Aug 26, 2025
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by Michal Jetelina

The best exercises to do at home, not just for beginners

Aug 26, 2025
0 comments
by Michal Jetelina

Exercising at home has many advantages and it is certainly not true that it is not an effective tool for weight loss, for example. On the contrary, for beginners it can be significantly more effective than visiting the gym. For advanced exercisers, home exercise is a quick and very effective way to stay in shape if they find themselves outside of their standard gym training routine .

Whether you fall into one category or the other, if for some reason you cannot or do not want to visit a gym or public workout area and want to continue exercising, choosing appropriate and effective exercises can be a challenge .

Since we also add standard exercises to the gym at home, we have prepared a list of exercises that have proven to be the most effective for us over the years. In the description of the exercise you will always find a video with the correct technique and possible variations. We would like to point out that the exercises listed below are suitable for both women and men.

Exercise	Repetition/length	Body part involved
Cranks	50-100	breasts, hands
Squats	50-200	thighs, buttocks
Lunges	50-200	thighs, buttocks
Lunges with a jump	50-100	thighs, buttocks, calves
Must	50-200	buttocks, back thighs
Single leg deadlift	50-200	back thighs, buttocks
English books	50-100	whole body
Plank	2-5 minutes	middle of the body, shoulders
Lying leg raises	50-100	belly, thighs
"Snow angels" on the stomach	50-100	center of the body

You can find all the information about effectively setting up a home workout in the article "Weight training at home with your own weight" .

10 best bodyweight exercises to do at home

Cranks

Start in a push-up position with your arms extended at shoulder or chest level, abs braced , back straight without any unnecessary lumbar curvature. Think about pulling your shoulder blades together (so they don't move away from your torso) and pulling your shoulders down away from your neck.
Start the downward movement by bending your elbows along your torso (max. 45 degrees) while inhaling. 3) Bring your chest closer to the ground in a controlled manner and exhale to push yourself back into a push-up position while maintaining your original posture.

Muscles strengthened : pectoral muscles , deltoid muscle ( shoulders ), triceps (+ stabilizing involvement of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, abdominal muscles and serratus anterior muscle)

Pike push-ups

This is a more difficult version of the push-up.

The starting position is the roof position (feet, hands are on the ground and buttocks are the highest point of the roof).
You begin the movement by rising onto your toes , bending your elbows , rolling your body forward, and bending your shoulders so that your forehead is as close to the ground as possible, as far in front of your fingers ( your buttocks still remain the highest point of the roof ). The goal is to transfer as much of your body weight as possible to your shoulders .
Push off the ground and extend your arms to return to the original roof position .

Muscles worked : deltoid muscle ( front shoulders ), triceps and upper chest

Squats

Start with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your weight distributed across your entire feet for maximum stability.
Inhale and bend your knees so that your pelvis is closer to the ground . Choose a depth that allows you to keep your back straight , your heels firmly on the ground , and that there is no unpleasant pulling anywhere. The axis of the knee should be in line with the axis of the ankle and toe . The knees should not shake to the sides.
Then, as you exhale, push yourself up to the original position .

Muscles strengthened : quadriceps , buttocks (+ a whole range of stabilizing and auxiliary muscles)

Jump squats

We have already mentioned the squat technique, the essence is to engage your calves when returning to standing and perform the movement so dynamically that you jump up .
This exercise will not only strengthen your thighs and buttocks , but also your calves and give your cardiovascular system a more intense workout.

Muscles strengthened : quadriceps , buttocks, calves (+ a whole range of stabilizing and auxiliary muscles)

Lunges

The principle of the lunge is that when you bend one knee, you significantly load one limb . For symmetry, it is important to alternate limbs and exercise the same number of repetitions. There are a number of variations that engage the muscles from different angles, with different ranges and varying degrees of difficulty.

