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If you know you want to start making exercise a part of your lifestyle, strength training is great place to start.
Incorporating bodyweight-strength exercises into your routine at home is a great way to build muscle and lose weight, if that’s your goal. In addition to cardio, strength training boosts energy, improves mood (hello, endorphins!) and of course, provides a full-body workout. The best part is no fancy equipment, expensive gym membership or large chunk of time is required. Just 20 minutes, five days a week is all you need to start seeing results.
Benefits of strength training
As a personal trainer I am often asked: Do bodyweight exercises count as strength training? And can you build muscle mass with bodyweight exercises? The answer is yes! And there is good reason to add strength training moves to your routine, even if you do not own dumbbells.
Research shows that the combination of strength training and cardio exercise bode well for weight loss. Strength training helps build strong muscles that help burn fat and also helps speed up the metabolism. Research also shows that strength training is associated with reductions in anxiety symptoms among healthy adults and reduced depression symptoms for adults with diagnosed depression, plus improvements in sleep quality among depressed older adults.
Ready to get started? Do these 15 strength exercises at home to tone your arms, legs, glutes and core using just your bodyweight.
Lower body exercises
Walking squat
Start in a squat position with your feet as wide as your hips. Pull the abs in and bend the knees to sit back as if you’re trying to sit into a chair. Then step your right foot to the right into a wide leg squat, and bring your left foot a step to the right to the starting squat position. Keep walking sideways with this squat 10 times, then stand up and repeat to…
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