Having a bank of at home workouts is beneficial for women with conflicting priorities and busy schedules. It allows you to stay consistent in your training and keep your momentum, even when you can’t get to the gym.
For many women, fitness isn’t just about physical movement— it plays an influential role in self-care and mental health. Scheduling time each day for physical activity can help offset the stress of this difficult time.
You can use a combination of movements to create an at-home circuit and strength training routine or combine them with cardio for an effective HIIT workout if you want to get your heart rate pumping. Many of the exercises listed are bodyweight workouts meaning no equipment is needed and you can become your own personal trainer, which gives you the freedom to stay fit anywhwere – even on vacations.
Here are some of the best at home workouts for women to keep you moving.
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Arm Workouts for Women at Home
The best arm workouts for women at home include activating your push muscles. These movements carry over into your daily activities for functional strength training.
Read Also: The ultimate guide to shoulder workouts for women
Push-ups
Push-ups are one of the most versatile bodyweight movements and a staple for at home workouts. Slight shifts in your starting position can reinvent the movement and help you isolate and target your triceps and deltoids while also working your chest and core muscles.
Equipment Needed: You don’t require any equipment to do push-ups, but you can use resistance bands or a box to change things up.
How To: Get into a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and palms flat on the ground. Your feet should be close together with your toes tucked to hold yourself up.
Bend your elbows and lower yourself to the floor. Squeeze your glute muscles to keep your core activated and keep your elbows tucked to the side.
Go as low as possible in the movement without touching the floor. Pause for a moment, then push upward to return to the start position and complete the movement.
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Tricep Dips
Tricep dips are a simple exercise that packs a lot of punch. Their effectiveness in targeting the triceps makes them an ideal component of a calisthenics circuit and can help you add definition to your arms.
Related Read: How To Dips At Home For Serious Gain
Equipment Needed: A bench, box, or chair will be required to complete this movement. You can even use the edge of a couch or coffee table.
How To: Sit on the floor in front of a bench or chair.
Place your palms on the edge with your fingers facing forward.
Walk your legs out so that they are stretched in front of you with your heels on the ground. If you have a high bench or chair, you may need to push yourself up to get started.
Once you’re in position, lower yourself toward the floor, allowing your elbows to bend to 90 degrees. Maintain a tight core throughout the movement.
Once you’ve reached 90-degree extension, push upward to fully extend your arms. That’s one rep.
The number of reps you complete should be based on your overall level of fitness. Remember to always focus on maintaining the correct form.
Chest Workout for Women at Home
When putting together a chest workout routine, you’ll need some basic equipment on hand. While push-up work the chest as well as the arms, dumbbells are a must-have for chest workouts.
Hex Presses
Hex presses are a great at-home dumbbell chest exercise to do when you don’t have a bench. Also known as squeeze presses, these target your pec muscles while activating your back and triceps.
Read Also: Dumbbell Chest Exercises Without A Bench
Equipment Needed: You will need two dumbbells for this workout, preferably that are not rounded. It is easier to hold the dumbbells together if they are hex shaped dumbbells. Don’t own dumbbells yet? Put books in a backpack and hold onto either side.
How To: Lay on the floor with your dumbbells held together over your chest. The dumbbells should be parallel to your body position and pushed against each other, while your knuckles should be facing each other.
Squeeze your pec muscles and push the dumbbells upward until your arms are extended. Keep your elbows tucked to your side throughout the movement.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to starting position. That’s one rep. This movement will isolate your inner pecs.
Standing Dumbbell Chest Fly
The standing dumbbell fly is a fantastic exercise for targeting the pecs while aiding in shoulder activation and stability.
Equipment Needed: You will need two dumbbells for this exercise. If you don’t have dumbbells available, you can use two equally sized water bottles filled with water or sand.
How To: Stand with your feet hip-width apart with your dumbbells held at your side in an overhand neutral grip.
Turn your wrists so that your palms are facing forward. The tops of the dumbbell are next to your hips.
With a slight bend in the elbow, raise the dumbbells to meet each other at chest height— at a 90-degree angle with your body.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to starting position. That’s one rep.
