We are proposing five exercises to do at home and will work on each muscle group of your body for a complete training and a short amount of time spent. For each on them, try to do 15 repetitions and do the sequence three times.
Push-ups
Equipment: none
When properly executed, these exercises trains most of your muscles. Even though it is focused on the pectoral muscles, the triceps and the shoulders, the buttock muscles are also exercising. It will require a plank position, which is excellent for deep abdominal stimulation. Set yourself on the tip of your toes when planking, it will then be easier to contract your legs for a better stability and a greater strength when you push.
Squats
Equipment: None or some weights
Doing squat often requires using weights in addition to the body weight to overload the legs and buttock muscles. If you are not yet ready to use the additional weights, aim to lower your hips so they reach knee level or below and making sure to keep your weight on your heels and pushing your knees slightly outward to align them with your toes.
For an additional difficulty level
The prisoner stance is a variation that adds a dorsal effort to the exercise. Rest your hands behind your head and the elbow on the side to activate your shoulder and shoulder blade muscles and add some weight on your back muscles. To activate your fast-twitch muscles, it is also possible to jump at the end of the rise to accelerate the concentration of the quadriceps and buttock muscles. You do not have to jump on each repetition.
Pull-ups
Equipment: Solid bar (across a door frame or something else)
The king of body weight training is the pull-up. Without this one, the training would be unbalanced. The pull-ups allow to compensate for the press movements performed on the other training (push-ups, dips, plank) and is activating the essential muscles to a complete training: the main back, the biceps and lower trapezius. They also make your stance and shoulder stability better.
Step-ups
Equipment: Solid chair, a bench, a training step, or an exercise box
A controlled straightening on an object makes sure that your legs work in a balanced manner. In opposition to the bilateral training like the squats, you cannot cheat this exercise by making one leg working harder than the other since you work them both individually. When you put your foot on an elevated surface, it stretches your buttock muscles and makes them slightly weaker. It is more difficult to use the full strength of an elongated muscled and a greater number of muscular muscles will have to work to give the necessary force to raise your body. The step-ups also give you a chance to train your balance and your concentrations.
Hip bridges
Equipment: none
It is possible to do this exercise with both legs on the ground or one raised in the air. The hip bridges train the posterior chain (back, buttocks and hamstring). They will make your posture better and will also reduce back pain. To make the exercise more difficult, try many repetitions on a single leg before you switch to the other and tighten the buttock’s muscles of the leg that is pushing when you are completely stretched. You will be prepared to add weight like a loaded backpack on your hips.
This sequence of the five exercises will help you maintain a great physical shape while staying at home. We hope this helps!