7 Easy At-Home Exercises That Require Next-to-Zero Effort or Thought

As you may have already heard: Working out is ultra-good for your physical health and your mental health. You probably know exactly what we’re talking about. After a good sweat sesh, you just feel good. 

But what about when you just can’t muster up the motivation to be bothered? What about when simply getting out of your home feels near-impossible (or the gym happens to be closed because you’re stuck in yet another lockdown)?

American gymnast Aly Raismen is quoted saying, “The hard days are what make you stronger.” 

So, let’s dig into those hard days and try to make them a little bit easier with easy at-home exercises you can do at home. Remember, any little bit of movement counts and can make all the difference for how you mentally feel and your physical health!

What Exercise Can I Do At Home?

The good news is that you can do almost any exercise at home — that is when you have the right equipment. 

No equipment? No problem!

You can also perform various bodyweight workouts, stretching, yoga, and more. In reality, you just need a body to do a workout. That’s it.

List of Easy At-Home Exercises to Do

To get you started, here are a few more ideas:

• Resistance band workouts
• At-home strength training YouTube videos
• Yoga classes
• At-home cardio workouts
• Bodyweight at-home workout

There are so many options! When using just your bodyweight, you can further perform push ups, planks, squats, lunges, burpees, crunches, high knees, mountain climbers, and more. The options truly never end. It’s all about finding something that suits your mood, motivation, and energy levels at the time.

Related Article: The 40 Best Motivational Fitness Quotes to Help You Reach Your Goals

7 Easy At-Home Exercises to Do Every Day

But maybe you just need to get moving a little bit more. You don’t want to think about it. You barely even want to put in the effort.

Well, we have 7 exercises just for you!

You can even do these exercises every day so that you move your body and feel good. You could also throw these exercises altogether for a really easy at home workout for beginners or a quick and easy 15 minute workout.

1. Plank

The plank engages almost your entire body. You got your glutes fired up, your abs pulled in, and the major muscles of your shoulders, arms, and legs going. This is a great one for if you’re starting to just gain strength, as well as for those with little equipment to work with.

In other good news, you can also perform this exercise from your toes or knees. It’s entirely your choice! 

With that in mind, here’s how you do it:

• Start on all fours.
• If you’re performing this movement from your knees, simply move your knees slightly back so that your body forms a straight line from your hips to your head.
• If you’re performing this movement from your toes, extend your legs straight back and come up onto your toes, forming a straight line with your body from your head to your toes.
• Hold for 15 seconds, eventually aiming for a minute or more. 
• If you want more of a challenge, you can lift one arm or one leg and move them away from the midline of your body.

2. Child’s Pose

This is a really relaxing and restorative stretch. It stretches your thighs, back, hips, and ankles. Plus, it’s really easy to do!

Here’s how to do it:

• Begin on all-fours.
• Slowly bring your buttocks all the way back to rest on your heels.
• Allow your arms to soften and relax in front of you and bring your forehead to the floor or your mat.
• Stay here for 5-10 breaths.

3. Leg Lifts

Leg lifts target your quadriceps, which are the muscles on the front of your thigh. These muscles help bring your thigh up toward your hip, allowing you to run, walk, jump, and more. 

Here’s how to do it:

• Lay on your back.
• Bend one knee, planting your foot on the ground on your bed.
• Keeping your opposite leg straight, slowly lift your straight leg slowly off the ground.
• Pause at the top, then slowly lower.
• Repeat for 10-15 repetitions. And don’t forget to switch legs!

4. Straight Arm Holds

This is an isometric hold exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. This is also one of the great easy at-home exercises if you don’t have any weights, since it can be equally as challenging.

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand or sit up tall. 
• Extend both your arms out straight in front of you at shoulder height.
• Make sure your thumbs are pointing up (as if you were going to give someone a thumbs up).
• Hold here for at least 30 seconds. 
• If you want more of a challenge, hold this position for longer or perform 5 repetitions of 30-second holds.

5. Squats

Squats are the ultimate functional exercise! This means that this movement actually spills over into your everyday life, helping you perform everyday tasks. 

How do you do it?

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
• Slowly bend your knees, sticking your butt out behind you, and lower your body down.
• Make sure your knees aren’t tracking over the front of your feet here.
• When your thighs are parallel with the ground, pause, then slowly come back up to standing.
• Repeat for 10-15 repetitions. 
• If this is too difficult, try performing this movement with your back against a wall initially to build up some basic strength.
• If this is too easy, try holding your squat at the bottom for longer or pulse at the bottom of your squat.

6. Step Ups

Step ups are another wonderful functional exercise. You can further choose to perform this movement every time you go up the stairs. For instance, as you go to start climbing the stairs, you could perform 5 repetitions of this exercise each time.

Here’s how to do it:

• Step your right foot up on the step.
• Slowly bend your knee and lift your left foot off the stair or ground below.
• Pause here, with your knee bent on the stair and your left foot off the ground.
• Slowly lower back down and repeat.
• Again, make sure you repeat this exercise on your opposite side to avoid imbalances.

7. Chest Stretch

When it comes to any easy at-home exercises, the chest stretch is a must-do, especially if you spend a lot of time in the office or sitting for work.

When sitting, we have a tendency to hunch forward, which throws your whole body and posture out of alignment. Yet, the chest stretch can help counterbalance this.

Here’s how to do it:

• Find a free doorway.
• Place your forearms on the doorframe, with your elbows bent to 90-degrees at shoulder height.
• Step into the doorway with one foot, gently leaning your body through the door frame while keeping your forearms on the frame.
• Hold here for 20-30 seconds.
• You can repeat this for 2-3 repetitions.

Related Article: How to Get the Most Out of Your Workout Routine

A Simple Exercise to Lose Weight

Okay, what about weight loss?

While we often encourage exercise as something that can help you feel good, it is often used as a lifestyle habit to help an individual obtain a healthy weight. If that’s your goal, another really easy at home workout you can incorporate is walking!

Try walking for 20-30 minutes each day. You can throw on a podcast or audiobook and head out of your door, or simply even walk around your home for a little bit. Do whatever gets you moving!

The great thing about walking is that it’s a low impact, fat-burning cardio exercise. It’s also something that almost anyone can do with no equipment required!

Easy At-Home Exercises: Just Get Moving!

Every little bit counts.

Use these easy at home workouts to motivate you to get a little bit of movement each day. It doesn’t have to be a lot. In fact, you never want to overdo it. So, do what feels good in the moment and will help you mentally and physically feel good.

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Editor's note: This article was originally published Feb 11, 2022 and has been updated to improve reader experience. 

Photo by Dane Wetton on Unsplash