Whether you need a temporary solution or a long-term plan, losing weight at home is a straightforward process. All you need is the right exercises, as well as the right at-home weight loss program. Here are the top exercises to lose weight at home and sample workout program.
How To Lose Weight At Home?
We love the gym, but there’s no inherent reason you have to go if fat loss is your goal.
Losing fat and improving your body composition ultimately comes down to increasing your calorie burn and reducing your calorie intake.¹ These two factors have independent mechanisms:
1. Burning Calories – Burning calories comes down to moving more and being involved in an exercise program, ideally one designed to lose weight.
2. Consuming Fewer Calories – Unless you’re running 20 miles a day, you’ll need to follow a diet program that has you consuming fewer calories. This is essential.
As you can see, both of these can be done at home! This article primarily focuses on the first variable, increasing calorie burn.
The Best Full-Body Fat-Burning Exercises to Do at Home
We’re now going to go through the best exercises you should use to burn fat in the comfort of your own home.
To make things a bit more clear, we’re going to split them into two groups;
Strength Exercises – These are exercises you should use to mitigate any muscle loss
Conditioning Exercises – These are the exercises you’ll use for HIIT.
Here are some of the best exercises you can use at home with no equipment.
Strength Exercises
As this program is focused on weight loss, it will only include a few strength exercises. These are your primary movements that require a significant amount of mass.
Pushups
Push-ups are an obvious choice, as they train your upper body while also engaging your core.
Lunges
Lunges are an excellent choice for fat loss at home, as they burn a significant number of calories and are generally more challenging than squats. This means you can place a greater stimulus on your muscles.
Squats
Conditioning Exercises
Now, we’re going to go over the conditioning exercises. These are used to increase your heart rate and maximize calorie burn.
Burpees
Burpees are a full-body exercise that combines strength and cardio. Doing so provides a high-calorie burn.
In fact, research has been used in various HIIT protocols to show that it maximizes the energy used.
Jump Squats
Jump squats are composed of a squat followed by an explosive jump in succession. Together, this builds lower body strength and explosive power.
However, propelling yourself in the air multiple times requires a lot of energy, which increases your heart rate rapidly and burns a ton of calories.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are an extremely popular conditioning exercise for fat loss.
Jumping Jacks
This simple, classic cardio exercise from middle school is a great choice to use in an at-home workout. It’s easy to do and highly effective.
High Knees
Running is one of the best exercises you can do and high knees replicates this inside your home.
Plank Up/Down
This variation of the plank increase the intensity for a awesome core workout while also training the core.
Bear Crawls
Bear crawls work the entire body with a special emphasis on the core. Do these right and they’re an intense exercise.
At-Home Weight Loss Workout
We’re now going to give you an example of what an at-home fat-loss workout looks like.
We will provide two different workouts. You can choose to use them independently of each other or together.
Remember, there are numerous ways to do this, but these will be excellent examples that you can use. Or, you can use it as a blueprint of what an effective weight loss program looks like.
Fat Loss Workout 1
Strength Session
Squat – 20-30
Pushup – 10-20
Lunges – 20-30
Plank – :30
3-5 Rounds
Run through this in a circuit fashion, resting 1:00 between each exercise. To be clear, you are not running through it as fast as possible. Giving yourself 1:00 between the exercises will let you complete the session quicker while still getting a lot of volume.
The most important part when you run this is that you’re bringing each set near failure.
Conditioning Session
Burpees – 10
Mountain Climbers – 50
Flutter Kicks – 100
Squat Jumps – 10
Bear Crawls – :30
Planks (Up Down) – :45
Run through this circuit with 20-30 seconds of rest in between each session.
Fat Loss Workout 2
This fat loss workout consists of one large circuit. It’s an easy yet effective workout to increase calorie burn while also stimulating your muscles.
Fat Loss Circuit
High Knees – 50
Pushups – 10-20
Flutter Kicks – 100
Burpees – 10
Plank (Up Downs) – :30
Lunges – 20
Mountain Climbers – 50
Squat Jumps (Knee Tucks) – 10
Bear Crawls – :30
Run through this circuit with 20-30 seconds of rest in between each session. Cycle through 3-5 times.
