Please welcome Kelsey Turek to the blog today. This is her first blog post on Dietriffic, and she has some really great tips on how to workout with no equipment.

I’m the kind of person who needs to do something physical every day. I don’t necessarily have to go to a gym or run a few miles, but I need to do something.

Active by nature and nurture, and currently stagnant by day (my big-kid job requires me to sit in a cubicle and work on a computer), my need for daily movement is accepted as a part of who I am by all of my close friends and family.

And, now that I’m in the fitness business, too, I teach workout classes after my day job—I’ve started to get creative about what I can do without equipment, just for kicks (which, by the way, is a great way to workout).

If you don’t have a gym membership and you don’t have fitness equipment, don’t worry, you can still get a good workout and it can be great fun.

Here Are My No-Equipment Workout Ideas

1. Kickboxing

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Make up your own routine, do minute-long rounds of the following (total: 22 mins):

• Jump rope (no rope required)
• Right-hand (while bouncing on your toes)
• Left-hand jabs (while bouncing on your toes)
• Jumping jacks
• Sit in a deep squat and alternate hooks
• Deep squat while alternating upper cuts
• Jumping jack with a front kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Jumping jack with a side kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Jumping jack with a back kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Squat with a front kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Squat with a side kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Squat with a back kick (right leg for a minute, then left leg)
• Jumping jack, right jab, jumping jack, left jab
• Side punches (alternate right then left and turn hips to side you are punching to feel the rotation in your stomach)
• Side upper cuts (alternate right then left and turn hips to side you are punching to feel the rotation in your stomach)
• Side hooks (alternate right then left and turn hips to side you are punching to feel the rotation in your stomach)

2. Pushups

Simple, straightforward, and a total body exercise. Challenge yourself by doing a pyramid. Do 1 pushup and hold in plank. Do 2 pushups and hold. 3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. Then go back down: 10, 9, etc.

You can get fancy, too. Pushups with your hands on a step; pushups with your feet on a step and hands on the ground; pushups with your hands close together, with your hands wide, with your feet wide, with your hands staggered.

3. Squats

These are kind of like pushups—a total body exercise (actually the BEST one), and you can do them anywhere, with multiple variations of them, too.

You can do normal feet-under-shoulders squats, feet-wider-than-shoulder-width squats, feet-really-wide-with-toes-pointed-out squats, squats with one foot on a step, squats with a side leg raise, squats with a kick of some kind, squat pulses, squats with your arms raised, or your hands behind your head… Or better yet, do a set of 10 of each of those!

4. Walking or Running outside

This is what I wear ~ Mel

All you need is a pair of shoes. Rock some hills, play with your speed and distance, try some uneven terrain, and you’ve got a great workout.

Grab a buddy and it counts as a play date, too!

5. Burpees

These are crazy calorie burners and can be done a few different ways. The classic burpee involves standing, then dropping your hands to your feet, jumping your feet back to plank position, jumping them back in toward your hands, and jumping up to standing.

Variations include not jumping up at the end to make it easier, or to make it harder you can add a pushup while in plank position; do a mountain climber while in plank position; jump both feet out, then in and to the side (diagonal), then out again, then in straight, then jump up; add a one-legged pushup while in plank; do a knee-tuck jump when you jump up to standing (when you jump up, bring your knees toward your chest).

It’s amazing how many versions of a burpee you can do… and they’re all exhausting, but amazing for your body.

6. Circuits

You can make your own with body-weight moves. My favorites to include:

• Jumping jacks
• Pushups
• Inch worm sit-ups
• Tricep dips
• Plank
• Bicycle sit-ups
• Squats
• Kicks (front, side, and back)
• Standing twisting sit-ups (stand with hands behind head and twist left knee up toward right elbow, switch and bring right knee toward left elbox)
• Sit in deep squat and alternate punches while twisting your torso
• Hollow man (lie on your back and lift your head, shoulder, and feet off the ground a few inches—hold your stomach in tight)

The reason I find the above exercises to be the best is because, well, they really are some of the best!

The key to success in fitness is diversity and targeting multiple muscle groups at once. You shouldn’t just walk or run or bike or swim. Nor should you just lift weights, or do body weight exercises. For a healthier, fitter you doing a well-rounded routine, like the cardio of kickboxing and running, combined with body weight exercises, will get you better results.

And, you don’t necessarily need equipment to have a variety of workouts in your arsenal—your body and what you already have around the house can be enough.

Happy working out everyone

What are some of your favorite no equipment workout routines?