25 minutes · No equipment
25-minute no-equipment home workout
This is general information, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting if you have health conditions, injuries or are pregnant.
What you need
A clear strip of floor about as long as a lunge, a counter or a sturdy table that will not slide, and a chair. Train in shoes with a flat sole, or barefoot if the floor is not slippery. A rug that shifts under your foot is a bad surface for lunges. Water goes next to you before you start.
The sample coaching day on the homepage is an example we wrote, and its workout is this session. That page uses a timer. This page writes the same five moves as sets and reps, with an easier and a harder option for each one.
This is one workout, not a full training plan, and it does not set meals or calories. Move at a pace where you could say a short sentence. If a rep turns sloppy, end the set. Sharp pain, chest pain, dizziness, or feeling faint means you stop.
Warm-up, about 4 minutes
Do these in order. The point is to arrive at the first work set already moving, not to tire yourself out.
March in place, 60 seconds
Easy pace. Swing your arms. If the room is cool from the air conditioning, this is enough to take the stiffness off. You do not need to be sweating.
10 slow squats
Feet about hip to shoulder width. Sit your hips back a short way and stand back up. Hands can rest on your thighs. This is practice, not the work sets, so stay well above the depth that feels like a strain.
10 hip hinges
Soft knees. Push your hips back and let your hands slide down your thighs. Keep your back long. You should feel the back of your hips working, not a pull in the lower back. Stand up by driving the hips forward.
Arm circles, 20 seconds each way
Small circles first, then a little wider if your shoulders are happy. Stand tall. Do not whip the arms.
2 easy incline push-ups
Hands on the counter you will use later. Body in one line. Just learn the position. If the counter is crowded, use a wall.
The circuit
Do 3 rounds. Each exercise below is one set per round, so you finish 3 sets of each move. Rest 20 seconds between exercises and 60 seconds between rounds. After the third round, skip the 60-second rest and start the cool-down.
A controlled set plus the 20-second rests is about 5 minutes. Three rounds, with 60 seconds between the first and second and between the second and third, is about 17 minutes. Warm-up 4 minutes and cool-down 4 minutes bring the session to about 25 minutes.
If a round runs long, do not sprint the next one to catch the clock. Shorten the next between-round rest, or stop after two rounds and cool down. Finishing with clean reps matters more than a third sloppy round.
Prefer a timer, as on the homepage sample? Do about 40 seconds of each exercise and rest 20 seconds. Stop early if the reps get worse. Use the rep counts when you want a number to hit. Pick one way for the day and stick to it.
1. Squat
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10
- Rest
- 20 seconds
Feet about shoulder width, heels stay down. Sit your hips back and down, then stand tall. Knees point the same direction as your toes. Keep the reps smooth. Exhale as you stand up. If you cannot keep your heels down, use a shorter range rather than bouncing at the bottom.
Easier. Sit down to a sturdy chair and stand back up, 8 reps. Use your hands on your thighs if you need a little help on the way up. The chair should not roll or rock.
Harder. Take about 3 seconds to lower, then stand up at a normal speed, still 10 reps. Only do this if the regular 10 already feel steady.
2. Incline push-up
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8
- Rest
- 20 seconds
Hands on a counter, a sturdy table, or a wall. The higher your hands, the easier the push-up. Walk your feet back until your body is a straight line from head to heels. Bend your elbows and bring your chest toward your hands, then press back up. Do not let your hips sag or pike up. Squeeze the floor with your hands so your shoulders do not shrug toward your ears.
Easier. Hands on a wall, 8 reps. Stand close enough that you can control the push, far enough that it is still work. Keep the same straight line.
Harder. Hands on a lower sturdy surface, such as a sofa that will not tip, 6 to 8 clean reps. Knee push-ups on the floor are another step. Use the floor only if your wrists feel fine. Fewer clean reps beat a collapsed lower back.
3. Reverse lunge
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 6 each leg
- Rest
- 20 seconds
Hold a chair if you wobble. Step one foot back, lower until the back knee moves toward the floor, then push through the front heel to stand. Front heel stays down and your torso stays tall. Alternate legs, or finish one side and then the other. Six each leg is the set. A short step and a shorter knee bend still counts if balance is the limiter.
Easier. Both hands on a chair, smaller step, 4 each leg. Stand up fully between reps. If one knee objects, stay with this version or skip the lunge and do another set of chair squats instead.
Harder. Pause for one second near the bottom, 6 each leg, with light support or none if you are steady. Skip the pause if the knee feels sharp. Do not add a jump.
4. Glute bridge
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 12
- Rest
- 20 seconds
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and about hip width. Arms rest on the floor. Press through your heels and lift your hips until your body is a straight line from shoulders to knees. Pause for a moment, then lower with control. Do not crank the lower back into a deep arch to get higher. Exhale as you lift.
Easier. Lift only part of the way, 8 reps. The pause at the top can be very short. If lying down is awkward today, a standing hip hinge from the warm-up, done slowly for 10 reps, is a stand-in, not the same exercise.
Harder. Pause for about 2 seconds at the top, 12 reps, still without over-arching. Keep both feet flat. Do not put a weight on your hips for this version.
