Full-Body Workout You Can Do At Home

Whether you live in an apartment or a house with a backyard, you can get a workout done at home. All you need is a little bit of space and the right exercises.

Just because you’re working out at home doesn’t mean you can’t train effectively. A full-body session in your home can get your muscles working and your heart rate up. There are lots of advantages to exercising at home too — you can choose when you train, what you wear, what music you listen to, and what kind of workouts you do.

A full-body workout means training and building muscle throughout your entire body, rather than just targeting your upper or lower body — and you don’t need access to a gym or special equipment to do this.

To do this workout, you will need an exercise mat or a towel, and a set of dumbbells. If you don’t have a set of dumbbells, you can easily substitute for food cans or water bottles filled with water or sand.

Exercising your entire body at once is more efficient than working out individual parts of your body, as you’re doing it all in one hit. Using compound exercises, you activate multiple muscle groups at the same time, rather than targeting muscles in isolation, which means you can build muscle in these areas more quickly. 

Get your muscles burning with this full-body workout

Next time you’re doing an at-home workout, give these full-body exercises a go.

Dumbbell Squat & Press - 15 reps

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, plant both feet on the floor hip-width apart. Bend your elbows to hold the dumbbells at shoulder height. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Looking straight ahead, bend at both the hips and knees, ensuring that your knees remain in line with your toes. Continue bending your knees until your upper legs are parallel with the floor. Ensure that your back remains between a 45- to 90-degree angle to your hips.

3. Exhale. Push through your heels and extend your legs to return to the starting position. At the same time, extend your elbows to press the dumbbells above your head, ensuring that your arms are in line with your ears.

4. Inhale. Bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells and return to the starting position. Repeat for 15 repetitions.

Drop Push-Ups - 12 reps

1. Plant both feet on the mat shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Bend at both the hips and knees to place your hands on the mat on either side of your feet, ensuring that your spine remains in a neutral position and your knees remain in line with your toes.

3. Jump both of your feet backwards so that your legs are completely extended behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Your body should be in one straight line from your head to your heels.

4. While maintaining a neutral spine, bend your elbows and lower your torso towards the mat until your arms form two 90-degree angles.

5. Exhale. Push through your chest and extend your elbows to lift your body back into the starting position.

6. Jump both of your feet forwards in between your hands, once again, ensuring that your feet remain shoulder-width apart.

7. Push through your heels and extend your legs to return to the starting position. Repeat for 12 repetitions.

X Mountain Climbers - 40 reps (20 each side)

1. Place both hands on the yoga mat shoulder-width apart and both feet together behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. This is your starting position.

2. Keeping your right foot on the floor, bend your left knee and bring it into your chest and towards your right elbow. Extend your left leg to return to the starting position.

3. Keeping your left foot on the floor, bend your right knee and bring it into your chest and towards your left elbow. Extend your right knee and return to the starting position.

4. Continue alternating between left and right for 40 repetitions, inhaling for two repetitions and exhaling for two repetitions.

Weighted Bent-Leg Jackknife - 15 reps

1. Holding a dumbbell with both hands, lie on your back on a yoga mat with your arms extended above your head. Engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine and elevate your legs off the mat slightly. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Bend your knees and using your abdominals, draw them in towards your chest, ensuring that your feet stay together. At the same time, bring the dumbbell forward towards your feet, slowly lifting your head, shoulder blades and torso off the mat.

3. Exhale. Slowly lower your arms and extend your legs to return to the starting position, but without lowering your feet to the floor. Repeat for 15 repetitions.

Weighted Walking Lunge -  24 reps (12 each side)

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, plant both feet on the floor shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Take a big step forward with your left foot. As you plant your foot on the floor, bend both knees at approximately 90-degrees. This is called a lunge position. If done correctly, your front knee should be aligned with your ankle and your back knee should be hovering just off the floor.

3. Exhale. Push through the heel of your left foot and toe of your right foot to extend both legs.

4. Inhale. Transfer your weight onto your left foot and take a large step forward with your right foot. As you plant your right foot, bend both knees at approximately 90-degrees into lunge position.

5. Exhale. Push through the heel of your right foot and toe of your left foot to extend both legs.

6. Inhale. Transfer your weight onto your right foot. Continue alternating between left and right for 24 repetitions.

Side Raises - 15 reps

1. Holding a dumbbell in each hand in a neutral grip (palms facing inwards) and arms extended by your sides, plant both feet on the floor shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Exhale. While maintaining a slight bend in your elbows, raise the dumbbells outwards and upwards to shoulder height, ensuring that you draw your shoulder blades down and back.

3. Inhale. Lower the dumbbells to return to the starting position. Repeat for 15 repetitions.

Single-Leg Ab Bikes -  24 reps (12 each side)

1. Start by lying straight on your back on a yoga mat with your legs extended out in front of you. Bend your elbows and place your hands behind your earlobes. Gently raise both legs and your head and shoulders off the mat. This is your starting position.

2. Inhale. Exhale. While keeping your right leg extended, bend your left knee and draw it in towards your chest. At the same time, rotate your torso to the left to bring your right elbow to your knee.

3. Inhale. Untwist your torso and extend your left knee to return to the starting position. Complete 12 reps on the same side before completing 12 on the other side.

Getting started with working out at home 

Working out at home is one way to take care of your health. 

If you’re at home and want to exercise, the SWEAT app has plenty of at-home programs, as well as workouts for small spaces that only require a space for your mat. 

You can also get started at any time — many at-home workouts require minimal equipment, and can be done wherever you’re most comfortable. You can work out in your living room, backyard, balcony or a local park whenever suits you. And if you’re at a more advanced level of fitness, you could always set up a home gym for your training.