If you've fallen behind on workouts and can't go to the gym given the current circumstances, rest assured that working out at home can be just as effective. Or don't rest at all, at least not until you've broken a sweat exercising. Here are 15 suggestions for affordable indoor workouts.
Related: This Cheap Workout Gear Can Help You Stay in Shape at Home
Yoga classes may be pricey, but practicing at home is a freebie, and yoga mats are readily available from any number of retailers starting at less than $20. Learn poses and follow entire routines for various skill levels for free at DoYogaWithMe.
One of the most challenging, effective, and economical workouts may be the simplest: Do 100 burpees as fast as you can. Burpees burn fat, build functional strength, and require no equipment whatsoever. Not sure what a burpee is? A YouTube video explains.
Believe it or not, a deck of cards is a useful prop for an intense body workout. Here are the rules: Each suit corresponds to a different exercise (e.g., pushups, sit-ups, burpees, or squats), and the number on the card is the number of reps to perform. Assign face cards whatever value suits your fitness level. Draw a card, do the exercise, and work through the deck as quickly as possible.
Circuit training is an excellent way to burn calories, particularly when time is short: Pick a few favorite exercises (or least favorite, depending on how you look at it), and spend 30 seconds doing each, transitioning quickly from one exercise to the next. Once you've completed the "circuit," it's time to start from the beginning.
The 100 Pushups Challenge (with its very own eponymous website) is a training program with the advantages of a clear goal and straightforward monitoring of progress toward the magic number. Bragging rights naturally flow: Being able to do 100 pushups in a row is quite impressive.
Burn calories by doing housework. An hour of mopping is worth 170 calories for a 150-pound person, according to Calorie Lab, and vigorously tackling several cleaning tasks for the same period eats up 204 calories. Carrying groceries upstairs works off calories at a rate of 442 per hour. Alternatively, fill a backpack with some old textbooks and walk up and down the stairs.
Another source of fitness inspiration: YouTube. Search for the term "workouts" plus specific types of exercise programs, such as core workouts or indoor cardio workouts, and find thousands of results — some general, some very specific. Shorter clips teach an exercise or routine while entire channels, such as BeFit, are dedicated to fitness.
App stores are stocked with scores of cheap or free fitness apps for smartphones and tablets. Complete workouts are available at no cost with iOS and Android apps such as Skimble's Workout Trainer, Johnson & Johnson's Official 7 Minute Workout, and Sworkit.
Still have a DVD player? Don't rule out workout discs, which often come in sets. Look for ones that work many muscle groups and target different areas, such as core, upper body, and lower body. To save money, borrow exercise DVDs from the library instead of buying.
Another option for a cheap indoor workout is to invest in home gym equipment. A treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike may not be worth the price for people who prefer to exercise outdoors, but smaller and less costly fitness equipment to use at home include a jump rope, a balance ball, kettlebells, and dumbbells.
Short on time? The New York Times offers a free mobile app that combines two seven-minute workout routines designed to target the whole body. Another free option, Max Capacity Training, is user-friendly and suited to people who lack workout equipment. The fitness program involves exercising 16 minutes a day, three days a week, for 12 weeks, and combines high-intensity interval training with progressively challenging body-weight exercises.
Sarah Dussault, known as Sarah Fit, is a healthy-living author who offers budget-friendly recipes, free workouts, and fitness advice on her YouTube channel and other social media. Her gym-free couples routine works in three-minute intervals to bring the heart rate up and tone muscles. Moves include squats, jump lunges, planks, pushups, and donkey kicks, designed to work a variety of muscles.
A modern, leverage-based pull-up station offers powerful workouts that engage the core and entire upper body. An in-home body-weight-based workout routine centered on chin-ups and pull-ups can quickly produce radical gains in strength, agility, flexibility, and appearance — no gym membership necessary. And there are pull-up stations that don't require any installation, fit in most door frames, double as a versatile ground-based exercise system, and allow for a range of variations and customizations.
Related: No Gym Required: 13 Ways to Strengthen Your Upper Body at Home for Less
Cats aren’t known for their ability to follow orders, so it may seem unusual to have a workout with your cat. It’s possible, though, and Shorty, Kodi, and their owner Robert W. Moore can show you just how to get the most out of a feline workout. These Youtube stars even have a book — “How To Exercise Your Human,” written from the cats’ point of view.
Exercising at home can be boring, especially if workout videos feature unimaginative moves, but exercising with a partner makes it hard to be lazy. A Jane's Total Fitness video gives a variety of moves to choose from. Partners intertwine arms or legs, hold hands, and support each other's weight — hard to get bored doing that. Pick five favorite moves and complete one minute of each in succession. Do three rounds (or as many as possible) with 30-second water breaks in between for an exhilarating partner workout.