Classic lunges
1. Inhale from a standing position and step forward with one leg , bending the knee so that the pelvis comes closer to the ground . The back leg should be stable on the toe, the knee comes close to the ground, but does not touch it. The front knee must be in line with the ankle and toe , and the front foot is completely stable on the ground .
2. As you exhale , push off with your front leg and return to a standing position .
Back lunges
1. From a standing position, step back onto your toes and bend both your front and back knees so that your back knee is just above the ground and your front leg lunges . As much of your weight as possible remains on your front leg, which strengthens it.
Side lunges
1. From a standing position, the leg steps out to the side . The direction of the toe, ankle bend and knee are in one line, slightly to the side and forward. After the lunge, you return to a standing position.
Bulgarian squat
1. It is actually a lunge where your back leg is elevated on the mat , which allows you to put more weight on your front leg .
Outputs to the crate
1. You place your front foot on a prominently elevated spot and lunge , standing on the elevated front foot. This allows for a greater range of motion.

Muscles strengthened : gluteal muscles , thigh muscles (+ auxiliary muscles, calf muscle)

Lunges with a jump

This is a very effective and challenging exercise that requires a higher level of dynamic strength , physique , and coordination .

Start by stepping forward and doing a classic lunge .
Instead of returning to a standing position , you push off the ground , switch legs , and perform another lunge repetition.
With other lunges, you will also jump up and switch your front and back legs.

Muscles strengthened : buttocks , thighs , calves , hamstrings (+ stabilizing muscles)

Must

Lie on your back, bend your knees, and bring your heels closer to your buttocks. The feet near your buttocks, the back of your shoulders , and the upper back are the support points .
The movement is based on lifting the pelvis so that the thighs, pelvis and torso create one inclined plane.
You can either hold the position at the top for a while or lift and lower your pelvis repeatedly . If this exercise is too easy, try a variation using only one leg and keeping the other leg lifted off the ground.

Muscles strengthened : buttocks , hamstrings and back muscles along the spine

Single-leg deadlifts

While standing, transfer your weight to one slightly bent limb and bend by lifting the unweighted leg back and bending your torso forward (the back leg and torso remain in a plane perpendicular to the leg on the ground).
Then return to a standing position and repeat the movement. Your back remains flat and your arms are either at your sides or above your head.

Muscles strengthened : hamstrings , buttocks and back muscles along the spine

English books

A complex dynamic exercise that starts and ends in a standing position. By engaging most of the body's muscles, you combine coordination training with cardio and burning more calories .

First, from a standing position, place your hands on the ground in front of you .
Jump your feet into a plank and then do a push-up .
After the push-up , jump your feet back to your hands and, by bending your knees, straightening your torso and raising your arms above your head, begin a jump , from which you land back in a standing position .

Muscles strengthened : whole body

Plank

A static exercise focused mainly on the abdominal muscles . You can do the variation on your elbows or on your palms with your elbows outstretched, the second support point is your toes.

The hands or elbows are placed under the shoulders , the torso is straight without any bending at the hips, the shoulder blades do not stick out from the torso , the hips do not sink to the ground or are higher than the rest of the torso.
Hold this position statically for as long as possible.

Strengthened muscles : center of the body, arms, hips, glutes, legs and upper back

Side plank

This is a type of plank in which the side of the body faces the ground .

One hand or elbow and one outer part of the leg are the support points on the ground.
Keep your torso and hips in one plane for as long as possible.

Muscles worked : lateral abdominal muscles and serratus anterior muscle

Lying leg raises

While lying on your back, raise your legs with your knees straight or bent to 90 degrees .
Then bring your legs back just above the ground and begin another repetition . Lift your legs as you exhale , keeping your hips off the ground .

Muscles strengthened : rectus abdominis and thigh flexors

Inverted snow angels and superman pose

Superman is a static exercise in which you lie on your stomach and your legs and arms (above your head) are tense and raised a few inches above the ground .
Reverse snow angels are a dynamic version of Superman . You lie on your stomach , your arms and legs raised a few inches off the ground, and perform side-to-side and back-to-back movements .