An Easy Exercise Routine for Beginners You Can Do at Home

Starting exercise sounds simple until you’re actually standing in your living room wondering what on earth you’re supposed to do.

I think a lot of beginner exercise advice makes the mistake of assuming that “beginner” means reasonably fit but hasn’t exercised recently. You’ll find a supposedly easy workout and discover that you’re expected to do burpees, planks, mountain climbers and 20 squats before you’ve even got your breath back.

That isn’t everyone’s starting point.

Maybe you haven’t exercised for years. Perhaps you’re carrying extra weight, get out of breath easily or simply don’t have much confidence in your fitness yet. You might have tried exercise plans before, gone at them far too enthusiastically for three days and then spent the rest of the week aching.

I’ve certainly learned over the years that starting harder doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get further.

This easy exercise routine is designed to be adaptable. You can do the full routine if that feels comfortable, use the easier versions, shorten it or even do some of it sitting down.

The aim isn’t to prove how unfit you are.

It’s simply to start moving.

What makes a good beginner exercise routine?

The best beginner workout isn’t necessarily the one that burns the most calories or leaves you sweating the most. It’s one you’re actually capable of doing again.

When you’re starting from a relatively low level of fitness, consistency is much more useful than absolutely exhausting yourself during one workout and then avoiding exercise for the next fortnight. A beginner routine should also be easy to adapt.

There can be a huge difference between two people who both describe themselves as beginners. One person might comfortably walk for an hour but have never done strength exercises. Someone else might find five minutes of continuous activity challenging.

That’s why I don’t particularly like exercise plans that insist everyone starts with the same number of repetitions.

Use the suggestions below as a starting point, not an exam you have to pass.

A simple beginner workout at home

You don’t need a gym or loads of equipment for this routine. Give yourself enough space to move comfortably and keep a sturdy chair nearby if you’d feel more confident having something to hold.

Start gently and concentrate on doing each movement comfortably rather than trying to do it as quickly as possible.

1. Marching on the spot

Start by marching gently on the spot for one to two minutes.

Let your arms move naturally and gradually lift your knees a little higher if that feels comfortable.

If standing for this long is difficult, sit towards the front of a sturdy chair and alternate lifting your feet instead.

This isn’t supposed to tire you out. Think of it as telling your body, right, we’re moving now.

2. Sit-to-stands

Sit towards the front of a sturdy chair with your feet comfortably apart.

Lean slightly forwards and stand up, using your legs as much as you comfortably can. Slowly sit back down.

Try 5–10 repetitions.

If you need to use your hands or the arms of the chair, use them. You aren’t cheating.

As you get stronger, you might find you need less help from your arms.

If standing up and sitting down repeatedly isn’t suitable for you, leave this exercise out and choose one of the seated alternatives below.

3. Wall push-ups

Stand facing a wall with your hands against it at approximately shoulder height.

Keeping your body reasonably straight, bend your elbows and slowly bring yourself towards the wall before pushing yourself away again.

Try 5–10 repetitions.

Wall push-ups are a much more accessible starting point than dropping onto the floor and discovering that getting back up is the hardest part of the entire workout.

As they become easier, standing further from the wall makes the movement more challenging.

4. Side leg raises

Stand behind a sturdy chair and hold it for balance if you need to.

Keeping your upper body upright, slowly lift one leg out to the side without leaning dramatically in the opposite direction. Bring it back down under control.

Try 5–10 on each side.

You don’t need to lift your leg particularly high. A small controlled movement is absolutely fine.

5. Heel raises

Stand with your feet comfortably apart and use the back of your chair for support.

Slowly lift your heels so you’re coming onto the balls of your feet, then lower them again.

Try 5–10 repetitions.

If balance is something you struggle with, keep both hands firmly on the chair rather than trying to prove you can do it without holding on.

6. Standing knee lifts

Slowly lift one knee and then the other, almost like a much slower version of marching.

Aim for 5–10 lifts on each side.

How high your knee comes isn’t particularly important. Work within a comfortable range.

You can also do this sitting in a chair by lifting one foot at a time.

7. Shoulder rolls and arm movements

Finish with some gentler movement.

Roll your shoulders backwards several times and then forwards. You can also raise and lower your arms or gently reach forwards and to each side.

This is a nice way of including some upper-body movement without needing weights.

How long should a beginner workout be?

Don’t feel as though exercise only “counts” if you’ve done 30 minutes. If you’re currently doing very little activity, five or ten minutes is a perfectly reasonable place to begin.

You could perform each exercise once and call it done. If that feels manageable, repeat the routine for a second round.

As your fitness improves, you could gradually increase the repetitions, add another round or combine the routine with walking or another activity you enjoy. There’s no prize for progressing as quickly as possible.

In fact, doing too much at the beginning can be one of the easiest ways to make yourself hate exercise before you’ve really started.

What if you’re very overweight or unfit?

This is something I think beginner fitness articles often handle badly.

Being overweight doesn’t automatically tell anyone what exercise you can or can’t do. I’ve been much larger and considerably fitter than people smaller than me, and I’ve also had times when my own fitness has been poor.

Your individual mobility, fitness, health and confidence matter more than the number on the scales. However, some exercises can simply feel different in a larger body.

Getting down onto the floor and back up again might be uncomfortable. Certain movements can put more pressure on your joints. Your stomach or thighs might physically affect your range of movement.

That’s not a reason to decide exercise isn’t for you. It’s a reason to adapt the exercise to you instead of expecting your body to adapt to somebody else’s workout.

I’ve written a much more detailed guide to exercise for overweight and obese beginners, including choosing suitable activities, adapting exercises and getting started when your fitness is low.

Can I do this workout sitting down?

