I have never previously shared this fact on my blog but I really dislike gyms. I have never liked them and don’t anticipate that changing. From a young age I couldn’t help but feel self conscious at gyms and fearful I was making a fool of myself. I know that in reality these are my own insecurities and that nobody is paying any attention to what I, or anyone else, is doing within the confines of a gym but it remains a strong reaction that I can not seem to shake. I would much rather work out in the privacy of my own home.
Now this isn’t to say that I have not always exercised regularly. Quite the contrary actually. I have always exercised a minimum of four days a week for the past decade of my life and only plan on incorporating more physical activity into my daily life as I age. It has a huge and inarguable impact on my mental health and is something I very much need in my life to keep me in a positive and motivated headspace.
As you might imagine, I have become a bit of a connoisseur of home workouts over the years. I, like all of you, am short on time and need to get the best possible results in the shortest amount of time. I’m sharing the most effective and best home workouts I have found with you today in hopes that you will be inspired to squeeze a mind and body improving workout into your busy days as well.
Find a reason to get out of your comfy bed just a bit early by trying out my roundup of the best home workouts.
Full Length, Full Body
I have found these four workouts to be both moderately to very challenging AND effective, a hard combination to achieve! These four will get your body moving and leave you feeling accomplished and maybe even a little sore the next day.
1. Mind and Body Health – 45 Minute Best Pilates Workout
This peaceful workout is a great introduction into mat pilates. The background music is incredibly soothing and the workout progresses at a slow page. Don’t let the pace fool you though, after 45 minutes you’ll find your muscles are worn out and ready for a break.
2. Barre Fitness Workout – 40 Minute Booty, Abs, Arms
This workout is not for the faint of heart. It is a full length full body workout rooted firmly in ballet. After I completed this for the first time I told my husband, “This was harder than a ballet class!” It will leave you tired, in a good way, and sore, sore, sore the next day.
3. Pilates Strong – 30 Minute Full Body Pilates Workout
This is one of my favorite workouts…it’s a shorter and more intense intermediate pilates workout that really targets every muscle in your body. Even just a few minutes in you can feel your body hard at work.
4. Gym Ra – 30 Minute Head to Toe Torcher
When I want to branch away from pilates and barre I incorporate this workout into my week. It is definitely at an intermediate level and moves at a quick pace. It works the entire body and you will find yourself tired at the end of it.
Short and Sweet
Short on time? Not a problem! These two picks will take you twenty minutes tops!
1. Tone It Up – 15 Minute Total Body Tone Up!
Don’t let the length of this deceive you! The Tone It Up ladies crammed a heart rate raising and challenging intermediate workout into just 15 minutes. This is a great morning workout because it only requires a few minutes of your time and really gets your blood pumping.
2. Pilates Strong – 20 Minute Full Body Pilates Workout
This is my lazy day workout. Even at my most tired I can get through this 20 minute pilates routine and be left feeling like I met my workout quota for the day.
Targeted
More often than not I will combine several workouts that target specific areas of my body so I can tailor my exercise to my ever-changing needs.
1. Blogilates – 15 Minute Lower Abs and Booty Blast
Like all of Cassy Ho’s workouts, this effectively targets problem areas with unique moves you don’t see every day. I love combining this with an arm workout for head to toe toning.
2. POPSUGAR Fitness – 10 Minute Legs and Arms
This may only be 10 minutes but this one will leave you feeling the burn by the end. It starts off slow but incorporates some serious reps involving pliés.
3. Cardio Barre – Lower Body Workout
This was my go-to booty and thigh workout a couple of years ago. The moves may be small but let me tell you…they work! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can barely make it through this workout the first few times!
4. POPSUGAR Fitness – 10 Minute Barre Abs Workout
This ab workout can move fast at times but is the most effective routines I have found to target my mid-section.
5. Tone It Up – 12 Minute Love Your Arms & Abs
This isn’t too strenuous of a routine but I find it to be a quick way to address my entire upper body.
6. POPSUGAR Fitness – 5 Minute Chest Workout for Women
Yes, women should do chest exercises too! Chest workouts can perk up your ladies and keep things from sliding south as you age. Very important!
There you have it, the best home workouts according to me! It was challenging to narrow down my choices to this few but I included my absolute favorites, the cream of the workout crop. I’d love to hear about your favorite ways to work out in the comments below. If you have any questions or are in need of suggestions for targeting specific areas of your body please feel free to ask!