5. Dead bug
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 6 each side
- Rest
- 60 seconds between rounds
Lie on your back with your arms toward the ceiling and your hips and knees bent to about a right angle. Gently brace, as if you are keeping the belt line quiet. Lower one arm and the opposite leg toward the floor, then come back and switch sides. Your lower back stays heavy on the floor. If it peels up, you reached too far. Six lowers on each side is the set.
Easier. Keep both arms down by your sides. Slide one heel along the floor until the knee is nearly straight, then pull it back, 6 each side. Back stays down.
Harder. Slow the lower to about 3 seconds, 6 each side, and only reach as far as the back allows. Eight each side is fine once the slower reps stay clean. Do not hold your breath.
Cool-down, about 4 minutes
Hold each stretch where you feel a gentle pull, not a jab. Breathe out slowly. Skip any position that puts a joint in pain, and use the standing option.
Hip flexor, 40 seconds each side
Half-kneel with the back knee on a folded towel if the floor is hard. Tuck your hips slightly under you so you feel the front of the back hip, not a pinch in the lower back. Hold a chair. If the knee on the floor complains, stay standing: step one foot back a little, squeeze the glute on that side, and hold.
Hamstring, 40 seconds each side
One heel on the floor in front of you, knee soft, not locked. Hinge forward from the hips with a long back until you feel the back of the thigh. Hands can rest on the front thigh. Do not round down and yank.
Chest, 40 seconds
Put a hand or forearm on a doorframe at about shoulder height and turn your body gently away until the chest opens. Keep the shoulder down. One side at a time if both arms at once feels like too much. This is a small turn, not a big twist.
Easy breathing, 40 seconds
Stand or lie down. Breathe in through your nose and out a little longer than the inhale. Let the heart rate come down before you walk off to the next thing.
How often to do it
Two or three days a week is plenty for this session. Leave a day between workouts when you are new to squats and lunges, so your legs can recover. Examples: Saturday and Tuesday, or Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Use the days you can actually protect. The workout does not care which day of the week your weekend falls on.
On the other days, walk if you want to, and live your normal day. You do not need a second, harder workout to make this one “count.” If you already lift in a gym, you can use this on a day you are at home and short on time. Do not stack it on top of a heavy leg day.
Missed a week? Do the version you last finished with clean reps. Do not do two sessions in one day to make up for it.
How to progress
Progress one small step at a time. Change one thing, keep it for at least a week of sessions you actually complete, then decide. Do not make a move harder and add reps in the same session.
1. Learn the easier options
All 3 rounds, with the easier version of any move that feels shaky. Rest as written. You are done for the day when the reps stay as tidy as the first ones.
2. Use the standard reps
Squat 10, incline push-up 8, reverse lunge 6 each leg, glute bridge 12, dead bug 6 each side. When you can do that for 3 rounds without the last reps falling apart, you are ready for a harder option.
3. Harden one move at a time
Pick a single harder option, often the squat or the push-up, and leave the other four at the standard reps. If that session feels ragged, go back to standard next time. There is no prize for making all five harder at once.
4. Add a little work, not a new workout
Once the standard session feels repeatable, add 2 reps to the squat or the glute bridge, or slow the lowering on one move. A fourth round turns this into a longer session. Only add it when 3 rounds are steady and you have the extra minutes. Keep the cool-down.
If a joint is sore in a sharp way the next day, repeat the easier version of that move or leave it out until it feels ordinary again. Muscle tiredness that fades in a day or two is a normal response to new reps. Pain that changes how you walk is a reason to stop that exercise and get it checked, not a reason to push the harder option.
Fitting it around a Gulf work schedule and the heat
Do this indoors with the air conditioning on. A living room, a bedroom, or a hotel room is enough. Early morning, before you leave for work, is the easiest block to protect: the session is about 25 minutes, so it can finish before a commute. After sunset, once you are home, is the other good window. In hot months the air outside can still be hot after the sun is down. A balcony is not the cool version of this workout.
Do not train in the midday sun to sweat more. Heat is not extra credit. If you already spent the day walking between buildings or sitting in a hot car, drink water before the first squat even if you are not thirsty, and use the easier options. Keep the bottle where you can reach it on the 20-second rests. One glass right before you start does not make up for a day with almost none, so drink through the workday in hot months. Stop if you feel dizzy, sick, or confused.
A long office day that starts around 8 or 9: lay out the floor space the night before, put the water there, and do the session before you shower and leave. If a morning meeting steals that window, the evening session is the backup, not a failure. If you get home late and only have about 15 minutes, do the warm-up, one full round, and at least the breathing plus one stretch. Leave the other rounds. Two honest rounds on a crowded day are a finished session.
Shift work follows the same rule. Train when you are indoors, cool, and not about to go straight into a long stretch in the heat. If your weekend is Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday, put one session on a day off and one before a workday. The pattern is “a day between,” not a special calendar.
If you are fasting, including during Ramadan, you may not be drinking during the session. Use the easier options, keep the rests, and stop if you feel faint or dizzy. Many people find it simpler to train in the hours when they are eating and drinking, still indoors. Do not add layers of clothing to force a sweat. This page is not a fasting plan.
Clothes are whatever you can lunge in. You do not need a kit. If you are going from a cold office to a hot car and then home, change, drink, and start the march in place while the room is already cool. Waiting until you “feel energetic” after sitting in traffic is how this session gets skipped.