When you’re working out at home on your own, it’s important to constantly challenge yourself and kick up your fitness game. You may not have a lot of equipment at your fingertips, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get in a productive workout. We spoke with a fitness expert who shares a five-move at-home workout that melts more fat than using a treadmill.

Although doing some cardio on a treadmill provides a solid heart-boosting workout, bodyweight training engages multiple muscle groups, builds lean muscle, increases bone density, and reduces body fat. In addition, as you age, building and maintaining muscle must be a priority, which is why we’ve come up with this productive bodyweight workout.

“What makes these body weight exercises particularly effective is that the body position in relationship to gravity challenges specific muscles creating whole body toning and strengthening,” says Joy Puleo, NPCP, ACSM and director of education at Balanced Body.

The routine below shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes to complete. Joy recommends performing the exercises two to three times a week to see noticeable results. The best part? You’ll never get bored, as there’s much variation you can challenge yourself with.

Planks

mature woman doing planks, pushups, or burpees, concept of exercises for seniors to do at homeShutterstock

Planks work your pecs, traps, anterior delts, rhomboids, and spinal extensors.

“This is an isometric exercise, a static hold exercise,” Joy tells us. “Studies are showing that isometric exercises build strength and endurance relatively quickly.”

  1. Assume all fours with your hands under your shoulders.
  2. Extend your legs, tuck your toes, and bring the balls of your feet to the floor.
  3. Keep your arms straight or lower to your forearms.
  4. Maintain a long, straight line with your body from your head to your heels.
  5. Hold the position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

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Pushups

fitness woman doing pushups at home in her living roomShutterstock

The pushup presents a dynamic version of the straight-arm plank.

“Dynamic exercises change the body’s relationship to gravity while also moving multiple joints, such as the shoulders, elbows, and shoulder blades,” Joy says. “This increases muscle strength around moving joints, changes the way forces are put into and need to be responded to, and teaches the nervous system how to coordinate movement relative to gravity.”

  1. From the straight-arm/high plank position, bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor.
  2. Maintain a long, straight body as you lower.
  3. Press back up, straightening your arms.

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Side Plank

woman demonstrating side planks in her at-home workouts while streaming Netflix in bright apartmentShutterstock

“Because you are balanced on one arm and side facing [in the side plank], your obliques and the side body muscles from the upper body through the legs requires stability, strength, and endurance,” Joy tells us.

  1. Sit side facing, placing one hand on the floor under your shoulder.
  2. Extend your legs and stack your feet.
  3. Lift your hips off the floor and activate your core.
  4. For the isometric version, hold the plank for 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. For the dynamic version, lower your hips toward the ground, then press into the sides of your feet and your hand, and lift the hips to assume the high plank position.

Squats

mature couple doing squats, exercises for lower-body strengthShutterstock

Squats are one of the “most practical and functional” bodyweight moves, Joy says, adding, “They build strength, endurance and neuromuscular coordination of the lower body while integrating the legs with the core.”

  1. Stand tall with your feet planted shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend at the knees and hips as you lower into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  3. Hold in the squat position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  4. For a dynamic challenge, pulse within a small range of motion.

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Lunges

woman doing split squats, walking lunges at home as part of low-intensity workoutShutterstock

Lunges work the hamstrings, quads, glutes, and knee flexor muscles.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

“The lunge is directly related to walking and functional reciprocal leg motion,” Joy says.

  1. Stand tall with your body in a straight line.
  2. Step one foot forward.
  3. Bend your front and back knee as you lower into a lunge.
  4. Maintain a tall posture while lowering.
  5. Extend your legs to return to the start position.
  6. For an extra challenge, hold in the lowered lunge position for 30 to 60 seconds. Pulse within a small range of motion.

Alexa Mellardo

Alexa is a content strategist, editor, and writer based in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has 11+ years of experience creating content for travel, lifestyle, fitness, wellness, F&B, home, and celeb news publications. Read more about Alexa