It isn’t always possible to go to the gym everyday for your workout, especially if you have a busy schedule, and for most people it would be very impractical. This is why a lot of people decide to workout from home. The good news is that you don’t need to spend your cash on expensive gym equipment to do this.

To do afterburn exercises at home, all you will need is a good set of dumbbells or barbells (either is fine), and optionally a cheap workout bench. Personally, I much prefer to do my workouts at home as it gives me more freedom, and I can fit it into my schedule.

A Quick Recap

Remember that to take full advantage of the afterburn effect to lose weight faster, you want to perform your workouts at high intensity with short rest periods as this kicks your metabolism up and beyond the norm. This can be applied to both weight training and cardio workouts, and combining the two into your routine will greatly boost the afterburn effect.

WEIGHT LIFTING AFTERBURN EXERCISES AT HOME

High intensity weight lifting is very important as it will provide an overall boost to your metabolism during rest periods. When combined with intense cardio, you can dramatically increase your afterburn.

The key to weight lifting is to use heavy weights, by which I mean 80-90% of your maximum for one rep. The amount of reps you should will be between 6-12. Just remember that the last couple of reps should be a struggle and push you to muscle failure, if they are not, increase the weight. If you are unable to increase the weight, just do more reps until you hit muscle failure.

Compound Exercises

Compound exercises work on more than one muscle group and require the movement of more than one joint. This type of exercise causes your body to work harder and is great for building big muscles and a high post-exercise calorie burn. Below you will find compound exercises for the entire body:

CHEST EXERCISES:

Bench Press

My personal favourite and a great compound exercise. The bench press will mainly work the chest muscles, but will also work the shoulders and triceps.

You can do a bench press with either a set of dumbbells or a barbell, and preferably a bench. However, if you don’t have access to a bench at home you can do it on the floor. If you have an adjustable bench you can mix it up by setting it to decline/recline.

Push Up

Nothing beats a good old push up. The only thing you need for this is a floor and your own body. Ideal! Push ups work the same muscles as the bench press, with slightly more emphasis on the triceps.

Remember to keep your head and back straight, and have your hands placed slightly more than shoulder width apart.

 

TRICEPS EXERCISES:

Triceps Extension

This exercise will work on the triceps, as well as chest and shoulders. You can do triceps extensions with either dumbbells or a barbell, and lying down on a bench is recommended. Though you can do this exercise standing up, sitting or even from the floor.

Keep your elbows locked at your side and when extending the weight, try to focus on a spot on the ceiling to aim for (if you are doing the bench version). This should help with controlling the weight.

Dips

Dips are a great alternative for working out the triceps as they require no equipment. This workout will also work the shoulders and outer chest muscles.

It is recommended that you do this exercise by using a sturdy bench to place your arms, and use something like a chair to prop your feat up. You may also use two chairs or any object/surface that allows you to perform the dip.

UPPER BACK AND BICEPS EXERCISES:

Compound exercises for the upper back and biceps are usually done together. However, these exercises will not work your biceps very hard so I suggest also doing bicep curls also. Curls are not listed here because they are not a compound exercise.

Bent Over Rows

These will work on your upper/middle back, as well as your biceps. As mentioned above, you will probably want to do biceps curls too if you want a better workout for your biceps.

Make sure to stick your butt out and stick your chest out and to look straight ahead. Don’t be tempted to hang your head whilst doing this exercise. Can be done with dumbbells or a barbell.

LOWER BACK:

Dead Lift

The dead lift is a favourite in competitive weightlifting. It will work the lower back, thighs and buttocks!

When doing this exercise, bend at the knees and ensure you always stick your chest out and keep your head facing straight forward. Can be done with a barbell or dumbbells.

Stiff-Legged Dead Lift

Practically the same as the standard dead lift, except you keep your legs locked. This will take pressure off the thighs and work the hamstrings instead.

It can’t be just me that gets sick of endless crunches and sit-ups, so doing bicycle kicks makes a welcome change. Not only that, but they are far more intense than crunches or sit-ups (which is what we want), and they also include a small amount of cardio.

