You don't have to go to the gym to stay fit, healthy and fit. You can do it at home, devoting only 40 minutes to this several times a week. The most effective form of home workout is resistance training. Thanks to them, you can quickly tighten muscles and improve the quality of the body. The main thing is to choose the right equipment for home workouts and work out the exercise technique.
The benefits of strength exercise
Strength exercises at home are recommended for both men and women. They are used not only for muscle gain, but also for weight loss.
This is due to the fact that strength training helps to activate the fat burning process. After all, the more muscle mass, the less fat, since the body spends a large number of calories on servicing the muscles.
Therefore, as a result of home weight training, you can get rid of excess weight and achieve a beautiful muscle relief.
Home workout equipment
It is convenient to use dumbbells as equipment for doing exercises at home. Several pieces of different weights are available. But it is worth considering that strength training involves the progression of the load. Therefore, over time, you will have to buy new ones. In order not to have to do this, you can buy collapsible dumbbells, the weight of which can be easily changed by removing or hanging additional discs.
Some exercises are easier to do with a barbell. In this case, you will need a bar and a few pancakes. You don't need to buy a lot of heavy discs, as it is difficult to take a lot of weight at home. This requires special safety frames, stands, etc. And taking a loaded bar from the floor is harmful and dangerous for the back.
For girls, weights will come in handy for some exercises. They are usually used to strengthen the legs and buttocks.
In addition, you should pay attention to such a sports equipment as rubber fitness bands. They practically do not take up space, are easy to use and are suitable for any level of physical fitness due to their varying degrees of rigidity. When you exercise, these ribbons stretch, creating resistance that the muscles have to overcome.
For beginners, you can do without purchased inventory at all and use bottles of water or sand instead. A backpack with heavy books will also work. But soon such a load will not be enough, so you will have to visit a sports equipment store or sign up for a gym. Otherwise, progress will stall and you won't be able to achieve a better result.
Best Exercises
The best exercises for both weight loss and muscle building are basic exercises. Sources often advise girls to perform numerous kicks and other isolating exercises. It is believed that this helps to lose weight in the hips and make the butt firm. But you need to understand that fat is not burned locally. The nature of the fat layer is such that the excess leaves evenly throughout the body. The exercises performed do not in any way affect what will lose weight in the first place.
Isolation exercises usually do not consume too many calories. Therefore, they need to be performed not for weight loss, but for finishing the muscles at the end of the workout.
Basic exercises are very energy consuming. They engage several muscle groups, stimulate the production of growth hormones, and trigger metabolic processes.
Squats
One of the most effective exercises for losing weight and strengthening the muscles of the lower body is squats. Many girls perform it, but not all do it correctly, since it is quite difficult to fully master the technique.
Therefore, it is not recommended for beginners to immediately take the weights. The first workouts should be carried out with your own weight.
Execution technique:
- Put your feet wider than your shoulders, turn the toes slightly to the sides so that they are directed to the same place as the knees. Straighten your chest and shoulders, keep your back straight.
- Taking the pelvis back, sit down at least to parallel with the floor. It is advisable to go a little lower. This will maximize the load on the buttocks.
- The position of the body should be such that the body goes perpendicular to the surface, and the knees do not go beyond the toes. To do this, you need to be flexible enough. Therefore, in your free time, you should pay attention to stretching.
- At the lowest point, you need to ensure that the lower back is not rounded and "does not bite". You can put your palm on it at first. Then it will be clear what it is about.
- It is necessary to return to the starting position due to the effort of the gluteal muscles.
- To avoid unnecessary stress on the joints, the knees cannot be fully extended.
Having learned and secured the correct squat technique, you can take dumbbells or a barbell. Weight should be increased gradually. This will help you avoid injury and keep progressing.
Lunges
After squats, lunges are recommended. Such a ligament allows you to stretch the buttocks even more and strengthen the muscles faster.
There are a lot of options for performing lunges: with a step forward, backward, to the side, diagonally, lunges while walking, etc.
You can try several and choose the most effective one for yourself. Variations can be alternated from time to time to diversify your training program.
For all types of lunges, the basic rules for execution will be the same:
- the step should be wide enough;
- the angle at the knee of the working (forward) leg must be straight;
- the back should remain flat and perpendicular to the floor throughout the entire exercise;
- the knee of the supporting leg must not touch the floor;
- body weight should mainly fall on the heel of the working leg.
