Gone are the days when you need to engage a professional trainer or go to a gym to exercise. We can all start performing exercises at home. Singapore is a small city, so travelling from place to place does not take up much time. However, do you really want to go out there in the hot sweltering sun and sweat it out? Or, given our unpredictable weather, the relentless sun rays beating down on you may just turn into… dark gloomy skies. Do you really want to risk getting caught outside in the rain while exercising? We Singaporeans are known to be hard workers too, always burying ourselves in work or school assignments. We may not always have the time to go out and work out! We are happy to tell you that you don’t always need to exercise outside! You can do it in the comfort of your own home with your household items! Here are some simple workouts to get started:

This insane fat-burner is no joke! All you need is a mat and yourself. Sounds simple? You wish! This is one exercise that works the whole body, not just one part or muscle group. Burpees work the arms, chest, glutes, hamstrings and quads. If you don’t really know where each muscle group is, just know it is a full-body exercise.

Taken from: AX Fitness

If you are new to burpees, try the 30-day burpees challenge! Start with 5 burpees and increase the number of burpees you do everyday by 1. At the end of 30 days, you will be able to do 34 burpees! If you are someone who counts calories, you will be glad to know that according to science, burpees burn up to 50% more fat than moderate exercises such as brisk-walking and swimming!

P.s. if you are up for an even harder challenge, here is one good way to switch up your routine. Instead of just going down and coming up again, try doing a push-up before jumping up! Reminds our Singapore boys of their army days, doesn’t it? (DOWN 20!)

Another exercise you can do without anything else besides yourself! However, if you have dumbbells, you can use them to give this exercise a level up!

With dumbbells:

Taken from: PopSugar

Without dumbbells:

3. Sumo squat

The above 3 are squat exercises you can do without any equipment!

For squat pulses, do your normal squats, but don’t come up immediately after squatting! Pulse up and down 10 times before coming up. We guarantee you, 2 sets of this is enough to get your sore and aching, all for the right reason!

For squat jumps, squat as low as you can before jumping up as high as you can! Think of star jumps, but with squats involved. Sure to get your heart racing after 5 sets of 10.

For sumo squat, all you have to do is squat, but this isn’t your usual squats! Sumo squats are touted as the best exercise for your inner thighs. Also, because the legs are placed wider apart as compared to regular squats, the body is in a different alignment and requires more stability to keep you from rocking forward and back on the heels. This trains the body’s balance too. Regardless of which squat you do, your glutes, back and thighs will sure get a good workout!

Its planking time! No, we are not talking about the trend that took the world by storm in 2011. We’re talking about the planking that works your abs and tightens your core! All you need is a mat and you’re good to go! This seemingly simple exercise works all the muscles in your core, as well as your glutes and arms! If you are up for a bigger challenge, its time to roll out some of the following exercises!

Side planks have more benefits than you think! It works the weakest abdominal muscle, quadratus lumborum, that plays a prominent role in averting back pain.

Reverse planks help to tone the same muscle groups as regular planks, except it also works the lower back very well!

Taken from: Release Soon

Plank jacks works pretty much the same muscle groups as regular and side planks, except it now burns more calories as there is jumping incorporated into the exercise! What a great cardio exercise.

Planks to push ups are perfect for working out the upper body, especially the shoulders, chest and triceps. It also trains the core strength and evens out any imbalances between the left and right side of the body!

Regardless of which plank variation you do, it will work different parts of the body. If these are still not enough for you, try some variations like lifting one arm or leg up while planking!

It’s not just jumping! Jumping jacks work the whole body and burn calories for you too. Besides working the arms, shoulders, back, hips and calves, it can improve your limb coordination. With that, you can develop a better sense of timing, rhythm and balance! For beginners, try 3 sets of 10 jumping jacks, with rest in between. If you want something more intense, its time to embark on the 31-day challenge! Start with 10 jumping jacks and increase by 5 every day. On the last day, you would be able to hit 315 jumping jacks!

After working out so hard, you could reward yourself at Jumping Jack! Psst… for those of you who don’t know, that's the new name of Jack’s Place, the western restaurant you can find islandwide.

You can switch up these exercises whenever you feel like it. If you want a less challenging and milder version, adjust it accordingly by reducing your number of sets, for example. If you are up for a challenge, try the different variations suggested above, or try adding in some equipment if you have them at home! What equipment could you use?

Firstly, dumbbells! You can easily get dumbbells of varying weight online or in fitness stores. These small dumbbells can be used to make your workouts more effective at burning fats. Use it when planking, use it while doing squats, you can plan your routine however you want it to be! You can even do 1 squat after 1 burpee as a set.

Secondly, resistance bands! Resistance bands take a while to learn and get used to, but it helps you to burn more during your workouts! There are many types of resistance bands out there and you would have to try it yourself before deciding which is best for your workouts. With resistance bands, your muscles are working under increased tension and are moving through a full range of motion, improving the strength of the muscles over time and increasing metabolism and calorie burning too! We hope this article has taught you some simple exercises you can do at home. It really is easier than you think! If you are wondering what equipment you can use, stay tuned for the next article, because we'll be showing you, once again, how easy it is to work out at home!