Position yourself on the floor using your forearms to raise your torso and kick, bringing one leg to the chest and straightening out the other. No equipment needed!

Push It To The Limit!

These are some great compound exercises to get you started and all of them alone will increase your workout intensity. However I suggest cranking it up a notch by performing the exercises in supersets. A superset is when you perform two or more exercises in a row without stopping in between. For example, you could perform 10 reps of triceps extension, followed immediately by 10 reps of biceps curls. Then repeat this 3-5 times with 30 seconds of rest in between sets.

Whenever I do supersets. I prefer to perform 3 different exercises in one set as it increases the intensity. Remember, to get full use out of the afterburn effect you want your workouts to be as intense as possible.

Full Body High Intensity Interval Workout

You can even take it to the next level by performing a workout for every muscle (excluding abs), in ONE SET! This will push your body to it’s limit and give you one hell of an afterburn effect. Ideal for weight loss and muscle growth! Check the video below to see the workout:

In this video, Mike Chang shows you an incredibly intense workout for your entire body! The best thing is that whilst this workout is massively intensive, it also doesn’t take very long. I recommend that everyone try this as it makes your body feel great.

Star Jumps

These may look incredibly silly, but they are a great cardio exercise and really get the heart rate up. You can do these anywhere in the house, so long as you have room to flail your arms and legs around!

How to:-

Start the star jump by standing with your feet togeger, and hands at your sides. Perform the star jump by jumping whilst separating your legs and raising your arms, then jump back to the start position. Do this as fast as you can! (I know, most of you know how to do a star jump, sorry!). Do this for 1 minute flat, then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat for desired amount of time.

Jump Rope

This is a favourite of boxers and for good reason, it’s incredibly intense. I personally hate it because I have poor coordination and always trip over the rope. Obviously this requires a jump rope (see the next exercise for an alternative).

How to:-

Skip, jump, and try not to fall over! Go as fast as you can manage for 1 minute. Rest for 30 seconds then repeat.

High Knees

If you don’t have a jump rope or are like me and simply can’t skip without falling flat on your face, you can try high knees as an alternative. Watch the video below to see how:

In the video you will notice the woman moving forward whilst doing the high knees, though you can do them on the spot if you wish. (I prefer this personally).

8 Responses to “Afterburn Exercises At Home”

Sachendra Pal says: Hi, Its a great website and i like it very much. I have seen the Mike Changs video posted above and i want to perform it right away. I have few questions like, 1) Shall i do the exercises daily or i should take 1-2-3 days rest. 2) Are these exercises also helpfull in the muscle building? Please get back to me as soon as possible Karl Peach says: Hey there. I’d like to say sorry for the late reply. I’ve been away and unable to manage this site.. until now! 1) I would personally recommend to have 1 day reset between Mike Changs full body workout. No more is really necessary, though may need more if you are not used to weight lifting. 2) Whilst this workout will build muscle, it is better used for weight loss than mass building. If you want to build big muscles, you should focus on 2-3 muscle groups a session. Lift HEAVY, rather than many reps. And you should lift in supersets. For example, doing 10 reps of chest presses, immediately followed by 10 reps of chin-ups,then repeated several times. You can find out more about supersets Oh also, eat lots of proteins after lifting weights! Good luck! says: Lots of great information on at home work outs!! says: great info. what are the signs you hit the afterburn effect after the workout. what are the signs the hours after the workout that ine is still in the afterburn effect? says: How cam i loes my belly fat working on the fat or the Muscle and what excersies i meed to do i wight 220 Pound put i have engery to play basketball up to 4hours i take brakes at a time and i eat a lot of Junk food but i dont gain wight but i still need help whith excersies says: Working out at home isn’t really that hard and bad. You just gotta have some equipment to help you. kian says: Hi im only 14 but I want to get abs because people bully me how I look please help me and I can’t go to the gym can you suggest me a better home afterburn exercise? And does it work for me if I do it? says: Is Mike Chang’s video give theafterburn effect?