2 Crazy Effective At-Home Workouts That’ll Help You Torch Calories

Thanks to Covid, and being 26 weeks pregnant, going to the gym is no longer an option for me.

I was hoping this pandemic would have been over sooner but, unfortunately, it’s not looking that way as you’ve probably already noticed.

When our cases went down in Florida, I received the all-clear from my doctor to head back to the gym with some precautions but that only lasted a week or two.

While I lovvvveeddd being back in the gym and felt great working out with the machines in the gym, it definitely wasn’t safe.

I wore my mask as I walked around the gym and sprayed down the equipment but during the moves it was impossible to keep it on.

Not only that, the workers at Planet Fitness did their best to keep the gym clean and sanitized (shout out to them!) but some of the gym goers did not attempt the same standards.

I saw so many people not wiping down equipment, carrying on conversations with anyone who would listen, and zero social distancing. It made me uncomfortable to say the least.

So back to home workouts I went.

I actually find that home workouts can be really effective.

You can start out with a minimal amount of equipment — hello bodyweight exercises — and can gradually add to your collection.

This is what happened to me since I donated most of my equipment when I started going to the gym regularly.

However, I think this became a good thing.

Before I went to the gym, I used home workouts and actually saw great results.

It was only when I wanted to improve my progress even more that led me to going to the gym in the first place.

But looking back at older pictures, the home workouts I did were super effective.

The hardest part was actually doing them, which is still a challenge today.

To give myself some accountability and to make exercise accessible to everyone, I decided to start sharing the at-home workouts I’m creating for myself.

Even though I’m 26 weeks pregnant, these moves are safe and effective all the same.

They also involve using your core — as opposed to only being ab-focused workouts — which means you can still get a great ab workout in without having to do tons of crunches, planks, and sit ups (who wants to do those anyway??).

Before I share some workouts, I want to talk about how I structure them and why.

Why I Use a Circuit Training Style

The workouts I’m using right now follow a circuit style of training.

This means that I create two circuits — which each contain about 6-7 moves — and I repeat them twice.

Within the circuits, I alternate between upper and lower body moves to give each half of a my body a rest before moving on to the next set.

I also don’t take a rest until all the moves are done in that circuit.

By working through each upper body and lower body move without stopping, I increase the calorie burn without overdoing it since I’m alternating and giving my body the rest it needs by switching moves.

Once I finish the circuit, I take a one minute rest break before repeating it again.

After two rounds, I then move onto the next circuit and repeat this twice to complete the workout.

What’s great about these circuits is that you can repeat them two or three times depending on how you feel and what you’re trying to accomplish. And, if you’re super new to exercise, limited on time, or you’re not feeling it, you can do each circuit once and still get a great workout in.

This makes these workouts customizable and efficient — if you don’t have too much time, you can cut them short and still get a good workout knocked out.

And there’s one more reason why they work well:

Why I Focus on Total-Body Workouts

I’ve done workout programs that focus on abs one day, legs another, and arms/upper body/back the next.

And while this style of training is definitely effective, they just weren’t the right fit for me and they may not be for you.

If you’re limited on time like most people, you may not have a consistent schedule that allows you to train each body part every single week.

But with total-body workouts, you don’t have to worry about that.

If you only get 1-2 workouts in a week, your entire body still reaps the benefits.

And if you can get 3-4 in, even better.

Total body workouts also give you a better calorie burn.

That’s because ab and arm workouts, for example, won’t burn as much calories as a lower body workout would since you have larger muscles in your lower half.

But, by alternating both upper and lower, you get a good calorie burn every time you workout.

So these workouts are effective and efficient and that’s why I love them.

There’s also one more reason why these workouts check both of those boxes:

Why I Also Use Compound Moves

The last point I want to share about these workouts is that I try to use compound moves, which means I try to do two moves in one every so often to double how much I can get done in less time.

This can sound confusing at first so I’ll mark the compound moves with a (C) so it makes more sense.

