More people are swapping their gym memberships for home workouts, finding effective ways to stay fit from the comfort of their own space. To make this transition smoother, we’ve got you covered with essential exercise tips and insights from iFIT personal trainers.
Why Daily Exercise Improves Your Lifestyle
Incorporating daily movement into your routine is one of the most effective ways to enhance both physical and mental well-being. Whether it’s running, walking, dancing, swimming, hiking, cycling, lifting weights, or yoga—every bit of movement contributes to a more active and healthier lifestyle.
Benefits of Daily Exercise:
- Supports Healthy Fat Loss: Regular exercise has been shown to help maintain lower body fat, particularly in women (1).
- Strengthens Core Systems: Promotes muscle growth, bone health, cardiovascular fitness, and even supports healthy skin (2, 3, 4).
- Boosts Mood and Mental Health: Reduces anxiety and alleviates depressive moods (5, 6).
- Lowers Risk of Chronic Illness: Being physically active significantly reduces the likelihood of chronic diseases (7).
- Enhances Memory and Brain Function: Especially beneficial for older adults (8).
- Improves Sleep Quality: Regular movement leads to deeper and more restful sleep (9).
- Increases Libido: Studies show increased physical activity improves sexual function (10).
7 Basic Exercises You Can Perform at Home Every Day
From fitness novices to seasoned athletes, these seven fundamental exercises can help build strength, improve performance, and maintain overall health. They require minimal or no equipment, making them perfect for at-home workouts.
1. Squats
- Why It’s Effective: Builds lower body strength by targeting legs and glutes, which helps you perform better in other exercises and burn more calories (11).
- How to Do It: Stand tall, lower your hips as if sitting on an invisible chair, and return to standing.
2. Burpees
- Why It’s Effective: A full-body exercise that burns a significant amount of calories—about 160 calories for 17 minutes of burpees (12).
- How to Do It: Start in a standing position, drop into a plank, perform a push-up, jump back to your feet, and leap into the air.
3. Planks
- Why It’s Effective: Strengthens your core, improves stability, and engages multiple muscles including arms, legs, and glutes.
- How to Do It: Hold a forearm plank for 30 seconds or more, ensuring your body stays in a straight line.
- Variation: Try side planks to target obliques and challenge your balance further.
4. Bent-Over Rows
- Why It’s Effective: Strengthens shoulders and back while engaging multiple muscle groups like lats, traps, rhomboids, and biceps.
- How to Do It: With or without weights, hinge at your hips, pull your arms toward your chest, and slowly release.
- Variation: Upright rows can also provide an intense workout for your upper body.
5. Lunges
- Why It’s Effective: Targets glutes, strengthens the core, and improves balance and hip flexibility.
- How to Do It: Step forward with one leg, bend both knees to a 90-degree angle, and push back to standing.
- Variation: Side lunges can engage your glutes and legs from a different angle for added strength.
6. Push-Ups
- Why It’s Effective: Works the arms, chest, and core while also improving posture.
- How to Do It: Keep your body aligned as you lower your chest to the floor and push back up.
7. Shoulder Press
- Why It’s Effective: Builds shoulder strength and engages core muscles like obliques and lower back.
- How to Do It: With weights or household items, press them upward from shoulder height and slowly lower them back down.