When people think about working out to lose weight, they often assume that to mean strenuous cardio and lifting weights at the gym. But, what if you aren’t quite ready to commit to a gym membership for one reason or another?

Fortunately, there are still ways to lose weight and build muscle in the comfort of your home. If performed correctly and consistently, home workouts can be every bit as effective as a trip to the gym. By using what you have at your hose, you can train at any time, day or night, rain or shine. All it takes is a little creativity and some motivation and, over time, your strength and conditioning, as well as your appearance and energy level, will be at an all-time best.

Dina Burley

The recommended exercises below are the most effective because they focus on strength training. The reason for this is simple: Building muscle through strength training helps boosts your metabolism and burn fat. While you will want to eventually incorporate cardio into your workout, start by getting the basics correct. By seeing and feeling the results early on, you will be more likely to keep consistently exercising over the long term.

1. Push-ups 

The push-up is a bodyweight exercise that specifically targets the chest, shoulders and triceps muscles. It’s one of the best bodyweight exercises if you’re looking to gain muscle because there are so many different variations you can use to keep challenging your muscles.

Lay with your toes on the ground holding yourself up with your hands. Lower your torso to the ground until your elbows reach a 90-degree angle. Keep your elbows close to your body. Keep your body in a flat plank — it is important to keep your body as straight as possible. Reverse, and keeping the body rigid, push your whole body off of the ground in one piece.

Beginners can modify this challenging move, but most experts agree that the best way to get stronger is to go all the way down. It’s better to practice controlling the body in a plank position all the way to the floor or what’s called a “negative” in resistance training because it refers to the eccentric contraction or the lowering part of the exercise. Another method is the knee push-up, which can be effective, however, the proper form eludes most beginners. It takes time to master the push-up, but the strength and development rewards are well worth the time and effort.

2. Triceps Dips 

A triceps dip is an amazing exercise that uses body weight to strengthen the triceps, biceps and shoulder muscle of your upper arms. To perform this exercise set your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured bench or stable chair. Slide your hips off the front of the bench with your legs extended out in front of you. Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints. Beginners can start on the floor by simply holding your hips up off the floor, belly facing the ceiling on hands and feet and “crab walk” or “tabletop” position.

3. Squats (without weights)

Also called deep knee bends, air squats help build both a solid strength foundation and balance in your lower body. They target your thighs, hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes, in particular, helping you add muscle in these areas, and, because balance is necessary, air squats can also engage your core. If you execute a proper air squat, not only does the exercise engage your legs and butt muscles, they also work your core, back and shoulders. To be able to squat properly, you need basic hip, ankle and torso control. Working on your squats will increase mobility and flexibility in each of these joints and make you less prone to injury. We squat every day in our normal lives and adding them to your workouts will increase functional mobility.

First, learn chair squats. Start with your feet hip-width apart and sit down on a chair or couch, then return to a standing position. Keep your body weight centered in your heels, then, squeeze your butt and straighten your legs to come back up, arms come forward for balance. Once you have the hang of it, you can move to air squats.

Keep your weight on your heels. Keep your torso upright with your shoulders pulled back. Your feet should be hip-width apart with your toes slightly pointing outward. Keep your knees externally rotated. Your butt, back and core muscles should be engaged the entire time. Raise your arms while squatting down and bring them back to your side on the way up, keeping your shoulders back. On the downward portion of the squat, go past parallel.

Honestly, getting to the gym every day isn’t always a reality. But, while you might think of strength training as requiring heavy weights, the truth is that your body is itself a fantastic piece of workout equipment. Just by using the weight of your body and the power of gravity you can build muscle, burn fat and get an honest-to-goodness, great workout.

Dina Burley is a native of Biddeford, a fitness trainer and competitor who has coached national champions and worked with Olympic gymnasts, professional stunt actors and tour dancers to look and live at peak performance.