The 7 Best At-Home Workout Routines: The Ultimate Guide for Training Without a Gym

Pocket/Belt E.D.C.

I've heard a lot about eating a "colorful diet." Should I pick fruits and vegetables based on color to help me get more benefits from these foods?

The Benefits of Sesame Seeds for Knee Osteoarthritis

So you want to start working out, but you don’t want to leave the house?

No problem!

In our coaching program we help lots of people who don’t have gym memberships:

Let’s go over the 7 Best At-Home Workouts so you can start training today: no gym or equipment required!

A note on warming up and cooling down
Home Workout #1: Beginner Bodyweight (Start Here)
Home Workout #2: Advanced Bodyweight
Home Workout #3: The 20-Min Hotel Routine
Home Workout #4: High-Intensity Interval Training
Home Workout #5: Attack of the Angry Birds
Home Workout #6: Train like Batman
Home Workout #7: The PLP Progression
Bonus No-Equipment Workout: The Playground Circuit
How to build your own at-home workout

At Home Warm-ups and stretching routines

No matter which at-home workout you pick, I want you to start with one important thing:

Warm up!

I cover why you should always warm up in an article found right here. It doesn’t have to be much though, give it about five minutes to get your muscles active and your heart rate up.

This will help you do exercises properly and help prevent injury. You can run in place, do air punches and kicks, or some jumping jacks.

Here is NF Senior Coach Staci (you might know her incredible story) showing you many beginner options you can use to warm up as well:

If you’re curious, here’s my personal (advanced) warm-up:

Jump rope: 2-3 minutes
Jumping jacks: 25 reps
Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Lunges: 5 reps each leg.
Hip extensions: 10 reps each side
Hip rotations: 5 each leg
Forward leg swings: 10 each leg
Side leg swings: 10 each leg
Push-ups: 10-20 reps
Spider-man steps: 10 reps

Our goal isn’t to tire you out, instead we want to warm you up.

That’s step one.

Completing your chosen at-home workout would be step two.

Below, you’ll find 7 sequences you can follow along with! And if you like our style of workouts, you can check out our coaching program where we’ll customize a training routine that fits your life and/or travel schedule:

Home Workout #1: Beginner Bodyweight

This at-home routine, as we lay out in our Beginner Bodyweight Workout article, is as follows:

Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Push-ups: 10 reps
Walking lunges: 10 each leg
Dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug or another weight): 10 each arm.
Plank: 15 seconds
Jumping Jacks: 30 reps

The above is what we call “circuit training,” with the objective being to run through the workout sequence once, then again, then again.

Note: Not a milk drinker?

If you don’t have milk in the house for the rows, find something of roughly the same weight with a good handle.

If you want to download this Beginner Bodyweight Workout as a worksheet, you can do so when you sign up in the box below:

Home Workout #2: Advanced Bodyweight

If the beginner at-home workout above is too easy for you, move on to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout. The workout looks like this:

One-legged squats – 10 each side [warning: super-difficult, only attempt if you’re in good enough shape]
Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Walking lunges: 20 reps (10 each leg)
Jump step-ups: 20 reps (10 each leg)
Pull-ups: 10 reps [or inverted bodyweight rows]
Dips (between bar stools): 10 reps
Chin-ups: 10 reps [or inverted bodyweight rows with underhand grip]
Push-ups: 10 reps
Plank: 30 seconds

Not familiar with these moves? Check out the 21 Best Advanced Bodyweight Exercises for a full breakdown.

I warn you, the above sequence will hurt… in a good way. You should be proud if you can get through this three times.

Home Workout #3: The 20-Min Hotel Routine

Sometimes, you just plain find yourself stuck in a hotel room. Maybe you can find the hotel gym, but I bet it’s terrible! It probably has 2 machines, a broken treadmill, and no free weights.

Ugh.

Instead, how about a 20-min workout you can do in the room itself! Utilize the furniture to its full potential.

Level 1

Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Incline push-ups: 15 reps (feet on floor, hands on edge of bed or desk)
One-arm luggage rows: 10 reps (each arm, use your suitcase as your weight)
Reverse crunches: 10 reps

Level 2

Overhead Squats: 25 reps
Push-Ups: 20 reps
Inverted Rows using the desk in your hotel room: 10 reps
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps

Set the alarm clock to 15 minutes from now and see how many circuits you can do!

Check out our full post on hotel circuits if you want Level 3!

We have a LOT of business travelers in our 1-on-1 coaching program, which is why we create workouts for both their home gym and while traveling!

If you need worldwide accountability, workouts for home and the road, and want expert guidance…

Home Workout #4: High-Intensity Interval Training

You don’t have to head to the gym to do High-Intensity Interval Training. You can do a complete routine right in your own home!

HIIT is just following a specific regimen where you vary your speeds and intensity throughout a shorter run, swim, bike, or row.

Unless you have a giant backyard, running at home might be tough.

But you know what doesn’t require a lot of room?

Burpees!

To complete a burpee:

Start standing up, then squat down and kick your legs out.
Do a push-up, bring your legs back in, and explode up into a jump.
For a HIIT workout, try to do 20 repetitions, then rest for two minutes.
Repeat until you hate yourself.

