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Looking for exercises you can do from the comfort of your one-room studio apartment? Look no further.
For nearly a year now I’ve been working out exclusively in my 500 square foot apartment, so I can say from experience, these 10 at-home exercises are perfect for small living spaces.
If you want to avoid potential injury, it’s aways better to work with a personal trainer or fitness coach, but if that isn’t an option for you right now there are plenty of videos you can watch online to learn how to perform the following exercises correctly.
1. Chair Pose
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Let’s start with something relatively easy.
To assume chair pose, raise your hands up at a 45 degree angle, palms facing each other. Feet together or hip-width apart, squat backwards as if you are about to sit down. Aim to squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. For modification, try a wall sit instead.
According to yoga journal, chair pose is great for strengthening the ankles, thighs, calves, and spine, as well as stimulating your diaphragm and heart.
2. Jumping Jacks
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Jumping jacks are a great way to get your heart pumping fast.
Simply jump out and in, and stretch your arms up and down to match the movement of your legs. Make sure to bend your knees slightly and stay light on your feet.
Jumping jacks allow you to work your calves and shoulders while you warm up for the harder parts of your workout.
3. Planking
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No, not planking. Planking.
I know, I know, not everyone loves planking, but it’s a fantastic full-body exercise move. Simply hold yourself up with either your forearms or your palms flat on the floor. The goal is to create a straight line, so don’t stick your butt up in the air but don’t let your stomach dip either.
Planking tones your abs, yes, but holding yourself up like this also works your shoulders, biceps, butt and thighs! Start by holding yourself up for 30 seconds to 60 seconds at a time.
4. Pushups
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Once you’ve gotten the hang of planking, you can move on to pushups.
The humble pushup is a great way to tone your chest, shoulders, triceps and work your core, back, and legs.
The best part about pushups is that there are many different variations. There’s no shame in starting on your knees and working your way up to a full plank pushup.
5. Chaturanga
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If doing pushups still doesn’t appeal to you, consider strengthening your muscles with yoga.
Chaturanga, or the “four limb staff pose,” strengthens and tones the wrists, arms, abdominal muscles, and lower back. It’s similar to a push up, but instead you keep your elbows close to your ribs. You may have done this before as part of a Sun Salutation.
If you’ve never done this before, try following along with an online yoga instructor.
6. Donkey Kicks
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Donkey kicks are one of my favorites! A satisfying way to work those glutes!
Start on your hands and and knees in a simple table top position. Then lift one leg up into the air, knee bent at a 90 degree angle. Lift up and then lower. Then repeat. Couldn’t be simpler!
7. Lateral Lunges
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Lateral lunges, or side lunges, are great low-impact exercise for toning your inner thighs and glutes.
Make sure to keep your toes pointed forward as you sweep one leg out and lunge forward with the other.
8. Mountain Climbers
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Admittedly ,this is one of my least favorite exercises, but that’s because these are a bit more challenging for me. According to VeryWellFit, mountain climbers are a great full body move, especially for your arms, shoulders, quads, and core.
Start by planking, then pull one leg at a time up into your chest.
You can do these quickly or a bit more slowly depending on what works best for you.
9. Jump Squats
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Alright, are you ready for something a little more exciting? Get ready for jumping squats!
It’s exactly like it sounds. You’re going to squat and then you’re going to jump. Think of yourself as a spring and let the squat propel you up into a jump.
You can try to jump up onto something like a block or a step, or you can just jump straight up into the air.
10. Burpees
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Now we’re going to take some of the moves we learned above and put them together. Burpees are a bit more challenging, but you can do hard things!
For this move you’ll move from a squat to a plank, do a push up, push yourself back into a plank, jump or step your feet up to your hands, and then finish it off with one more jump straight up into the air. (Or you can throw a few punches for fun!)
There you have it. With these 10 exercises you can create a personalized at-home workout routine that will fit your small space. No equipment required!
Which one of these moves do you think looks the hardest? Let us know in the comments!
