The best exercises at home to strengthen muscles

 Whether you’re looking to stay fit during lockdown or just want to strengthen your muscles with at-home exercises, there are a variety of moves that can help you reach your fitness goals. Nair-Maxwell suggests starting with your own bodyweight or resistance bands since they are lightweight and affordable.

 Here are 8 great beginner strength-training exercises that will help you build muscle and increase mobility:

1. Incline Press-Ups: Incline press-ups are a great way to start strengthening your upper body. Start by placing your hands on an elevated surface like a bench or a chair, then lower yourself down until your chest nearly touches the surface. Push back up to the starting position and repeat for sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Walking Squats: This exercise is great for building lower body strength and stability. Start by standing with feet slightly wider than hip width apart, then squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. As you stand back up, take a step forward, then repeat for 10-15 reps on each side.

3. Push-Ups: Push-ups are one of the best exercises for building upper body strength and improving posture. Start in a high plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart, then slowly lower your chest towards the floor until your elbows form 90 degree angles before pushing back up to the starting position. Repeat for sets of 10-15 reps.

4. Planks: Planks are an excellent exercise for improving core strength and stability as well as helping to decrease back pain and improve posture. Start in a high plank position on the floor, keeping your spine straight and abs engaged throughout the entire movement before holding for 20 seconds or more depending on your fitness level.

5. Lunges: Lunges are great for targeting several different muscles in the legs including the quads and glutes while also improving balance and stability. Start by standing tall with feet together, then take a big step forward with one foot while lowering into a lunge position before coming back up to standing and repeating 10 times on each side for 2 sets total.

6. Mountain Climbers: Mountain climbers are another great exercise for improving core strength as well as targeting muscles in the arms and legs simultaneously. Start in an elevated plank position with hands directly beneath shoulders before bringing one knee forward towards chest while keeping alternate foot planted firmly on ground before quickly alternating legs for 10 reps on each side for 2 sets total.

7. Glute Bridges: Glute bridges are excellent for toning glutes while also strengthening other muscles in the lower body like hamstrings and quads at the same time. Start by lying flat on your back with knees bent at 90 degree angles before pushing through heels while lifting hips off ground until they form a straight line from shoulders to knees before lowering back down to starting position and repeating 15 times total for 2 sets total

8 Burpees: Last but not least, burpees are great full-body exercises that target multiple muscle groups at once while also increasing heart rate to give you an extra cardio boost! Begin in a standing position, then drop down into a low squat before quickly jumping feet back into a high plank position followed by jumping feet forward into low squat before standing back up again and repeating 15 times total for 2 sets total