Check out our full guide on How to Start Interval Training for some more ideas on HIIT workouts at home.

Home Workout #5: Attack of the Angry Birds

The Angry Birds Workout is designed to be done when you have 5 or 10 minutes to kill.

Sort of like playing Angry Birds…

Here’s how The Angry Birds Workout Plan works: it’s deceptively simple – only four major movements.

If you don’t have time to run through the whole sequence, no problem!

Depending on how much time you have during the day, you can do your whole workout at once, or break up your training into four different sessions throughout the day (with each session being ONE of the exercises).

Here’s a sample day for your No-Equipment Workout:

Wake up, do 40 jumping jacks to warm up, and then do bodyweight squats.
At lunch, you grab your suitcase (if you’re at work, milk jug if you’re at home) and do inverted rows.
After work, you do another 50 jumping jacks and then do your push-ups.
After dinner, you do your planks while watching TV.

You could even split it up over two days if needed, but the goal would be to do it the whole sequence at once.

The main Angry Birds Workout article describes in detail Levels 1-6, but here’s Level 3 for you:

Bodyweight squats: 50 reps
Push-ups: 50 reps
Pull-ups: 10 reps
Planks: 3-minute hold

Once you’ve done the complete routine, you have my permission to pull out your phone and play the actual game!

Home Workout #6: Train like Batman

We love the Caped Crusader here at Nerd Fitness, so naturally we have The Batman Bodyweight Workout for you to try!

Bonus points if you somehow do this no-equipment workout in a cave, as that’s how Bruce Wayne would roll.^[1]

This workout is separated into two days for you:

Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 1:

Rolling squat tuck-up jumps: 5 reps
Side to side push-ups: 5 reps
Modified headstand push-ups: 5 reps
Jump pull-up with tuck / Pull-up with Tuck-up: 5 reps
Handstands against wall: 8 seconds

Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 2:

‘180 Degree’ jump turns: 5 reps
Tuck front lever hold: 8 seconds
Tuck back lever hold: 8 seconds
Low frog hold: 8 seconds

This is a relatively advanced workout already, but if you want to progress to the next level, check out the main Batman Bodyweight Workout for tips on how to do just that.

Home Workout #7: The PLP Progression

The PLP is a progressive program in which you complete one additional rep of three exercises – Pull Ups, Lunges, and Push Ups – every day, for two months.

NOTE: This is NOT a beginner program, and should not be attempted unless you have been training consistently and can do multiple repetitions of pull-ups and push-ups with great form.

Like this perfect push-up:

And this perfect pull-up:

Here’s how the PLP Progression works:

Day 1:

Pull-ups: 10 reps
Push-ups: 10 reps
Lunges: 10 reps (each leg)

Day 2:

Pull-ups: 11 reps
Push-ups: 11 reps
Lunges: 11 reps (each leg)

Day 3:

Pull-ups: 12 reps
Push-ups: 12 reps
Lunges: 12 reps (each leg)

How long do you keep doing this?

As originally envisioned by Chad Waterbury, the PLP Workout lasts 60 days.^[3]

Yeah…by the end of it you’ll be doing more than 50 pull-ups.

There are two versions:

If you can do 10 straight pull-ups: Start day 1 with 10 reps of each.
If you cannot do 10 straight pull-ups: Start day 1 with 1 rep of each.

Complete your required reps each day in as many sets as you need, whenever you need to. The goal is to do it in as few sets as possible, but enough so that you can complete each rep with proper form.

Want to learn more? Check out my results on the PLP Workout.

Bonus No-Equipment Workout: The Playground Circuit

Do you have a nearby playground? Why not work out there! If you have kids, you can do it together. Or let them ignore you.

I’ll give you a Level One workout, and a Level Two. Check out The 20-Minute Playground Workout for some Level Three exercises.

Level One

Alternating step-ups: 20 reps (10 each leg)
Elevated push-ups: 10 reps
Swing rows: 10 reps
Assisted lunges: 8 reps each leg
Bent leg reverse crunches: 10 reps

Level Two

Bench jumps: 10 reps
Lower incline push-ups: 10 reps
Body rows: 10 reps
Lunges: 8 reps each leg
Straight leg reverse crunches: 10 reps

After you’ve gone through a complete set three times, go down the slide!

How to Build Your Own At-Home Workout

We just went over 7 workouts you can do at home (plus a workout you can do in a park).

You don’t have to stick to these though! I have two resources to help you design your own no-equipment workout:

The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises: This guide will teach you how to perform the best bodyweight exercises – no equipment required! Check it out if you are unfamiliar with any of the movements referenced in today’s guide.
How To Build Your Own Workout Routine: Once you’re comfortable with a handful of bodyweight exercises, use this guide to pull them all together into a full-body workout!

That should get you going on building a workout you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Want more? Alright, eager beaver, I got you.

We built THREE options for people just like you:

1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom workout program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:

2) Good at following instructions? Check out our self-paced online course, the Nerd Fitness Academy.

The Academy has 20+ workouts for both bodyweight or weight training, a benchmark test to determine your starting workout, HD demonstrations of every movement, boss battles, meal plans, a questing system, and supportive community.

3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.