Starting a workout routine at home sounds simple, but figuring out what to actually do can be the hardest part.
How often should you work out? Which exercises should you choose? Do you need dumbbells? And how do you know when it’s time to make your workouts harder?
You don’t need a complicated program or a full home gym to get started. A few basic exercises and a realistic weekly schedule are enough to begin building strength and improving your fitness.
How Often Should Beginners Work Out at Home?
If you’re new to strength training or coming back after some time away, start with two or three workouts per week.
You don’t need to train every day. Leaving some time between strength workouts gives your body a chance to recover and makes it easier to build a routine you can maintain.
A simple week might look like:
- Monday: Full-body strength workout
- Wednesday: Full-body strength workout
- Friday or Saturday: Full-body strength workout
- Other days: Walking, hiking, cycling, or another activity you enjoy
If three strength workouts feel like too much at first, start with two.
What Equipment Do You Need to Work Out at Home?
Not much.
You can start with bodyweight exercises and add equipment as you progress. If you want more exercise options, a few useful pieces of home workout equipment include:
- A pair or set of dumbbells
- Resistance bands
- A sturdy bench or step
- An exercise mat
You don’t need to buy everything at once.
If you’re starting with no equipment, exercises such as squats to a chair, lunges, incline push-ups, glute bridges, calf raises, and planks can give you plenty to work with.
As you get stronger, having dumbbells and resistance bands makes it easier to gradually increase the challenge.
Focus on Basic Movement Patterns
Instead of trying to learn dozens of exercises, build your workouts around a few basic movements.
Squat
Examples include chair squats, bodyweight squats, and goblet squats.
Hinge
Glute bridges and Romanian deadlifts are examples of exercises that train the hips, glutes, and hamstrings.
Push
Try wall push-ups, incline push-ups, regular push-ups, or dumbbell presses.
Pull
Resistance-band rows and dumbbell rows are good options if you have equipment available.
Single-Leg Exercise
Reverse lunges, split squats, and step-ups can help develop strength and control one leg at a time.
Core
Planks, dead bugs, carries, and other core exercises can be incorporated into your workout.
You don’t have to perform every variation. Choose one exercise from each category that works for your current ability and equipment.
Beginner Home Workout
Here’s a simple full-body workout you can use to get started:
- Chair squat or goblet squat — 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps
- Dumbbell Romanian deadlift or glute bridge — 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps
- Incline push-up — 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps
- Resistance-band or dumbbell row — 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps
- Reverse lunge or step-up — 2 sets of 8 reps per leg
- Plank or dead bug — 2–3 sets
Rest about 60–90 seconds between sets as needed.
If you’re completely new to strength training, start with two sets of each exercise. You can add a third set as the workout becomes more comfortable.
How Long Should a Home Workout Be?
You don’t need an hour-long workout to make your training worthwhile.
For a beginner, around 30–45 minutes is plenty of time for a full-body strength workout.
If you only have 20 or 25 minutes some days, that’s okay too. A shorter workout you actually complete is more useful than a longer workout you continually put off because you don’t have enough time.
How Hard Should Your Workouts Feel?
Your workout should feel challenging, but you don’t need to finish every set completely exhausted.
When strength training, choose an exercise or resistance that allows you to perform your repetitions with control.
Toward the end of a set, the exercise should feel harder, but you should still be able to maintain good technique.
If you could easily perform many more repetitions, it may be time to increase the resistance or choose a more challenging variation.
How to Make Home Workouts Harder
One challenge with working out at home is figuring out how to progress once the same workout starts getting easier.
There are several ways to do that:
- Add resistance
- Add a few repetitions
- Add another set
- Use a more challenging exercise variation
- Slow down part of the movement
- Improve your range of motion when appropriate
You don’t need to change your entire workout every few weeks.
Repeating exercises gives you the opportunity to improve at them and see whether you’re actually getting stronger.
Common Beginner Home Workout Mistakes
Home workouts don’t need to be complicated, but there are a few common mistakes that can make progress harder.
Trying to Do Too Much Too Soon
You don’t need to start with five or six workouts per week. Give yourself time to adapt to your new routine.
Changing Workouts Constantly
Variety can be fun, but doing completely different workouts every day makes it harder to track your progress.
Only Doing Cardio
Walking, running, cycling, and other cardiovascular exercise can all be valuable, but including strength training gives you another important component of overall fitness.
Never Making Your Workouts Harder
As you get stronger, your training needs to progress with you. That doesn’t mean every workout has to be harder than the last, but your program should gradually change as your fitness improves.
Thinking You Need a Lot of Equipment
You can accomplish quite a bit with bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, resistance bands, and a small amount of space.
How to Stay Consistent With Home Workouts
One advantage of working out at home is convenience. One disadvantage is that it’s very easy to put the workout off.
Choose the days and approximate times you plan to train rather than relying on whether you feel motivated that day.
It also helps to know what workout you’re doing before you start. Having a written plan removes the need to decide which exercises to do every time.
When Should You Get Help With Home Workouts?
If you’re unsure which exercises are appropriate for you, don’t know how to progress your workouts, or find yourself constantly starting over, having a structured program can help.
Online personal training can be built around the space and equipment you have available at home. You don’t need a full gym setup for your training to be effective.
Your program can also change as you get stronger, add equipment, or work toward new goals.
Start With What You Have
You don’t need to wait until you have the perfect home gym or the perfect schedule.
Start with the equipment and time you have available, focus on a few basic movements, and build a routine you can realistically maintain.
As you become stronger and more comfortable, your workouts can progress with you.
If you’d like a training program built around your goals, schedule, fitness level, and the equipment you have available, learn more about online personal training with Aspire for Adventure.