feet and jump in the air). Once you land, quickly go back into the crouched position and start the routine over again. Be warned, you will feel this one! But also know that you will notice amazing results once you get this exercise down.
4. Inverted Judo Pushup
The next exercise to learn is the inverted Judo Pushup. To perform this, start in an upside down ‘V’ position with your legs behind you, your butt in the air and your hands in front of you as if you were doing a pushup. Then move with your head towards the ground, almost as if you were going underneath a fence with only a small opening to clear. Then, come back upwards through your arms and make an ‘L’ shape with your feet and pelvis nearly touching the ground and your head directly above your arms with your eyes looking straight ahead. If you played football or wrestling as a kid, or have seen any yoga, this position looks a lot similar to the cobra posture.
5. Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are another cardio workout that is meant to be done at a fast pace to help you build stamina and strength. To perform it, Start in a pushup position. When you’re ready to begin, bring one knee to your chest and plant your foot (the foot should be around your pelvis area to get a good stretch and make this exercise worthwhile). Without stopping, take that leg back to starting position and then bring the other knee to your chest. Alternate legs back and forth and remember, one leg doesn’t count as one set. You have to do both legs for it to count. So really, 20-moves is 10-sets. You better get started now!
6. Bicycle Crunches
Okay, okay, everyone wants 6-pack abs and you’ve probably been wondering when we’d talk about abdominal exercises. The truth is, any of the exercises mentioned above will help you build your core and start working towards the stomach you desire. But if you insist on loading your workout with abdominal workouts, a great one to do is bicycle crunches.
To do this exercise, start on your back with your arms at 90° angles next to your torso. From there rise up to a sit-up position. As you come up, lift your right knee towards your torso and rotate your abdomen to touch the knee with your left elbow. Return to the starting position and then switch sides. Just like mountain climbers, two legs equals one rep. After you do both of these moves, you can count that as one rep and complete 9 more.
The Workout Routine
Now that you know what do to, the question is, how do you do it? There are many different ways to go about fitness routines and exercises for men. Some people like to focus on certain body parts on certain days of the week. But for the exercises mentioned here, you can do them quickly each and every day, without over-working your muscles.
Start off by trying to do 10-reps of each of these exercises and then move on to the next. See how many circuits you can complete in 15 minutes (Note: ‘circuit’ means doing all exercises, and then starting back at the beginning and working your way through the exercises again). As you gain strength and stamina, either do more reps or go for a longer amount of time. Chances are, your first few days your going to be sore. And we mean, can hardly make it to the bathroom sore. But the more you workout and the more dedicated you stay, the easier the exercises will become and the more pleased you will be when you look in the mirror.
The Final Say On Workouts At Home
Before you begin these at-home workouts, understand that you won’t look like an extra from the movie 300 with only a few days of training. But if you keep up with these exercises, add more reps and time, and watch your diet throughout the day, you can begin to tone and sculpt your body in a way that you’ve always dreamt of. You don’t need any fancy machines or hundreds of pounds of weight. You just need motivation and dedication to get it done.
Now get off the computer and start working towards a better you!