By following this technique, you can strengthen the glutes and muscles of the front of the thigh in a short time. For faster results, you can pick up dumbbells. But this should be done only after the exercise has been carefully worked out.
Gluteal bridge
Isolation exercise for the buttocks - lying on the back of the pelvis. Many consider it exclusively feminine. But men, especially those leading a sedentary lifestyle, also need to strengthen their gluteal muscles. Therefore, this exercise can be safely included in the home workout program for the stronger sex.
Execution technique:
- Lie on your back with your lower back firmly pressed to the floor. Stretch your arms along the body.
- Squeezing the buttocks, raise the pelvis as high as possible.
- It is important to ensure that there is no discomfort in the cervical spine. If the weight of the body falls on the cervical vertebrae, you can rest your shoulder blades on a bench or other object.
- At the end point, you should pause for a few seconds, straining the gluteal muscles as much as possible.
- Then you need to slowly lower yourself. The basin should not be placed on the floor. In order for the load to be continuous, you must immediately begin the next repetition.
Putting a barbell pancake on the pelvis can increase the effectiveness of the exercise.
Row of dumbbells to the belt
The back muscles at home can be strengthened with dumbbell traction to the waist.
Execution technique:
- Take the starting position, tilting the body forward about 45 degrees and slightly bending the knees. In this case, the back should be flat with a slight deflection in the lower back.
- Take dumbbells in your hands and lower them down.
- On exhalation, bring the shoulder blades together and raise the dumbbells to the belt, making sure that the elbows are parallel to each other.
- Stopping at the top point, you must slowly lower the dumbbells.
The muscles of the back, not the arms, should work in this exercise.
Biceps curls
To strengthen the muscles of the arms, you need to do exercises for the biceps and triceps. This is necessary not only for men who want to increase their volume, but also for women. Indeed, due to the lack of physical activity, the skin in this area begins to sag and becomes flabby.
The most popular exercise for biceps is the dumbbell curl. It's pretty simple to do. The main thing is to lift the dumbbells due to muscle tension, and not throw them up by the force of inertia.
To do this, you need not to jerk at the starting point and make sure that the elbows remain motionless throughout the entire movement.
Extension of the arms in the slope
To strengthen the triceps, you can do arm extension with dumbbells in an incline.
Execution technique:
- Bend your knees slightly and tilt your body forward 45-60 degrees. Keep your back straight.
- Take dumbbells and bend your elbows at a right angle so that your shoulders are parallel to the floor.
- On exhalation, fully straighten your arms back.
- Linger at the end point, feeling the tension of the triceps.
- Then slowly bend your arms again, returning to the starting position.
By the end of the approach, a characteristic muscle burning sensation should be felt in the triceps.
Dumbbell bench press
To give the upper body relief and contouring, it is necessary to perform exercises on the shoulders. One of the most effective is the standing dumbbell press.
Execution technique:
- Stand up straight, raise the dumbbells to shoulder level. The elbows should be perpendicular to the floor.
- As you exhale, you need to squeeze them up so that they practically touch. The dumbbells should go along the same trajectory. Do not fully extend your elbows.
- Then dumbbells should be lowered to the shoulders in a controlled manner.
Girls should also do this exercise. Women are often afraid to swing their shoulders, but they will not be able to significantly increase their size. As a result of the exercises, they will only acquire a light relief, which will relieve them of vagueness and make the outlines of the body clearer.
Training program
Circular workouts are most effective for losing weight, in which the exercises in the complex are performed without pause one after the other. In one such lesson, muscles of the whole body are worked out. It is necessary to make 3-4 circles with breaks between them for 2-3 minutes.
The table shows a circuit training program that includes the exercises discussed above. At the end of each round, two abdominal exercises are performed.
| Exercise | Reruns |
| Dumbbell Squats | twenty |
| Dumbbell lunges | 15 |
| Gluteal bridge | twenty |
| Dumbbell Rows | 15 |
| Lifting dumbbells for biceps | 15 |
| Extension of the arms in an incline to the triceps | 15 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 15 |
| Crunches on the press | 20-30 |
| Raising your legs lying on your back on the press | 15–20 |
It is worth conducting such training 2-3 times a week. You do not need to exercise more often, since the muscles must have time to recover. On free days, you can do cardio workouts that will speed up the process of losing weight.
It is worth considering that losing weight is impossible without proper nutrition and a calorie deficit. The result depends on this by 70%. Moreover, you need not a rigid diet, but a balanced diet. Then the muscles will be strengthened, and the body will become slim and fit.