Which is the easiest workout when you are short on workout equipment?

I remember this situation where I was in a home rental in Mussorie without any equipment to exercise. This is when I used to be serious about bulking up and wasn't carrying anything extra that had to be cut. This is when I realized that with a couple of bricks, some stairs, and a bit of determination & creativity, exercising without equipment is possible. The dependency on machinery is more due to what we start believing in as irreplaceable workout essentials - heavy equipment should be on this list!

The Non-equipment Mindset Matters

Equipment is not always necessary to exercise because many forms of physical activity can be done without any equipment at all. Many exercises such as running, walking, swimming, cycling, bodyweight exercises, yoga, and calisthenics can be performed without the need for any equipment. These exercises can be done at home, at a park, or in any open space, making them convenient and accessible to everyone. Additionally, exercises that don't require equipment can also be modified to suit different levels of fitness and abilities. These exercises are called bodyweight exercises, which are exercises that use the weight of your own body as resistance. Examples include push-ups and squats that can also be modified by using different body positions, angles, and postures to make them more challenging. 

However, you need to have the right workout-without-equipment mindset first:

It is not about creating parallels: exercising without equipment means more creativity in your exercising regime but a difference in goals. You might not get the same degree of pump. You might feel handicapped for some type of movement. There is every chance that the additional stretching that often comes with free-body movements might come as a surprise to your gym-friendly body. So, do it with the right mindset - it is different, and more importantly, an equipment-free exercising space is not trying to compete with a gym.

It can test you more than what you imagined: think fully-body workload vs working out on selected parts on a given day. No more of those hard-hitting bench presses that give you that instant feeling of accomplishment, and to add to the change, reps going into new frontiers as you need to do more of the same, zero-equipment movements. The change can be unpleasant, at least for those who have not worked out using negligible workout equipment. 

Finding Ways Around Workout Equipment 

Working out can be challenging when you are short on workout equipment, but it's not impossible. In fact, many exercises don't require any equipment at all, making them perfect for those who are short on equipment or have limited space. These exercises, known as bodyweight exercises, use the weight of your own body as resistance, making them a great way to get a full-body workout without the need for any equipment. The key to a good bodyweight workout is to focus on exercises that work for multiple muscle groups at the same time. These exercises, known as compound exercises, provide a more intense and effective workout compared to isolation exercises, which only work for one muscle group at a time

Some great exercises to do without workout equipment include: [this is what online searches on Google preach for non-equipment exercise]

• Push-ups (chest, triceps, and core)
• Squats (legs, glutes, and lower back)
• Planks (core)
• Lunges (legs and glutes)
• Burpees (full body)
• Dips (chest, triceps, and shoulders)
• Pull-ups (back and biceps)
• Sit-ups (abs)
• Leg raises (abs)
• Jumping jacks (cardio and full body)

These exercises can be done at home or outdoors, and they work for multiple muscle groups at once, providing a full-body workout. However, I recommend a combination that works out the entire body with more stress on the core. This includes:

• Squats with speed
• Push-ups with variated posture, stance
• Hindu push-ups with maximum stretching
• Standing push-ups using a door entrance
• Twists with extreme right and left movement
• Climbing at least 5 levels of stairs right after doing around 200 free-hand squats
• Grab some weight do halos of some type - even a big rock or a brick can do

Push-ups are a great exercise for working the chest, triceps, and shoulders. I recommend doing this to work out the triceps more than any other part of the body. To perform a push-up, start in a plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your feet together. Lower your body towards the ground by bending your elbows, keeping your body in a straight line. Push yourself back up to the starting position, and repeat for a set number of reps. Once you get used to it, the number of reps is bound to increase before you feel the soreness. When you work out without equipment, use push-ups in between every other exercise to break the monotony and make the workout more challenging.

Squats are my most recommended exercise for working the legs, glutes, and core. Stand with your feet hip-width apart to perform a squat and your arms out in front of you. Sit back and down as if you were sitting in a chair, keeping your chest up and your back straight. Push through your heels to stand back up, and repeat for a set number of reps. While spreading your legs, you can go as wide as possible to make it more challenging. There will be a limit to it, and you will feel that squatting down to even half of what seemed previously easy suddenly becomes challenging enough to make the thighs feel stretched out and heavy.

Lunges are not my favorite but happen to be a great exercise for working the legs and glutes. To perform a lunge with correct posture and stance you need to stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides. Step forward with one foot and lower your body towards the ground by bending your front knee and keeping your back leg straight. Push through your front heel to stand back up, and repeat for as many sets as possible without taking frequent breaks.

The downward dog pose push-up can be your biggest No-equipment exercise savior!

This is not an easy movement and getting more reps out of it without breaking posture or form seems impossible to many. The movement is complex, and you need to find a plain ground to do it. Doing it without a yoga mat is not a problem. All the complexity lies in the movement and not in the set-up for it. A perfect, zero-equipment exercise, it can make you realize every muscle fiber around your lower abdominals and the upper chest. Try to do it slowly to realize the toll it takes along the entire body. People who have done it regularly go to the extent of saying that it can even correct bowel movements and help restore circulation. I have personally felt its effect along my lower chin, throat, and even the back of my head.