If you aren't keen on joining a gym and prefer to avoid the outdoors, you can work out at home. Choose indoor exercises that require nothing more than the weight of your body as resistance. Performing such exercises will improve your cardiovascular fitness, as well as your muscular strength and endurance.
Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks work your shoulders, obliques, glutes, calves and back muscles. Jumping jacks improve your aerobic capacity, burn calories and work multiple muscles. All you need is an open room and a high ceiling. Standing with your feet together and arms at your sides, jump in the air as you simultaneously spread your legs and move your arms together above your head. As soon as you land, hop back up and reverse the motion to get back to your starting position.
Star Squats
Star squats work your legs, arms, abs and shoulders. In similar fashion to jumping jacks, star squats tax your aerobic system. Standing with your feet together and arms at your sides, bend down, place your hands on the floor and kick your legs behind your body. After landing on your toes, quickly snap your feet back to your starting position and leap into the air as high as possible. When doing this, extend your arms and legs out so your body forms an "X" shape. Land with your feet back together.
Push-up Variations
Push-ups work your chest, triceps and shoulders, and there are multiple variations. When you are at home, perform conventional push-ups from a face-down position on the floor with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your feet together. Lower and lift your chest to and from the floor by bending your elbows. To target your upper chest, perform push-ups with your feet propped up on a chair. Perform incline push-ups with your hands on two chairs to target your lower chest. With all of these push-ups, alternate raising a leg in the air every time you lower yourself. This will recruit more lower back muscles.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers work your core and legs while simultaneously burning calories. To do these, place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor and your feet in a staggered stance. This position should look like you are about to take off from a starting block in a race. Keeping your hips down, quickly shift your feet back and forth in a fast motion. To increase your core recruitment, do not touch your toes to the ground when you move your leg forward.
Moving Side Planks
When focusing on your abs, perform more than standard crunches and sit-ups. Although they are effective, such exercises only target the upper area of your stomach. Your upper abs, lower abs and obliques all need to be worked evenly. Scissor kicks, leg raises and reverse crunches work your lower abs, while side crunches, bicycle kicks and moving side planks work your obliques.
To do moving side planks, lie on your right side with your forearm flat on the floor and perpendicular to your body and your legs stacked. From this position, lift and lower your hips in a steady, lateral motion. After performing the desired number of reps, switch sides. When lowering your hips, do not let them touch the floor.
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