5 great at-home exercises you 5 great should do this summer

Summertime is full of pool parties, trips to the beach, and spending time with family and friends. As relaxing as all of this is, it can actually be a very hectic time of year. After all, parties and vacations don’t plan themselves. With all of the hustle and bustle of summer, don’t neglect your body because you are running short on time. You can get a killer workout in your own home and look great in less than 30 minutes. Here are five great at-home exercises that will keep you in shape all summer.  

Push-ups

The push-up is one of the most effective at-home exercises at targeting your chest, shoulders, and triceps. What really makes them a great exercise is that they can easily be modified to fit into your workout; no matter what your level of fitness is.  

If you are new to push-ups and need a little assistance, simply elevate your upper body by placing your hands on a bench or step. This will greatly reduce your resistance and make it easier to perform the exercise.

For those of you that can do more than 25 push-ups at a time, you will need to add some resistance. Do this by elevating your feet above your shoulders. Place your feet on a step (or two, or three) to make them more difficult.  

Alternating lunges

Adding some alternating lunges to your at-home workout will be great for targeting your quads, hamstrings, and calves. They are also very effective at improving joint stability in the knee and overall balance.  

Just like push-ups, alternating lunges are extremely versatile. They are easy to perform for novice trainers and they can quickly be altered if you are more advanced. To make these harder, you can grab a heavy book, water jug, or big bottle of laundry detergent to add some resistance.  

Be sure to maintain proper alignment and keep your shoulders back. Also, try not to lean too far forward when you are extending your leg outward.

Pull-ups

If you don't have space indoors for a pull-up bar, you might be able to install one in your backyard!

The pull-up is perhaps the most effective back exercise that you can perform at home or even in the gym. This will also be the only exercise that requires any equipment. You will need a pull-up bar or something sturdy to hang from. 

Pull-ups can be challenging on their own, but if you need to make them harder, just widen your grip. Concentrate on getting full arm extension and keeping a good tempo during the lowering phase of the movement.  

If pull-ups are too difficult right now, performing a jumping pull up will work. While in the standing position, wrap your hand around the bar. Forcefully jump in the air while simultaneously pulling yourself above the bar. Be sure to lower yourself down as slowly as possible.

Forearm plank with leg extension

This wouldn’t be an article about great at-home exercises if there wasn’t some type of plank exercise in it. A forearm plank with a leg extension will target your core, but also add a little extra focus on your lower back and glutes.  

If stability becomes an issue, get rid of the leg extensions and perform a standard forearm plank.  If you are performing the leg extensions, be sure to keep your hips down and lower your legs slowly.

Burpee

If you want to improve strength, endurance, and torch calories for summer, then burpees have to be in your workout routine. Some of you may not be fans, but a hard set of burpees will serve you well. This is one of the all-time great total body exercises.  

If performing a full burpee is just a little too intense right now; removing the jump will really mellow it out for you. If you want to make them harder, do them faster!

Putting it all together

Now it’s time to take these five great at-home exercises and put together one fantastic summer workout. Perform all five of the exercises in a row, without rest, for the prescribed amount of repetitions. Once you have completed all the exercises, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat this process two to three more times.

Push-Up	15 reps
Alternating Lunge	15 reps each leg
Pull-Up	15 reps (10 reps if jumping)
Forearm Plank With Leg Extension	15 reps each leg
Burpee	10 reps
Rest 60 seconds then repeat

After you have finished three to four rounds of this summer circuit, try adding in 60 more seconds of a high-intensity exercise to finish it off. This can be any exercise that will really get your heart rate up and keep the calories burning, like high knees!