Do you want to practice exercises to strengthen muscles at home, but don’t have a fitness machine? Even without any equipment, there are many types of activities available to everyone to strengthen their muscles. Find tips for creating your own sports routine and exercises for you for home training.

4 tips for doing strength training at home

Based primarily on body weight and small optional accessories that are readily available (or using other household objects), strength training exercises are particularly well suited for home workouts. To give you the best possible chance of making your routine effective and enjoyable, here are a few tips:

1. In addition to the exercises, set aside 15 minutes for a warm-up and do some stretching at the end of the session to facilitate muscle recovery.
2. Plan your sessions to establish your sports practice over time: make it a proper ritual and reserve a place for it in your schedule.
3. Set up a space at home reserved for your sports practice: 10 square metres are enough to perform most of these muscle strengthening exercises. With a table, a wall, a chair and, if you wish, small accessories such as a skipping rope or dumbbells, you will be prepared for all eventualities. Don’t forget to use a gym mat or a thick towel for the exercises that are done lying down.
4. Diversify the exercises to work all the muscle groups and maintain your motivation: you should quickly be satisfied with the results you obtain. Your house offers unexpected resources to vary your enjoyment: do step exercises on stairs, use broomsticks to work the back and shoulders, use packs of water bottles for lifting weights… Be creative: you have a wide range of possibilities that will turn your house into a veritable fitness studio!

Inspiration: 10 exercises without equipment to try at home

To strengthen muscles the body needs to do small exercises, and these are often simple to perform. Here are 10 of the most famous ones, requiring no equipment, enough to inspire many home training sessions:

1. Dips: Sit on a bench, a staircase or a sofa, with your legs stretched out in front of you and your arms on either side of your body. Tilt your pelvis forward so that you are no longer seated: you hold on with your legs and arms. Bend your arms down, keeping your upper body in line, without your pelvis touching the floor, and then lift up.
2. Push-ups: practised against the wall or on the floor, with your legs stretched out, or on your knees depending on your level, push-ups are a classic  muscular strengthening exercise. By letting the body be lifted by the work of your arms, these exercises work the deltoids, pectorals and triceps.
3. Squats: strengthening exercises targeting the thigh muscles, squats are performed by bending the legs, arms stretched forward, feet shoulder-width apart, keeping the back straight and looking straight ahead. There are many variations to make the exercise more challenging.
4. Burpees: complete exercises, burpees combine push-ups, a squat, and then a vertical jump. Crouch on the ground, perform a push-up, and then, leaning on the arms, bring the legs under the chest in one gesture. Finish with a jump.
5. Jumping Jack: start standing with your arms at your sides and your legs together. Jump with your feet apart, while joining your hands above your head, keeping your body straight. Return to the original position in a second jump. One, two, one, two, soon you won’t be able to stop! 
6. The mountain climber: work on your endurance and cardio with this explosive and effective exercise. Lie on the ground, resting on your toes and hands, with your hands vertical to your shoulders, as if doing push-ups. Bring one knee forward, in the same way as if you were on starting blocks, ready to start a race. Then swap the positions of your legs at the same time.
7. The plank: an exercise for the trunk par excellence, the plank consists in placing oneself on your elbows, facing the ground, legs stretched, resting on the tips of your toes. Maintain the position for 30 or 40 seconds by breathing deeply and contracting the abdominal muscles.
8. Crunches: this is the best-known exercise for  abdominal muscles, and it comes in several variations. Lying on your back, legs bent and feet flat on the ground, cross your arms behind your neck and lift your shoulders off the ground, elbows towards your knees.
9. The Superman: lying on a mat with your face towards the ground, lift your arms and legs at the same time, keeping your chest stable and your legs straight. Maintain the position, and then gently return to the reclining posture. This exercise works the lower back and the buttocks.
10. Lunges: place one leg forward, the other backward on the tips of your toes. Descend until you form a 90° angle with the front leg. This classic exercises the muscles in your thighs for a streamlined silhouette.

To make the sessions fun and to introduce you to interval training, try a course of circuit training exercises, like the one presented in our article on the subject.

The iFit® Coach app: an unlimited choice of exercises thanks to virtual coaching

iFIT sold separately.

The iFit® virtual coaching solutions include hundreds of hours of video exercises, with sessions led by coaches from around the world. The iFit® Coach app gives you direct access on your Smartphone to a multitude of strength-building exercises that can be done without equipment. A dashboard allows you to track your progress and challenge yourself to reach your goals. Abdominal exercises, yoga, stretching, indoor or outdoor classes, you have lots of possibilities to vary your training schedule at home.

HIIT exercises are also a good way to achieve your goals with very short sessions, performed at high intensity. Are you ready for the challenge?

iFIT sold separately. Cancel at any time. Credit Card required for activation. Internet and Wi-Fi required

Check out our Fitness & Training page for more advice.