Now that you know the “why’s” let’s dive into the workouts themselves.

I’m going to share two workouts here and another one in the next article (if you guys like these).

For now, I’ll keep it simple so you can tackle these workouts asap.

You can try these workouts this week with a walk, bike ride, or swim in between to get your cardio in and I guarantee you’ll feel great after them.

Workout Option #1

I do the same warm up and cool down stretches so you’ll notice this is the same video despite having a different core workout.

I always perform these and, yes, they do take time, but they’re part of the actual workout.

They warm up your body and help you recover but they also help you get deeper into the moves and avoid injury so I never skip these, even if I’m short on time.

Here’s what my warm up consists of:

1. Foam rolling
2. Static hold stretches (where I hold a position for a few seconds, usually 12-15)
3. Banded shuffles

This is what that looks like in motion:

Now here’s a breakdown of the two circuits I’ll be performing. I had to break up the videos since I’m new at this recording workouts stuff and pretty amateur at best.

So I’ll share the written moves before showing you a clip of two of them at a time.

Here’s workout one:

Circuit #1:

1. Squat with a side twist and arm punch, repeat for both sides (C) (see video #1 below)
2. Tricep kickbacks (see video #1 below)
3. Reverse lunge with a hammer curl (C) (see video #1 below), repeat on the other side, which is not shown
4. Alternating overhead press while balancing on one leg (this engages the core muscles even more) (see video #2 below)
5. Deadlift to upright row (C) (see video #2 below)
6. Alternating chest press while standing (see video #2 below)

Perform these moves straight through before taking a one minute break (or more if you need it). If you’re just starting out, consider doing 8 reps of each. And, if you’re more experienced, you can do anywhere from 10, 12, or 15 reps to get a good workout in.

After your break, repeat the entire sequence one more time (or more if you want more of a workout) before moving onto the next circuit.

The second circuit is always more “ab focused” and on the mat:

Circuit #2:

1. Hip raises (see video #3 below)
2. Alternating arms and leg reach while in tabletop position (see video #3 below)
3. Leg lifts on forearms (see video #3 below)
4. Fire hydrants on all fours (see video #4 below)
5. Side leg lifts with a pull in to crunch (see video #4 below)
6. Clamshells (see video #4 below)

Tackle all of these moves in order before taking a break and repeating it 1-2 more times, depending on your time and skill level.

Once you’re done, enjoy a nice cool down stretch and, I usually add a five minute meditation too.

Here’s what that looks like:

Workout Option #2

Here’s another workout you can try. It uses the same warm-ups pictured in the first workout) and I have the cool down video below.

Circuit #1:

(P.S. I’m not sure why these are cut off, the original videos aren’t)

1. Sumo squat with bicep curl (C) (see video #1 below)

2. Dumbbell rows (video #2 below)

3. Curtsy lunge with side arm raise (C) (video #3 below)

4. Bent over chest flies (video #4 below)

5. Straight leg kick backs (video #5 below)

6. Leg raises plus side openers (video #6 below)

7. Overhead tricep extensions (video #7 below)

Here’s what those moves look like:

Circuit #2:

1. Leg raises in an arch/rainbow shape (video #1 below)
2. Leg lifts out to the side (video #1 below, second half)
3. Leg extensions (video #2 below)
4. Half clamshells (video #2, second half)
5. Toe taps (video #3 below)
6. Wide leg clamshells (video #3 below, second half)

Here’s what those moves look like:

Cool down:

Will You Do Me a Favor?

I always struggle to come up with content that actually helps you guys.

So if this is something you want more of — free workout ideas — please let me know in the comments below or reach out by email at devan@behappynothangry.com.

You can also let me know in my private Facebook group.

Essentially, if I hear that enough people enjoy these, I’ll make more of them.

Otherwise, I’ll switch back to articles, which I’m not sure resonate with everyone since time is soo limited these days.

And, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks guys! I appreciate your feedback and that you’re here 🙂 

Sending you workout vibes,

Devan