5 simple exercises you can do in your living room

You don’t need a home gym to get a good workout at home. In fact, you don’t even need a lot of equipment to do a full-body workout. Start your own home fitness routine in the comfort of your apartment’s living room!

Here are five living room-friendly exercises to get you started:

1. Burpees

To do a basic burpee, you need to stand up tall, with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms resting at your side. In a fluid motion, push your hips back, bend your knees to squat, place your palms on the floor in front of you and stretch your legs out so you’re in a high plank position. Reverse the steps and return to the standing position.

This can be done quickly, or you can walk it out.

To challenge yourself, add a push-up at the bottom and a jump at the top of the movement.

Since you’re doing this in an apartment, it’s a good idea to use a mat or carpet to muffle any noise from jumping (if you add the jump).

The burpee is the perfect full-body exercise, as you don’t require any equipment. It works your arms, chest, quads, glutes, hamstrings and abs. It’s a tough one, so a little bit goes a long way with burpees. There’s a bit of cardio involved, too, so you will get your heart rate up.

2. Planks

Planking looks easy, but is much harder to hold than you might think. A high plank is done with your palms and toes on the floor, with your arms straight under your shoulders. Your back and legs should be straight, not piked or arched.

To make it easier, you can plank from your knees. To make it harder, hold the position from your forearms rather than your palms.

Planking is a core strengthening exercise. As you get stronger, you should be able to hold the position longer. Try planking every day, increasing the amount of time you hold it for each time.

3. Squats

To get into the basic squat position, place your feet shoulder width apart, facing forward. Bend your knees, but make sure you shift your weight to your heels and stick your glutes out. Try to get as low as possible. Do not do this if you have bad knees.

If you want a challenge, try a variation of the position. You can add a jump, or change the position of your feet for something different. You can squat from a wider stance (this is called a Sumo Squat). You can add a single dumbbell to this for an added challenge. Try a pulse squat, where you squat down then pulse up and down without returning to standing.

4. Tricep dips

Using a chair or your couch, place your palms on the edge of the seat. Your back and glutes should be just touching the edge of the chair, as if you were going to sit on it, but aren’t. Your legs can be stretched out in front or bent at the knee. Use your arms to lower and lift your body, staying as close to the edge of the seat as you can (but not sitting on it). Your elbows can be slightly bent to maintain tension on your triceps.

5. Pushups

The basic pushup position is similar to a high plank – where your palms touch the floor shoulder width apart, and your lower body is supported by your toes. But instead of holding a static pose, you bend your elbows up and down, while maintaining a planked body.

You can modify this by doing it from your knees to make it easier, or make it harder by clapping at the top. You can also do a wide-grip pushup, where your palms are further to the side of your body, or a close-grip pushup where they are closer to your chest. You can also try lifting one leg in the air (alternating sets).

Pushups don’t require any equipment, except for perhaps a mat. They are great for working your upper arm, chest, and shoulder muscles.

There you have it! Five apartment-friendly exercises you can do in your living room! Create your own routine by combining each of these. Together you can improve your strength, endurance and speed without having to step outside!

If you’re looking for a new living room to host your daily workouts, check out Gottarent.com to find a rental apartment near you!