You can adapt quite a lot of it. Try seated marching, alternating knee lifts, arm raises, shoulder rolls and gentle punches forwards.

You could also add ankle movements by lifting your heels and then your toes while keeping your feet on the floor. Chair-based exercise isn’t somehow fake exercise.

If sitting makes movement accessible to you, start there.

As your strength or mobility improves, you may choose to introduce more standing exercises. Equally, chair exercise may remain the most appropriate option for you.

Should beginners exercise every day?

You don’t have to do this exact workout every day.

When you’re new to exercise, your body needs time to adjust to unfamiliar movements. It’s normal to notice some muscle soreness after doing something new, although exercise shouldn’t cause significant or worsening pain.

You might do this routine a few times a week and walk, swim, cycle or do something completely different on other days.

I actually think variety helps enormously when you’re trying to become more active. If you decide that “exercise” means doing the same miserable workout every morning for the rest of your life, it’s hardly surprising if motivation disappears.

Walking around a National Trust property, dancing badly around your kitchen and going swimming all count as movement too.

What if I can’t do all the exercises?

Then don’t. This sounds ridiculously obvious, but I spent years seeing exercise as something I was either doing properly or failing at.

Can’t manage ten repetitions? Do five. Five is too many? Do two.

Can’t do a standing movement? Try a seated alternative. One exercise hurts? Don’t keep doing it simply because somebody on the internet put it on a list.

You don’t need to reach a minimum fitness level before you’re “allowed” to exercise. You start with what you can do now.

How hard should exercise feel when you’re a beginner?

You should notice that you’re working harder than you would while sitting on the sofa, but an easy beginner workout doesn’t need to leave you gasping for breath.

One simple way to judge moderate-intensity activity is the talk test. You should generally be able to talk, although you may not be able to sing comfortably.

Don’t become obsessed with calorie numbers either.

Fitness trackers and exercise machines can only estimate calorie expenditure, and how much energy you use depends on factors including your body size and the intensity and duration of the activity.

Exercise has benefits beyond whatever number appears on your watch.

How do I make the routine harder?

When this workout starts feeling genuinely easy, that’s a good thing. It means you’ve progressed.

You don’t have to replace the whole routine.

You could:

• increase from 5 repetitions to 8 or 10;
• repeat the circuit;
• march for slightly longer;
• move a little further from the wall for your wall push-ups;
• introduce light resistance where appropriate;
• add a walk before or after the routine.

Change one thing at a time rather than doubling everything overnight.

That makes it easier to see how your body responds.

Do I need equipment to exercise at home?

Not for this routine. A sturdy chair and a wall are enough.

If you eventually enjoy home exercise, you might decide to buy resistance bands, dumbbells, an exercise mat or other equipment, but don’t convince yourself you need £200 worth of fitness gear before you can start moving.

I’ve bought exercise equipment with the absolute certainty that this was finally going to transform me into someone who enthusiastically works out every morning.

Reader, it did not.

Start first.

Buy things when you know you’ll actually use them.

What about walking?

Walking is one of the easiest activities to combine with a simple home routine. You don’t need to start with 10,000 steps.

If you currently walk very little, an extra five-minute walk is still an increase in activity. Gradually extending that as it becomes easier is far more realistic than suddenly deciding you’re going to walk five miles every day.

And if you’re curious about how much energy different walks might use, you can also try my walking calorie calculator.

Can this easy exercise routine help with weight loss?

Exercise can contribute to weight management, but I wouldn’t start this routine expecting the scales to dramatically change because you did ten wall push-ups on Tuesday.

Weight change depends on your overall energy balance over time, while exercise can play a useful supporting role. Regular activity has benefits that aren’t captured by your weight too, including improvements in cardiovascular fitness, strength and physical function.

This is one of the things I wish I’d appreciated more when so much of my exercise was about burning calories. Movement doesn’t become pointless because your watch didn’t display a suitably impressive number afterwards.

What if I keep starting exercise and giving up?

I think this is one of the most important questions. If you’ve started exercising ten times and stopped ten times, your immediate conclusion might be that you lack motivation.

But look at what you keep trying to do.

If every attempt involves suddenly exercising five days a week, doing workouts you hate and expecting yourself to become a completely different person overnight, motivation might not be the real problem.

Your plan might be the problem. Try making the goal almost ridiculously achievable. Perhaps you do this routine twice this week. That’s it. If you do more, great. If you don’t, you’ve still done exactly what you planned.

Once twice a week feels normal, you can decide whether you want to do more. Building an exercise habit isn’t particularly exciting, but boring and achievable tends to survive much longer than dramatic and impossible.

When should I get advice before exercising?

Most people can benefit from becoming more active, but a generic internet workout can’t take account of your individual health.

If you have a medical condition, significant mobility problems, an injury, unexplained symptoms or you’ve been advised to limit particular activities, speak to an appropriate healthcare professional about what exercise is suitable for you.

Stop exercising and seek appropriate medical advice if activity causes concerning symptoms such as chest pain, fainting or severe/unusual shortness of breath.

You don’t need to push through alarming symptoms to prove you’re committed.

Your first workout doesn’t need to be impressive

If there’s one thing I’d like you to take from this article, it’s that starting small still counts. You don’t need a matching gym outfit, a personal trainer, a fitness watch or an hour-long workout. You don’t even need to complete every exercise on this page.

Do what feels manageable today. Then do it again. As it gets easier, add a little more. That’s not taking the easy way out. That’s progression.

Related Exercise Articles

Here are some articles I think you might also find helpful

• Exercise for overweight and obese beginners
• Gentle exercise that really counts
• How to feel confident exercising at any size
• How many calories does walking burn?

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