Kim Kardashian's trainer on the most underrated home workout tools

If you’ve ever tried exercising in the living room with the intention of working up a solid sweat, only to start nosing through Netflix mid-way through without knowing how it happened, you’ve come to the right place. Melissa Alcantara is the *queen* of at-home workouts. In fact, most aren’t aware that’s how she kicked off her career (she’s trained some of the best bodies in the biz, e.g. Kim Kardashian.)

"A lot of people don't know this, but I started my fitness journey working out from home doing Insanity by Shaun T. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience ever," she said in an interview with PopSugar.

"Sixty days and a ton of sweat, laughs, tears, and pounds off my body, I knew my life had changed forever."

With access to many celebs, Melissa has seen some truly epic gym setups (looking at you, Kate Hudson.) Still, she’s a big believer in keeping things simple.

"I can still get in a fantastic workout and feel great about myself afterwards without a fancy setup at home,” she says. All you need is some guidance and a plan. The rest is consistency and habit."

Below she breaks down the most underrated - and accessible - workout tools. 

Bodyweight.

"A squat is not just moving up and down. You need to place your feet firmly against the ground and spread your toes, rotate your knees outward to engage your adductors, tuck your booty to use your glutes and posterior chain muscles, your chest needs to be forward and shoulder blades back, your head needs to stay aligned with your spine," Alacantara explained.

"After all of this, your breath needs to move with your body. Make sure to inhale on the way down as you stretch those muscles — and exhale on the way up to engage your core."

Gravity.

You can take any move to the next level by making it plyometric.

"Simply attempt to lift off!” Alcantara said. “So instead of a bodyweight squat, now we're doing plyometric bodyweight squats." 

This not only helps to build power but also requires you to engage your core. 

Training bands.

"Want to get the best upper-body pump and brutal hamstring workout? Try using my training bands, and you'll be in for a treat," Alcantara said.

Not only are resistance bands far cheaper than standard weights, they bring about lots of added benefits. Think lean muscle mass, improved flexibility, enhanced mobility and more.

How have you been keeping fit at home in iso?