Some of the toughest exercises around use something you’re guaranteed to already have on hand: your own body weight. Try these out at home and you’ll be sweating and burning up those calories in no time.
1. One-armed Pushups
There is a reason that the pushup is a classic. Using only one arm makes the move extra challenging, which means extra calorie burning. Practice traditional pushups first, but move your arms closer together to increase difficulty. When you are ready to try with one arm, move your legs apart for a better initial balance. When you exhausted, move to the next arm, then transition to the next exercise and keep going.
2. Floor sprints
Since you’re already down on the floor in pushup position, you might as well try this fast, fat burning move. With your hands on the floor, directly under your shoulders, start with your legs together, then bring your knees up to your chest, alternating, as if running in place on the floor. Work your way up to a minute of sprinting.
3. Jumping Squats
Squats are the perfect lower body exercise, with unbeatable benefits for your glutes, quads and hamstrings. The easiest way to think about doing a squat is to first imagine sitting down in an invisible chair. Keep your knees behind your toes, your chest up, and your rear end out as far as possible. Although some people avoid squats for fear of damaging their knees, this fear is unfounded, as squats may improve knee health. To increase your heart rate even more, jump up out of this squat, being sure to land softly on the balls of your feet, with your knees bent.
4. Standing Long Jump
This move is a great calorie burner, but it’s also great fun. Get back into a partial squat position, with your feet shoulder width apart. Swinging your arms to gain momentum, and simply jump forward as far as possible, landing on the balls of your feet. This move combines the strength of the squat with the power of plyometrics to boost your calorie burn. Just be sure, before you jump, to clear enough space in front of you to land safely.
5. Burpees
These are the holy grail of body-weight exercises: every part of your body is engaged, in multiple movements, and your heart rate can quickly shoot through the roof. Try to do one minute of burpees without stopping, but watch your form. There are also variations, to further increase your heart rate. You can add a jump to the top of the burpee, or add weights for even more burn.
Get started today with these moves, and never worry about a lack of equipment again!