Not Ready To Hit The Gym? Strength Train at Home!
So you’ve heard strength training has incredible benefits but are still a little timid to get to the gym… so now what? The great news is you can still start your strength training journey! There are many different ways to start building muscle that doesn’t have to involve an expensive membership or buying a ton of equipment to use at home. Check out the strategies below to start your journey to getting stronger!
Bodyweight exercises: squats, lunges, split squats (upright position and forward position), push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, chair dips, step-ups
Play with the variables: sets, reps, tempo, hold times, rest between sets
Household items to use: cast-iron skillet, soup cans, water bottles, gallon jug (mark with a line where your fill line is and progressively add water), small pets (if they’ll allow it), bags of dog food or cat food, carton of canned drinks, laundry basket, laundry detergent
Set up your environment: stairs are also great stable surfaces to perform multiple exercises on, non-rolling chairs, hardwood floors with no rug or full carpet (minimize the risk of slipping or tripping), grab a speaker and your phone, get outside if the weather is nice
Check out some sample workouts below using the same 5 exercises but getting very different workouts and muscle burn!
Workout 1
4 sets of 20 reps of each exercise. Perform 1 set of each exercise in this order, and cycle back through 4 times. Based on your level, you can choose to start with body weight or go ahead and grab those household items to add a little more resistance
Squats
Chair dips
Lunge
Push-up
Sit-ups/ Crunches
Workout 2
4 sets of 20 reps of each exercise. Perform all 4 sets of the same exercise before moving on to the next. Based on your level, you can choose to start with body weight or go ahead and grab those household items to add a little more resistance
Squats
Chair dips
Lunge
Push-ups
Sit-ups/ Crunches
Workout 3
AMRAP - As Many Reps As Possible. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, with 30 seconds between exercises. Perform in this order, cycle back through 4 times. Based on your level, you can choose to start with body weight or go ahead and grab those household items to add a little more resistance
Squats
Chair dips
Lunge
Push-ups
Sit-ups/ Crunches
Strength training doesn’t have to be hard, complicated, or expensive. Start out with maybe 1 of these workouts a week or even all 3 but separate them by a full day since they’re full body. If you add weights to these workouts, you should still be able to perform all 20 reps but notice more difficulty in the last 5-10. If you don’t… you guessed it! Add more weights! If you have questions or concerns, contact us directly or your local fitness professional.
Contact your doctor or other healthcare provider to ensure you are appropriate to begin a strength training program.