The best skinny fat exercises at home are squats, hip hinges, push-ups, rows, lunges, carries and planks, done with light weight and a timer. They cover your whole body and build the muscle you are missing.
Want the timer done for you? Pick a short workout.
1. Goblet squat
Hold one kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest, sit between your knees and stand up. Do 8 to 12 reps. No weight yet? Use a backpack.
2. Hip hinge or swing
Push your hips back, keep a flat back and snap them forward. The kettlebell swing is the classic, and our one-kettlebell guide shows what to learn first. No bell? Do hip bridges on the floor.
3. Push-up
Hands on a counter or couch if the floor is too hard. Lower the height every couple of weeks. Aim for 6 to 10 clean reps.
4. Row
Hinge forward and pull a weight toward your hip. A loaded backpack, a dumbbell or a kettlebell all work. Rows fix the rounded shoulders that desks give you.
5. Reverse lunge
Step back, lower the knee and stand. It builds legs without the knee stress that jumping lunges can add. Do 6 to 8 per side.
6. Farmer's carry
Pick up two heavy things and walk 30 to 50 metres. It builds grip, core and posture. Liberty Bell Marathon in the app is an 8-minute AMRAP built on farmer carries and clean and presses.
7. Plank
Hold 20 to 40 seconds with your ribs down. Stop when your hips sag.
How do you put them together?
Pick one move from each group and use a timer. Two ways to do it:
- AMRAP: 10 minutes, as many rounds as you can with good form
- EMOM: every minute, do one move for 8 to 10 reps, then rest the rest of the minute
If the letters confuse you, read AMRAP, EMOM, Tabata and For Time.
Start with Ding Dong Spin or Bodyweight Assembly Line (swap its burpee broad jumps for something easier at first), then stretch to 15 minutes when it gets easy.
How often should you train?
Three times a week. Walk on the other days. Use what to do on rest days for ideas.
What about food?
Keep protein high and your deficit small. Fast crash diets leave skinny fat men skinnier and still fat. The full plan sits in the skinny fat men workout plan.
How do you know the weight is right?
Use the two-reps-in-reserve rule. On the last rep of a set, you should feel you could have done two more with clean form. If you could have done five more, go heavier. If form wobbles, go lighter. A loaded backpack is easy to adjust: add a book or a water bottle each week.
FAQs
Do I need weights?
Not at first. Bodyweight is enough for the first month. After that, add a kettlebell or dumbbell.
Will these give me abs?
They will build muscle and, with food control, reveal the abs you already have. Read how to get abs after 30.
Is soreness normal?
Yes, for a few days. See sore for days after working out.
The bottom line
Seven moves, one timer, three days a week. Pick a short workout and press start.
Still have questions? See skinny fat men reddit questions, answered.
Go train, FATBOY.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Train at your own risk. If you have a health condition, take medication or are unsure whether exercise or a diet change is right for you, talk to your doctor first.
- skinny fat
- home workouts