Exercising from the comfort of your home or getting pumped up at a gym? It really comes down to motivation. If youve got the motivation to stay dedicated to a workout program, then working out with a home exercise routine may be for you. While working out at a gym has its advantages, there are also drawbacks; including getting yourself there and back, fitting it in with your schedule, being confident about exercising with strangers, in public, and how to do the right exercises for your goals.

Most people work out for 3 reasons: to improve health, to lose unwanted weight, and to improve muscles tone. Home exercise routines can offer all three of these goals, as long as you put your mind to it and give yourself 1 hour or less per day.

What youll need for a home exercise routine

You probably wont need anything to get started! It helps a lot of women to get an exercise mat and a workout outfit that you really like. If its cute, youll want to wear it! If you dont have carpeted floors, you may only need a mat, especially to get started. Most people have exercise equipment lying around the house, like a skipping rope, basketball or soccer ball, exercise ball, and rubber tension tubes. You can incorporate any of these into your workout.

Here is a sample workout which requires no equipment at all:

Warm up:
Jog on the spot: 1 minute
Jumping jacks: 1 minute
Arm circles: 10 in each direction
10 deep squats
10 push ups (from knees, if you cant do a full push up)

Workout: perform 5 rounds of
12 squats
12 push ups
12 sit ups
30 jumping jacks
12 jackknife push ups
12 Russian twists (ab twists)

Cool down:
30-45 seconds of the plank
Stretches

This workout shouldnt take more than 45 minutes, including the warm up and cool down. You can use this template to add and shuffle in new exercises, as you learn them, and get into better and better shape. It is very important to always do a 5 to 10 minute warm up before working out, and a cool down that involves stretches.

Here is a sample workout which uses a skipping rope and exercise ball:

Warm up: (same as above)
Jog on the spot: 1 minute
Jumping jacks: 1 minute
Arm circles: 10 in each direction
10 deep squats
10 push ups (from knees, if you cant do a full push up)

Workout: complete 5 rounds of

10 squats
50 skips
10 exercise ball crunches
50 skips
10 lunges
50 skips
10 exercise ball passes (hands to feet)
50 skips
10 glute bridge (feet on exercise ball)

Cool down:
30-45 seconds of the plank
Stretches

Try out these two home exercise routines to find out which you love best! Challenge yourself by adding more repetitions and new exercises to the mix. Workout 3 to 6 times per week and combine the workouts with a healthy diet. Youll be very happy with your results and your new body by sticking with your program.