Read Also: Upper and Lower Back Workouts At Home For A Superb Physique
Core Workout Routines for Women at Home
When it comes to core workouts for women, it’s important to be aware of diastasis recti— abdominal separation— from pregnancy as crunches and sit-ups can exacerbate the issue.
Dead Bugs
Dead bugs are one of the most effective core exercises. While they look easy, using proper form with slow controlled movements will have you feeling the burn in no time.
Equipment Needed: No equipment is needed for dead bugs.
How To: Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bend at a 90-degree angle. Stretch your arms toward the ceiling. This is your starting position.
Brace your core and slowly lower your right arm and left leg. Extend your knee so that your leg is fully extended. Your left arm and right leg should remain in the start position.
Allow your arm and leg to hover slightly above the floor. Pause, then reverse the movement to get back into the start position.
Repeat with the left arm and right leg. That’s one rep.
Inchworm Walks
Inchworm walks are not only a great core exercise, but a fantastic warm-up movement before at-home Crossfit workouts. This workout routine engages the core while activating the arms, shoulders, hips, hamstrings, and glutes.
Read Also: How To Do Pull Ups At Home, Plus 5 Alternatives To Building A Strong Back
Equipment Needed: No equipment is needed, but you will want space to move.
How To: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your side.
Take a deep breath in and engage your core while lifting your arms overhead.
Sweep your arms down to touch the floor in front of you. Try and maintain a neutral back and bend your knees if needed.
Walk your hands forward, allowing your body to stretch until you reach a high plank position. This movement should be slow and controlled.
Pause, then start to walk your feet inward, allowing your hips to lift toward the sky. Again, trying to keep a neutral back. Stop when your feet are as close as you can get them to your hands.
Slowly roll your spine back up into starting position. That’s one rep.
Read Also: CrossFit Bodyweight Workouts You Can Do At Home
Leg Workouts at Home for Women
Your legs are made up of the largest muscle groups in the body. When planning leg workouts at home for women, use movements that engage as much of those muscles as possible.
Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats are unilateral movements, which calls for more strength and balance than a traditional squat. These exercises are great for targeting your quads and glutes.
Equipment Needed: You will need a bench or chair. The edge of your couch or a step could also work for this at-home exercise.
Related Equipment: Top 6 Best Plyo Boxes For Workouts At Home
How To: Stand in front of your bench or elevated surface, leaving about one or two feet of space. Face away from the bench.
Place your right foot on the bench behind you, stacking your toes for a proper athletic stance. Step your left foot out ahead of you with the sole planted firmly. Your feet should be spaced approximately hip-width apart, similar to a lunge position.
Slowly lower yourself down. Keep your left knee stacked over the ankle, allowing your right knee to dip down toward the floor.
Push into your left foot and drive upward to return to a standing position. That’s one rep one complete, who says you need a personal trainer to improve your fitness levels?
Prisoner Walks
This leg workout is a powerful finisher that engages the quads, glutes, hamstring, and core. It gets its name from the positioning of your hands behind your head, which helps you stay upright and focused and will also raise your heart rate significantly.
Equipment Needed: The only equipment you need for this workout routine is your will and determination, aim to complete as many reps as you can.
How To: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands touching the back of your head.
Squat into a quarter squat position, hinging your hips back until you’re at a 45-degree angle.
From there, step your left leg down onto your knee, then your right leg down onto your knee. You should now be in a kneeling position with both knees on the floor.
Then, step up to your left foot and then up to your right foot to return to a standing position.
Continue to do this in a fluid movement with no pausing. Reps are counted when one full movement is completed.
We recommend that you put these various at home workouts for women together to create an effective strength training circuit and full body workout that will keep you moving until you can get back to the gym.
Looking for more workout ideas to complete at home?
Many of the workout routines covered in this guide focus on strength training. If you have other fitness goals you are aiming to maintain while at home they can easily be combined with other types of exercises.
If you’re looking to increase your heart rate then at home cardio workouts can be a great way to do this with HIIT particularly effective.
Read Also: The Best Cardio Workouts You Can Do From The Comfort Of Your Own Home
Many of these exercises can also be combined with other activities including yoga which can easily be carried out at home. In fact a yoga mat can serve as a great piece of equipment for many of the core workouts listed.
