7 Simple At-Home Exercises to Tone Your Body

You don’t need to hit the gym to get in shape-these simple exercises can be done in the comfort of your home.

Try 15 reps of each exercise, completing three circuits with a 30-second break between each, four times a week.

Are you ready for the challenge?

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1. Stability Ball Hamstring Curl

Target: Back of legs

Set-up: Lie on your back, place arms at sides and with knees slightly bent, place lower legs and heels on a med-ium-sized stability ball; brace abs.

Move: Bridge hips up by squeezing butt muscles as if clenching a nut between cheeks; press feet into ball to curl ball towards hips while keeping hips up; pause. Slowly uncurl by extending legs. 

2. Burpees

Target: Legs, back, shoulders and core

Set-up: Stand with arms at sides

Move: Bend over and squat; place hands wider than shoulders with arms extended forward; kick legs back so body is straight, forming a plank pose; pull legs forward, tucked under body; plant feet on floor; jump up.

3. Cross-Body Mountain Climbers

Target: Abs, lower back, hip muscles

Set-up: Assume a push-up position, extending legs so that body forms a line from head to ankles.

Move: Bring left knee near right elbow; slowly return left leg to floor; perform as many as you can with the same knee before switching sides.

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4. Single-Leg Split Squat

Target: Front and inner thighs

Set-up: Stand facing away from a bench, sofa or chair. Extend right leg behind you and place top of right foot on bench or seat. Place hands on hips.

Move: Squat down until left thigh is parallel to floor and right knee sinks almost to the floor. To come up, drive through left heel to extend left leg. Do all reps for left leg; switch sides.

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5. Stability Ball Push-up

Target: Chest, triceps, shoulders, core

Set-up: Place stability ball underneath your midsection and slowly walk hands forward until you are in a push-up position with hands flat on the floor and shins resting on the stability ball.

Move: Bend elbows to lower upper body near floor; push up to extend arms. Repeat.

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6. Advanced Side Bridge

Target: Core, shoulders

Set-up: Lay on right side of hip, supported by elbow. Extend legs until body is supported on feet. Slide left leg and foot in front of right to enable rolling of torso.

Move: Roll to left elbow by moving facedown into a plank pose and then coming onto the left elbow. Brace abs throughout movement; repeat.

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7. Jump Squats

Target: Legs

Set-up: Stand with feet shoulder width apart, arms at sides.

Move: Squat deeply until your knees are parallel to the floor and your behind is in a sitting position. Jump off the floor, lifting both arms and driving with feet to push off as high as possible; land in a semi-squat, keeping knees soft to absorb impact. Repeat.

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