Home workouts for beginners

Home workouts – all the benefits at a glance

Whether you exercise at home, at a gym or a sports club – any type of physical exercise keeps you fit, improves your well-being, and makes you happy. Which option is best for you depends on your individual goals and preferences. If you are a social type of person who enjoys team sports, you may want to join a sports club. Should you have set yourself fixed goals that you wish to reach as quickly as possible and with professional support, then you might prefer a gym. Perhaps you would rather stay fit without outside pressure and at your own pace, then you can try workouts for at home.

To help you decide what's best for you, we have listed the benefits of regular workouts at home:

• Flexibility: Start your workout whenever you feel like. Night owl or early bird, no matter what – your workout tunes into your daily routine.
• Little sports equipment required: Depending on which training method or sport you choose, all you need is suitable sports equipment and perhaps a workout mat as well as a few small training tools.
• Budget-friendly: If you work out at home, you save money on equipment and membership fees for gyms or sports clubs.
• Individually tailored to your needs: In a personalised fitness plan, you can include your preferred exercises, but also target your problem areas. If you have a desk job, you can plan several units of back support exercises. If you are not quite as mad about sports, you may very well enjoy dance workouts which are a great way to get motivated.
• Mixed exercises: At home, you can try out and alternate between many different types of sports and training methods. You will never get bored. If you want to update your training plan, you can always look at online fitness offers and apps or YouTube videos to get inspired by fresh ideas.
• Cross training to complement other sports: If you regularly go running or swimming, workouts for at home can effectively complement your training. They allow you to target those groups of muscle that do not get exercised as intensively during your regular sports programme.

Once you have reviewed the benefits and decided to integrate fitness training in your daily routine, check out the following types of sports, training methods and ideas suitable for your workout at home.

Yoga – time out for your soul, gentle strengthening for your body

With gentle moves and relaxing breathing exercises, yoga has rapidly turned into one of the most popular techniques for workouts at home. Regular yoga exercises can help you strengthen your muscles, improve your posture, and increase mobility. In addition, you become more aware of your body, and you will learn how to tune out every-day stress factors.

Guided yoga sessions are available on YouTube as well as in specific yoga apps. They offer a wonderful introduction to the techniques and allow you to explore yoga as a sport for you.

Pilates – relaxation combined with intensive core training

Pilates unites effective strengthening exercises for the back, stomach and pelvic floor with gentle stretching and relaxing breathing techniques. This type of training also targets the weaker muscle groups deep inside your body, that are otherwise not worked quite as much. Body posture and coordination improve as a result.

You can do Pilates using special equipment (e.g. reformer, chair or barrel) or simply on a workout mat. Beginners are well advised to try out equipment-based training methods, as they provide support to properly carry out individual exercises.

Muscle building training – targeted strengthening of certain muscle groups

If you have a certain goal in mind, you should opt for targeted training to build muscle. Particularly as cross training to counteract long hours sitting at a desk or to change the appearance of your body, you can select a workout that focusses on certain areas of your body. Workouts for the back, arms and shoulders, the stomach, legs, and buttock as well as full body workouts are very popular.

Dancing & dance workouts for more fun & a sense of rhythm

Dancing is not only an expression of pure joy of living, but also a great opportunity to make physical exercise more interesting. Dance workouts and rehearsals of choreographies strengthen your coordination and improve your fitness. Learning new dance moves and remembering patterns of motion offer brain exercise and enhance your mental capacity.

HIIT (high-intensity interval training) – short, intensive, and effective

High-intensity interval training or HIIT is all about full power. High-intensity training phases alternate with short, active recovery periods. The goal of this training method is to keep accelerating the heart rate rapidly and to strengthen the muscles during high-intensity exercise phases.

Select a HIIT training plan suitable for your individual needs and start exercising your problem areas. Videos on YouTube and instructions from gyms support you in reaching your goals and guide you through your home workout.

Tabata – Effective interval training using a Japanese method

Tabata is one of the most effective interval training methods and is therefore one of the most popular home workouts. This variation originates from HIIT training and includes active phases of heavy exercise and short periods of recovery. Every interval requires 20 seconds at maximum effort and 10 seconds recovery, which makes your body perform at its maximum capacity. Overall, a Tabata unit includes 8 intervals and thus, only takes four minutes.

If you are prepared to go to the limit during your workout at home and push yourself to the maximum, then choose Tabata as an ideal method for building strength and burning fat.

Training at home? Definitely! Safety tips for training at home

Physical exercise at home should be fun and motivate you to stay active and fit. Beginners should, however, observe a few safety rules to avoid accidents and safely work out at home. Here, we have assembled the most important tips for you:

If you follow these rules, your fitness training at home can begin. To increase your motivation, you can schedule your workouts at fixed times during the week. A good start would be three to four units of exercise per week, where each one takes approximately 15 to 25 minutes. This is how you can keep fit overall.

Summary

Home workouts are great for their flexibility and diverse options. At low cost and with little equipment, you can keep fit at home any time and pursue your training goals. Tailor your workout at home to your personal needs and mix the exercises, training methods and types of sport that appeal to you the most. In no time, you will have created a way to cross train or get an active break from your every-day work routine and feel better overall.