Tips to Maximize Fat Loss at Home
Having fat loss exercises and working out is only part of the equation. There are some other principles you need to follow.
1. Consistency – This should go without saying, but you need to do the workouts to lose weight. Weight loss will happen, but it requires time and consistency. Aim to work out 3–5x per week.
2. Use Progressive Overload – Although progressive overload is typically applied to improve strength or muscle size, it remains important to consider its application to fat loss as well. Doing so will ensure you maintain intensity while also providing a goal to work towards.
3. Follow A Nutrition Plan – As you probably know, your nutrition will be the ultimate determinant of weight loss. Therefore, be sure to follow a proper nutrition plan. If you need help, check out this article, which will cover everything you need to do.
4. Increase General Activity – In addition to your workout program, you should aim to increase your general activity levels as much as possible. For example, increasing your daily steps is a low-impact and very effective practice. Check out this article to tell you what to do!
5. Ensure You Have Strength Training Exercises – Do not completely ignore strength training exercises in your program. This will ensure you optimize your body comp during your fat loss.
What Makes an Exercise Effective for Weight Loss?
There are numerous exercises that you can choose from to burn fat at home. However, some are definitely better than others. Here’s what you should look for when working out at home.
Compound Movements That Use Multiple Muscle Groups
Stick with multi-joint movements – the more, the better.
Using larger amounts of muscle ultimately means more work, i.e., calories burned. Therefore, when burning fat is your primary goal, big movements should be your priority.
This can include both strength and conditioning exercises. For example;
Pushups
Squat Jump
Burpees
Elevates Heart Rate
When weight loss is your primary goal, you should include a significant portion of your exercises that get your heart rate pumping.
Keep in mind that an elevated heart rate doesn’t directly burn calories. Therefore, when we say this, please understand that we’re assuming you’re using compound movements that can be performed quickly, such as mountain climbers and burpees.
Efficient In Building Muscle
Similar to heart elevation, you should also include exercises specifically designed to build muscle and strength. Using this will benefit you through several mechanisms;²
Maintaining your RMR
Mitigates muscle loss
Still able to burn large amounts of calories
This means you should use an exercise that focuses on building your muscles rather than burning calories. Examples of these include pushups and squats.
Can Be Performed With HIIT Or In Circuits
Similar to building strength, this doesn’t need to apply to every exercise. However, in terms of fat loss, this should probably make up the bulk of your training.
Technically, the majority of exercises you do at home can easily be performed in a circuit, assuming you’re not using a full gym set-up.
Circuit training is a great option for at-home weight loss as a circuit fat loss plan is easy to set up and is highly effective for increasing caloric burn.³
In terms of HIIT, exercises should be performed quickly to elevate your heart rate. Exercise examples that work well here include;
Mountain climbers
Burpees
High Knees
Here’s some other awesome fat-burning HIIT workouts you can check out!
Weight Loss Made Easy
We’re going to be honest – there’s no secret to weight loss. There’s nothing magical in this fat loss program that negates your dedication. However, this is a fantastic blueprint of what a successful at-home weight loss program looks like – increasing your calorie burn. Consistency is key, and remember this. However, while there’s little we can be certain of, you will be successful if you maintain and follow your plan – and you can get started now.
References
Hall KD, Farooqi IS, Friedman JM, et al. The energy balance model of obesity: beyond calories in, calories out. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;115(5):1243-1254. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqac031 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35134825/
Siedler, M.R., De Souza, M.J., Albracht-Schulte, K. et al. The Influence of Energy Balance and Availability on Resting Metabolic Rate: Implications for Assessment and Future Research Directions. Sports Med 53, 1507–1526 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01856-7
Seo YG, Noh HM, Kim SY. Weight loss effects of circuit training interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2019;20(11):1642-1650. doi:10.1111/obr.12911 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31322317/
