The Most Underrated Home Workouts You Haven't Tried Yet, According To Experts
Working out at home is the best, but honestly, it's also the worst. Let me explain: Home workouts are the best because you don't have to get ready or leave the house so, like, no excuses, right? But they're the worst because, well, no excuses. You feel me? Overall, though, exercise is meant to be fun in any context, so if you're bored with your current routine, try incorporating a few underrated home workouts into your sweat sessions. Variety is the spice of life, after all, and by changing things up, you'll automatically be giving yourself a little boost of extra motivation
Though these workouts are, indeed, underrated, that doesn't mean they're especially complex or impossible to practice on a regular basis. These exercises require minimal equipment, though a couple of them will make use of some of your home furniture as props, so get ready to do a little rearranging, girl.
While you might have tried a version of some of these workouts in the past, I'm willing to bet you haven't taken full advantage of these moves quite yet, so turn up the music, and get to it, friends. With these five underrated workouts, you'll be sweating, panting, and filled with feel-good endorphins in no time, all from the comfort of your very own home.
Jumping Rope
"The classic schoolyard activity is typically not viewed as a good exercise tactic by adults, but it makes for an effective, quick, and cheap home workout," Tim Frechette, editor of AthleticLift.com, tells Elite Daily in an email.
According to Frechette, jumping rope for just 10 minutes can actually be about as effective as running a six- to eight-minute mile. "Beyond that, it is fantastic for your heart, and a lot lower-impact than other types of cardio workouts," he adds.
What are you waiting for? Channel those middle school recess vibes, and get to it, fam.
Burpees
Personally, burpees are one of those exercises I will forever equally loathe and respect. "People generally avoid them for the exact reasons that you should be doing them," says Jackie Wilson, professional fitness trainer and CEO/founder of NOVA Fitness Innovation. "Burpees target the entire body and combine elements of strength and cardio into a single exercise."
As a result, Wilson tells Elite Daily, they provide arguably the best bang for your buck for any exercise movement. "Burpees are effective, efficient, and everything that you need packed into one movement," he explains.
Yoga
While yoga might not necessarily be underrated in general, Samantha Morrison, health and wellness expert for Glacier Wellness, says people sometimes forget how much the practice can help with, specifically, getting quality shut-eye. "While many people exercise to give themselves energy, many people also work out to help them [diminish] energy and ultimately sleep better," she tells Elite Daily over email.
Although there are many great workouts to choose from, few are as effective as yoga in terms of promoting healthy sleep, according to Morrison. "Yoga naturally relaxes you by focusing on breathing techniques, meditation, and stretching," she explains. "Because these exercises generally don’t stress the body, they are even effective close to bedtime."
Tricep Dips
Personally, I feel like tricep dips are the most underrated of all arm workouts — and Morrison agrees. "While most people think of biceps as the important arm muscles, triceps make up approximately 70 percent of your arm’s muscles and are significantly more practical," she tells Elite Daily. "Fortunately, there are countless workouts to target your triceps, specifically stretching and pressing exercises."
If you’re looking for an arm workout to do while you’re lounging on the couch, Morrison tells me that tricep dips are a great place to start. Here's how to do them: Sit on the edge of the couch (or a stable chair), and place one hand on each side. Scoot off the couch, and dip up and down as many times as you can. Simple enough, right? (Well, I guess your next-day soreness might suggest otherwise).
Diamond Reverse Crunches
According to Erin Berman, in-house fitness expert at Nectar Sleep, this "mattress-sizing" move doesn't get enough credit, just because it can be done from the comfort of your bed. However, Berman assures me that diamond reverse crunches are highly effective,.
To do them, she explains, lie on your back (atop your bed, or anywhere else you feel comfortable) with your arms along your sides, palms facing down. "Bring your feet together and open your knees out to the sides so the space between your legs resembles a diamond," says Berman. "Press into your palms and brace your core as you raise your feet up over your hips. From this position, lift your hips up off the bed to drive your feet straight up toward the ceiling."
With control, bring your hips back to the bed, without dropping your feet — that's one rep. Think you can handle more?
