Can you get fit at home with no equipment at all?

Yes, particularly at the start. Bodyweight training covers pushing, squatting, hinging and bracing without buying anything, and for most people the thing that limits progress in the first year is how often they train rather than how much resistance they can load.

What if I have no room to lie on the floor?

Choose standing room only and the whole week is rebuilt from movements done upright, including the core work. Nothing in that version asks you to get down on the floor at any point.

Is there one thing worth buying for training at home?

A resistance band, and only if you want to. It opens up the pulling work more than anything else at the price, which is the side bodyweight training covers least well. No plan on this page assumes you have one, or ever will.

How do I make it harder without weights?

Move to a harder variation first, then slow the lowering phase down and pause at the bottom, then add sets. In that order. Adding sets is the one that costs you time rather than making the movement itself more difficult.

Will my neighbours hear this?

Nothing in these plans involves jumping unless you are training at an intermediate level with room to move, and the standing room only version has no impact work in it at all.

Free tools

Home workout generator, no equipment

A week of training that needs nothing but you and a wall. Tell it how much room you have, including if you cannot get down on the floor.

Days a week you can train

Time per session

Space you have

Where you are now

What you are training for

Your week at home

2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s

Day 1: Full body

Wall press ups
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Keep a straight line from your head to your heels; do not let your hips sag.
Y raises, lying face down
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Arms out in front in a Y shape, thumbs up, and lift them a few inches. You should feel it between your shoulder blades.
Reverse lunges
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Step backwards rather than forwards; it is kinder on the front knee.
Heel taps
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Lying on your back, knees bent, reach side to side and tap each heel.
Chair dips
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Hands on the edge of a chair behind you, bend your elbows straight back, not out.

Day 2: Full body

Press ups with your hands on a worktop
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
The higher your hands, the easier it is. A kitchen worktop is a good place to start.
Swimmers, lying face down
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Sweep your arms from overhead round to your hips and back, keeping them off the floor.
Glute bridges
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Push through your heels and squeeze at the top; do not arch your lower back.
Side plank from your knees
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Elbow under your shoulder, knees bent. Lift your hips until your body is a straight line.
Chair dips
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Hands on the edge of a chair behind you, bend your elbows straight back, not out.

Day 3: Full body

Press ups with your hands on a chair
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Lower than a worktop, so a little harder. Check the chair cannot slide first.
Towel rows in a doorway
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Loop a towel around a door handle on the far side, lean back with straight arms, then pull your chest towards the door.
Step ups onto a stair
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Drive through the foot on the step; step back down rather than jumping off.
Seated knee tucks
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Sit leaning back on your hands, then draw both knees in towards your chest.
Chair dips
2 sets of 10 to 15 reps · Rest 60s
Hands on the edge of a chair behind you, bend your elbows straight back, not out.

Everything here needs nothing but you, a wall, and a chair or a worktop. No purchase is going to make this plan work better.

What bodyweight training can and cannot do

It can build real strength, and for most people starting or restarting it is enough on its own for a long time. Pressing, squatting, hinging and bracing are all available with no kit, and the limiting factor early on is almost never the resistance available. It is whether the sessions happen.

What it does less well is loading the pull. Pushing has an obvious ladder from a wall down to the floor; pulling without a bar or a band runs out of options faster, which is why the plans below lean on rows against a table or a doorframe and on holds rather than long sets. If you ever buy one thing for home training, a resistance band is the one that changes the most.

How you progress when you cannot add weight

In a gym you add a plate. At home you have three other levers, and they work in this order:

A harder variation. Move your hands lower: wall, then a worktop, then a chair, then your knees, then the floor. Each step puts more of you through your arms.
Tempo. Take three seconds to lower and pause at the bottom. The same rep count becomes considerably harder without anything else changing.
Volume. More sets, or less rest between them. This is the one to reach for last, because it is the one that adds time rather than difficulty.

Run the same week two or three times before you change anything. You cannot tell whether a session is working until you have repeated it enough to compare.

Training in a small space, or none

Plenty of people cannot get down on the floor at home: a shared room, a carpet they would rather not lie on, a knee or a hip that makes getting up again a project. Choosing standing room only rebuilds the whole week from movements done upright, including the core work, which is the part most no-equipment plans quietly drop.

Common questions

Can you get fit at home with no equipment at all?: Yes, particularly at the start. Bodyweight training covers pushing, squatting, hinging and bracing without buying anything, and for most people the thing that limits progress in the first year is how often they train rather than how much resistance they can load.
What if I have no room to lie on the floor?: Choose standing room only and the whole week is rebuilt from movements done upright, including the core work. Nothing in that version asks you to get down on the floor at any point.
Is there one thing worth buying for training at home?: A resistance band, and only if you want to. It opens up the pulling work more than anything else at the price, which is the side bodyweight training covers least well. No plan on this page assumes you have one, or ever will.
How do I make it harder without weights?: Move to a harder variation first, then slow the lowering phase down and pause at the bottom, then add sets. In that order. Adding sets is the one that costs you time rather than making the movement itself more difficult.
Will my neighbours hear this?: Nothing in these plans involves jumping unless you are training at an intermediate level with room to move, and the standing room only version has no impact work in it at all.

The week above never changes. That is the only thing missing.

A fixed plan cannot tell that the wall press ups got easy in week two, or that you missed Thursday. Trael rebuilds your week from your check-ins and moves you along the progression when you are ready for it, without asking you to buy anything either. See what it costs.

£24.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. No card needed to start.

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Where the numbers come from

NHS - physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64

All free tools - the rest of the free calculators and generators
Free workout plan generator - got dumbbells or a gym? that one covers equipment too
Press-up test and 4-week plan - find out where your pressing is now and build from it
Personal trainer cost calculator - What a personal trainer costs a month and a year at UK rates, next to what an app costs.

Trael provides general fitness guidance only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a doctor before starting any exercise or diet programme.