In this article we focus on basic strength exercises to do at home, only with the help of your body and your own strength.
Importance of Strength Exercises
We overload our muscles when we do a workout, with which we can achieve an increase in muscular endurance, lose weight, and even control diseases such as blood pressure and diabetes.
Many people believe that strength training, resistance training or weight training should be done in a gym, this is a total error.
It is completely acceptable to carry out strength or resistance training exercises at home, or any other open area. The best strength exercises to do at home are those that require little or no equipment.
With the exception of some abdominal exercises, all exercises should be performed for 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Strength Exercises and How They Are Done
Squats
A squat is an exercise that targets the lower body. Strengthen the quadriceps (front of the thighs), the hamstrings (the back of the thighs), and the glutes.
A squat mimic the movements when you sit in a chair and lift yourself back up.
To properly perform a squat, a person must stand with their feet hip-width apart. The toes should point forward. The arms can either be positioned in front of the body, or directly above the head, or with the hands clasped behind the head.
Once in position, the athlete must lower their buttocks to the ground, keeping their feet flat on the ground and their head looking straight ahead.
The buttocks should not in any case lower beyond the knees. To increase resistance, you have to maintain and add free weights with your arms straightened or by holding them with your hands.
Push-Ups or Push-Ups
A push-up works for the chest and triceps. Push-ups are great exercises to do at home, as they don’t require any equipment.
For an easy start, kneel on a soft surface with your feet on the floor, then place your hands a comfortable width apart with your fingers facing forward.
The placement of the hands too wide or too narrow increase the difficulty of the exercise.
With the body straight, we must lower the chest towards the ground. The exercise should stop when your chest is a few inches off the ground and then push yourself up and stop until your arms are straightened.
To do push-ups with more force, we must go from knee support to our feet. Repeat 3 sets of 15 repetitions of this exercise. The head should be placed in a neutral position without tucking the chin inward.
Dips or Funds
Dips target the chest and triceps and only require the use of a small table or platform. To perform a dive, we must place our hands on the edge of a table or chair with our fingers facing forward.
The Feet can be placed flat on the floor with the knees bent (easiest), on the heels with the legs straight (medium), or they can alternate (the hardest).
The body should be kept as close to the floor as possible, keeping the back close to the table. Push your hands up to the starting position and straighten your arms.
Another exercise that we can also try are the push-ups but with the width of the hands more closed or tucked in as shown in the photo. The exercise is done the same as normal push-ups. Going down and up.
ABS
Crunches or crunchs target the abdominal muscles. There is a wide variety of crunches that can be performed without equipment. To perform a basic crunch, we must lay our back on a soft surface with our feet flat on the floor and our knees bent.
The hands can be placed on the chest (the easiest), directly above the body (medium), or with the hands clasped behind the head (the hardest).
The head should remain in a neutral position without hitting the chin and should not return to the ground until the exercise is complete.
To complete the exercise, the athlete must reverse the movement of first touching the middle and upper back and then the shoulders to the ground. Your lower back should remain pressed to the floor throughout the exercise. Perform 25 sit-ups in a row.
Some coaches advise against performing crunches due to possible injuries that they can cause you and it is considered that it is not the best option to choose.
If you are not sure about performing the abdominal crunch correctly, ask your personal trainer or physical trainer. An alternative option to activate the entire core zone is this:
- 8 Plank Variations That Will Ignite Your Abs
- The 3 best exercises to work your core
Other types of crunches target the obliques (side abs), involve the legs, and require more dynamic movements.
List of Routines to Do at Home
- Dumbbell Home Workout for Legs
- TRX Suspension Training to Do at Home
- Easy Cardiovascular Training in Your Own Home
- Leg Workout Routine Video at Home
- Leg, Abdominal and Gluteal Workout Routine to Do at Home
- Gain Muscle Mass at Home with These Exercises
