The Best Home Workouts You Can Do For Free to Lose Weight
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Finding the time (and money) to go to the gym can be challenging. In this post, I’m highlighting 5 workouts you can do at home for FREE to lose weight, build strength and feel your best.
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How I Drastically Improved My Health By Following the Mediterranean Diet
In 2018, I was struggling to make healthy food choices and experienced constant joint pain, brain fog, blood sugar highs and lows, and extreme fatigue every day. These were symptoms that had become a part of my every day and was something that I thought I would always have to live with.
However, I knew there had to be a way for me to feel better, so I started doing research on evidence-based ways of eating that supported long-term health. As one of the healthiest diets in the world, the Mediterranean diet showed up repeatedly in my searches. In 2020, I decided to make the shift toward eating a more Mediterranean-based diet to support my health.
I started applying what I learned by following a Mediterranean-based diet and immediately saw great results!
After implementing a Mediterranean-based diet, I quickly noticed my energy levels drastically improve, I was sleeping SO much better each night, and my skin had become clear and glowing (yay for no more “adult acne!”) and I did all of this in a healthy, balanced way. I was so ecstatic about my results that I put together all my recipes that I had used and developed at this time and started sharing them with others with the hopes that they would feel just as amazing as I was feeling.
Eating a Mediterranean diet restored my physical and mental health.
My goal for you is to experience these same incredible benefits. My 30-Day Mediterranean Meal Plan is the exact plan I used to improve my health and eat intuitively.
My Favorite Home Workouts for Weight Loss
#1: Yoga & Bodyweight Exercises
I am OBSESSED with yoga and bodyweight exercises, which is why I chose to list it first in this blog post. I attribute much of my weight-loss success and overall improvement of health to yoga. Not only did I lose 20 pounds, I also greatly increased my strength, flexibility, and mobility. I feel much more stable doing normal, everyday activities and feel I am much less likely to become injured.
To be clear, I’m not talking about the “relaxing, lay on your back and breathe” kind of yoga (or yin yoga). I’m talking about Vinyasa Yoga flows that keep you moving, increase your heart rate and slightly kick your booty.
How to get started
There are two YouTube Channels I highly recommend checking out to get started:
Breathe and Flow: I LOVE this YouTube Channel so much that I have also joined their membership website (Patreon.) They offer beginner, intermediate and advanced yoga classes, as well as a HIIT (high intensity interval training) program and breathe work classes. They really are a one-stop-shop for your yoga, strength building and mindfulness practice, and I highly recommend them! One aspect of their classes that I find to be unique from other yoga instructors is that their vinyasa classes are slower paced, meaning they transition from one yoga pose to the next in a slower, more mindful way than other classes. I have found that this gives me time to transition to the next pose safely and decreases my chance of injury. My husband also loves this channel, and we practice their videos together.
Cat Meffan: If you are looking for unique and flowy vinyasa yoga classes, this is the channel for you! Cat offers both vinyasa and yin classes and offers unique “Yoganuary” 30-day series every January for her followers. Her yoga classes are more fast-paced compared to Breathe and Flow’s classes mentioned above.
#2: Dumbbell Workouts
Dumbbell workouts are a great home workout option as it does not require much equipment to get started and you start seeing progress pretty quickly after getting started. Not only do dumbbell exercises increase strength, they also improve coordination, decrease your risk for injury, and burn calories. It’s a win-win-win!
Two YouTube channels I recommend to get started are:
Caroline Girvan - this is my favorite dumbbell workout channel! Caroline is pretty incredible and creates workouts that are sure to kick your butt, but the strength-building that you’ll notice in yourself will make it worth it. My advice is to take it slow. If you are new to these types of workouts, you most likely won’t be able to keep up the first few times. Just do your best and the strength will come. She has a ton of workout videos, and if you’re not sure where to start, I recommend this video. I started out with 7-pound dumbbells and worked my way up from there.
Since starting full-body dumbbell workouts, I have noticed a big improvement in my cardiovascular system. I was recently playing with my dogs outside and did a sprint across our one-acre backyard. To my surprise, I was not winded by the end! It’s incredible to me how workouts that you can do right in your living room can provide such great full-body benefits.
#3: HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
I mentioned Breathe and Flow’s HIIT program on YouTube previously, and I am going to recommend it again! Benefits of HIIT include weight loss, improving your cardiovascular system, and increasing strength. You burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time as well, making it an ideal workout for those of us short on time.
You may be saying:
“But I hate burpees, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers.”
“I have bad knees, I couldn’t do a HIIT workout.”
“HIIT workouts are too fast-paced for me.”
Hear me out. I too hate burpees, jumping jacks and mountain climbers, and while I do not have bad knees, I am more in the “let’s preserve knee health” mindset. This is why I recommend Breathe & Flow’s HIIT program because it is low-impact and it is much more accessible physically for beginners (and non-beginners) to do.
Don’t be fooled, though! You may be moving a little slower than other HIIT workouts, but I guarantee you will be feeling the burn and seeing your strength build very quickly! Since I started doing their HIIT program, I have found my yoga practice has also greatly improved as I am stronger and more stable in my yoga poses.
Check it out here: Breathe & Flow PULSE | High Intensity Interval Program (HIIT)
You can find many HIIT workouts on YouTube as well. Just type it into the search engine and look through the many video options!
#4: Walking
Walking is one of the absolute best “exercises” you can do for your body. There are MANY health benefits of walking, including:
losing weight and body fat
preventing and managing health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease
strengthening muscles and bones
improving mood and memory
decreasing stress
and SO much more!
You will not burn as many calories in 30 minutes of walking as you would doing something like a HIIT workout, but there are SO many benefits of walking each day that it is worth investing some time in doing these exercises daily.
#5: Bicycling
Bicycling shares many of the same benefits as walking when it comes to exercise, but I find it can sometimes be a better option for those with joint pain and bad knees (my husband being one example.) It is also just a fun activity to do and is something the entire family can do it together!
Start Eating Healthy with the Mediterranean Diet
If the Mediterranean diet is very different from how you have been eating, I HIGHLY recommend you follow a meal plan that has already been designed to help you be successful and quickly see results. The 30-Day Mediterranean Meal Plan I created includes everything you need to get started on the Mediterranean diet. It includes over 80 easy and delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks that you can simply follow along to and enjoy all the delicious flavors that come with the Mediterranean diet.
Once I learned how to eat a balanced Mediterranean diet, I quickly saw great results! By understanding what my body needed each day, I was able to set myself up for success and have maintained this healthy lifestyle for almost 3 years.
I want this for you too! If you are ready to fully benefit from the Mediterranean diet, I urge you to get started with my 30-day meal plan now while it’s the lowest price it will ever be! Click here to get started.
Choosing the right foods makes all the difference in how you feel. Even if you’re not yet ready to go all in, I have something that will help you make a step towards eating healthy and reaping the benefits of a healthy, balanced diet. Download my Top 10 Must-Try Mediterranean Diet Recipes ebook by using the form below to get instant access to this valuable resource. I have also included a Mediterranean Diet Shopping List to help you get started.
Get Your FREE ebook: Top 10 Must-Try Mediterranean Diet Recipes + A Free Shopping List
I have also put together a resource library containing my top recommended books, kitchen must-haves, supplements to support your health, and more! Click here to check it out!
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