20 Exercises for a Home Workout Routine Without Equipment -- Just Your Body

Life gets crazy sometimes. It can be hard to take care of oneself physically when everyone is running errands, going to work, taking care of family, and always on the go. Time and money is often in short supply, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some exercise in. Here is a list of 20 exercises for home workout routines to do without equipment.

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Pushups

Use straight legs or bent knees. Change your hand position to change the muscles being used and level of difficulty. Hands out wide is calls up more chest muscle contraction with more shoulder horizontal abduction action. Hands at narrow placement usually calls up more triceps with more elbow extension action.

Situps/Crunches

Lie on your back with your knees bent. Full sit ups or quick crunches work the abs.

Bicycle Crunches

Similar to crunches, as you sit up bring one knee to your chest and try to touch it with the opposite elbow. Repeat with each side.

Planks

Get down in a pushup position with arms extended or resting on elbows then hold the pose for as long as possible.

Lateral Plank Walks

Start in the plank position and move your right foot and hand to the right together, followed by the left. Take 5 “steps” to the right, then 5 to the left.

Squats

Feet shoulder width apart and squat until your hips are slightly below your knees — beyond the thighs parallel orientation with the ground or floor. Place your hands on your head or outstretched with your arms reaching out front.

Pistol Squat

Do the same movements as above, but on one leg! This is an advanced exercise, most people will need preparation for this exercise (see video below).

Squat Jumps

Squat down then jump as high as possible.

Lunges

Feet shoulder width apart, step one foot forward and bend both knees to 90 degrees, then step back. Repeat on each leg.

Reverse Lunges

Feet shoulder width apart, step one foot backward and bend both knees to 90 degrees, then step back. Repeat on each leg.

Clock Lunges

Feet shoulder width apart, step right foot forward and bend both knees to 90 degrees, then step back. Repeat by directing your right foot in the direction of the hours on a clock after 12 o’clock, then 1-6 o’clock. At six o’clock your feet will be pointing 180° in opposite directions. Repeat with your left on the clock from 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6. Again at six o’clock your feet will be pointing 180° in opposite directions.

Wall Sits

Put your back to the wall and have a seat, without a chair, for as long as you can.

Supermans

Lie face down on the floor with arms extended then raise your arms and legs at the same time, like a superhero flying through the sky. This is an advanced exercise and there are easier alternatives to replace or lead up to the actual Superman Exercise.

Mountain Climbers

Start in a pushup position then bring your right knee to your chest and return, then the left knee, then repeat as you run in place. Be careful because the knee is hyperflexed, but the exercise is not load-bearing on the hyperflexed knee (compare to Burpee below) so the exercise should be safe.

Lying Leg Raises

Lay on your back and lift your legs in the air a few inches above the ground. Do it one at a time or both together.

Bear Crawl

Get down on your hands and feet, keeping the knees off the ground and crawl forward.

Jumping Jacks

You know this one, just like in gym class. This is a good way to get the heart rate up.

Running/Walking

Jogging is still the best but if you can’t do it then a brisk walk will do.

High Knees

Run in place while you bring your knees as high as possible.

Standing Calf Raises

Find something to balance yourself, stand flat footed and then lift one foot up. Next, raise the other heel off the ground and then back down. Repeat on your other leg.

WHAT? NO BURPEES? …

Burpees

While doing Burpees, you can harm your knees and back, because you squat down in an extreme range of motion position. Then you put your hands on the floor and shoot your legs back into a pushup position. Then you bring your legs back to a squat position (again in an extreme range of motion position) and jump up. Both times that you go into the squat position, you’re in a very low position which hyperflexes the knee joints, and hyperflexes the hip joints.

Hyperflexed knee joints can cause internal derangement of the soft tissue in the knee. In other words, hyperflexed knees in exercise can suffer chronic damage to soft tissue that is supposed to stay nice and smooth instead of damaged and rough. Hyperflexed knees in exercise can cause problems with ligament stability — especially caused by damage or rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament.

Hyperflexed hip joints cause the pelvis to go into a posterior pelvic tilt. That means “the tail” tucks in because the hamstrings pull their connection at the bottom of the pelvis toward the knees. When your tail is tucked inward, and your torso and spine are flexed forward, your in a harmful position. Since your torso is flexed forward during the Burpee, while the pelvis is in a posterior tilt, the lumbar spine gets flexed in a way that puts extra compression force on the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine region.

Whenever you’re doing a squat, it’s best to try to keep your pelvis in an anterior pelvic tilt position (tail out position). The anterior pelvic tilt in the squat position is very important for keeping the low back (AKA lumbar region of the spine) neutral. When you’re in the squat phase of the Burpee, it is very difficult to maintain the neutral lumbar curve and core stability necessary to keep the low back safe. In people with normal low back anatomy, the neutral lumbar spine means that the slight curve (viewed from the side) of the low back is normal. When there is excessive curve — such as with sway back and a beer belly — the low back is also vulnerable to injury. When the neutral lumbar curve neutrality is maintained, the low back isn’t too flat or too curved, and the intervetebral discs are in a safer, less-compressed state. The Burpee makes it very difficult — if not impossible for some people — to maintain an anterior pelvic tilt while doing the squat phase of the Burpee. No anterior pelvic tilt means no neutral lumbar spine, which means unhappy intervertebral discs. When you’re in the squat position and your hands are on the floor, your pelvis is likely forced into a posterior pelvic tilt, and your intervertebral discs in the lumbar region of the spine sustain higher compressive forces, which can cause intervertebral disk damage or even a ruptured intervertebral disc. Both of these conditions can cause chronic back pain, low back muscle spasms, and even damage to nerves that come out of the spinal cord in the area of the intervertebral discs. The latter condition can require emergency surgery to prevent permanent damage to the nerves and to prevent permanent disability.

It’s cringeworthy to see people do Burpees because the potentially damaging action is done quickly and repetitively. Since Burpees are done very quickly, harmful forces affecting the knees and intervertebral discs in the low back are also generated very quickly. In other words, you’re throwing your body parts into extreme ranges of motion, and the “hurt” (damage) occurs before you even realize it.

To a lesser likelihood, wrists, shoulders and hip joints can also be damaged while doing Burpees. With Burpees there are too many extreme efforts occurring almost simultaneously for an inexperienced exerciser to safely perform the exercise. Burpees are a risky exercise for anyone without experience, even for some people with exercise experience, and definitely for anyone with a pre-existing joint condition or anatomical abnormality. The wise risk/benefit factors of Burpees compared to other available exercises are just not acceptable.

For more information, check out CARDINAL NEWS | Fitness Alert: Burpees Are Harmful; The Popular Burpee Is One Exercise that Hurts Knees and Low Backs; Check Army, Navy SEAL, SWCC which was published by ExerciseReports.com back in January 2015.