THE AGE OF HOMEWORKOUTS

You want to stay fit from home and set new personal records? You want to achieve your goals regardless of the opening hours of the gyms? Then this is the right place for you. In this blog article you will not only learn the basics of home workouts and effective routines for all muscle groups, but also get tips on buying equipment or training with tools you already have at home. Calisthenics, the training with your own body weight, helps you to have more fun and success in training in these times.

This blog article is divided into three sections. We start with the advantages and possibilities of home workouts, section 2 is about possible exercises and what equipment you can use at home and finally you get inspiration and workout plans for your training. Let's get started!

 

The basics of the home workout

If you are reading this blog article, you may already be aware of the benefits of training at home. If not, here is a brief summary:

- You save time by not having to walk to the gym

- You save money by not paying gym membership

- There are no opening hours and you can train whenever you want (at least until your neighbours below you ring your bell after 300 jumping squats ;) )

 

You don't need to drill huge holes in the wall for pull-up bars or anything else to start your home workout career, but can start with a free area on the floor. We can do three different types of training here:

1. Strength Training

2. Endurance training

3. Mobility training

 

The same exercise can be used here for all three types of training, let's take the squat as an example. We can do squats slowly or with extra weight for effective strength training. But we can also do a high number of squats (with body weight or with the support of a Resistance Bands) in a row or in interval training with an abdominal exercise such as Leg Raises to increase your (strength) endurance. The third possibility is mobility training by holding the lowest position of the squat (Deep Squat) and stretching almost the whole lower body by slightly rocking in this position.

 

Personal recommendation:

- For strength training, the best tools for new stimuli and better progress are slower execution and increased resistance (add weight to the bodyweight with a Dip Belt or use Resistance Bands for difficulty).

You can read more about weighted training in our Dip Belt Blog.

- For the development of your endurance, it can be an incentive to stop the time for your fixed routines/training and to want to beat them in the next training. You can also bring friends on board and make a challenge together.

- For progress in agility and mobility, I personally like yoga routines or mobility routines that can be easily found on YouTube and are great to join in. They give you a structure and I enjoy the training more.

 

Helpful equipment for the most effective exercises

To have as much variety and success as possible in your home training, you need creativity and ideas. I have put together my favourite exercises for home workouts and the furniture/equipment you need. The exercises are divided into Push, Pull, Core and Legs. If you don't know an exercise, you can find detailed instructions for the exercises on YouTube.

 

PUSH:

Push Ups - The most obvious exercise for training without equipment. Push-ups have many advantages for chest, shoulder and triceps. They can be simplified by doing them on a raised surface such as a table or between two chairs. Push ups can also be made more difficult by elevating the feet or using a resistance band on the back.

 

Trizeps Dips - A very good exercise to make the triceps burn. You just need a surface like a table, a bed edge or a chair. The lower the surface is, the harder the exercise will be.

 

Pike Push Ups - Make your shoulders burn by changing your pushups. Pike Push Ups are a demanding exercise and again, the higher the hands, the easier the exercise. Pike Push Ups help a lot in building up the strength for the Handstand and Handstand Push Up. Your joints will thank you if you keep your elbows close to your body and don't bend to the side.

 

 

PULL:

Bodyweight Rows - Rowing exercises are a very good exercise for an upright posture and ensure a broad and healthy back and rear shoulders. There are several ways to row at home, for example with a towel on the door handle and feet next to the door. Alternatively, there is the possibility of attaching Resistance Bands to a solid/heavy object with a loop and pulling the band towards you at navel height.        

 

Bizeps Curls - You can fill a backpack with water bottles or other heavy items you find in the household. You can then use it for curls. Alternatively Resistance Bands) can help. In both cases, make sure you keep your elbows close to your upper body for a healthy execution.

 

Door Pull Ups - The brave among us, who live in a household with stable doors, can also do pull-ups and even muscle ups on their doors in the apartment. Pay attention to the full range of motion and bend your legs backwards to get far enough down to do healthy repetitions.

DISCOVER RESISTANCE BANDS

CORE:

Plank - It is a classic exercise that also has many advantages, as the exercise not only trains the abdominal muscles, but also the lower back and provides overall body tension. It is suitable for beginners as well as for advanced students and is a very functional exercise.

 

Dragon Flag / Flies - The Dragon Flag is an advanced exercise and requires good physical fitness for correct execution. When performed correctly, the exercise brings incredible body tension and makes it easier to planch, front leverage and many other exercises. If the Dragon Flag is still too hard for you, then do leg lifts lying on repetitions instead.

 

 

Hollow Body Hold - Gymnasts use this simple looking exercise to achieve incredible body tension. The exercise can be performed without any equipment and is made difficult by a water bottle in each hand. This exercise also helps a lot in learning different exercises, e.g. the planche.

 

LEGS:

Lunges - One of the most effective leg exercises with your own body weight are lunges. With them you train functional strength and strengthen your joints and muscles. Make sure that you do them cleanly and that your legs are bent at a 90 degree angle. You can either do lunges on the spot or move around if you have enough room.

 

Squats - Who doesn't know them? The classic knee bend can be done anywhere and brings strong thighs. Make sure that the whole sole of the foot stays on the ground. For beginners it helps to hold on to a resistance band or a chair. For advanced players, the Resistance Bands can be used to make things more difficult by running under the feet and over the shoulders. A rucksack filled with weights also adds more weight.       

 

Bicep Leg Curl - The best way to train the back of your legs with a gymnastics ball is to do Swiss Ball Curls. However, since I assume that you don't have a ball with you, just do the exercise with your feet on the sofa or bed.

 

ROUTINES

Now that we have discussed the most important exercises for your home workout, we are missing one last thing for the implementation: routines or a plan how to do the exercises. You can adapt these again to your own goals, I give you impulses here:

 

1. Full body workout for strength endurance/endurance:

10 sets of the following exercises in a row:

10x Bodyweight rows

10x Push Ups

10x Lunges each leg

 

In this circle the focus is on strength endurance. The training is well suited as a challenge, as your goal should be to take as few breaks as possible. Idea: Do this training in a phone call or video call with your friends.

 

2. Pull & Push Strength building:

3 sets à 8-12 repetitions Pull Ups at the door

3 sets à 8-12 repetitions Push Ups

3 sets à 8-12 repetitions Rows at the door

3 sets à 8-12 repetitions Triceps Dips

3 sets à 2 Min Plank

 

Between sentences you should take a break of about 2 minutes. Adjust the difficulty by height or Resistance Bands) so that you land with your maximum repetitions between the 8-12 repetitions.

 

3. Legs + Core Strength building:

3 sets Lunges à 8-12 Reps each leg

3 sets Leg raising lying à 8-12 repetitions

3 sets Squats à 8-12 repetitions

3 sets Hollow Body Hold à 30 seconds

1 sets maximum Squat Hold down in 90 degree angle

1 set plank max hold

DISCOVER RESISTANCE BANDS

Are you looking for further inspiration and more input?

Because we know how quickly homeworkouts get boring and your body needs constant stimulation to grow, we've put together our favorite sources for more input:

 

- You can find a lot of information under the search terms "home workout exercises", "fitness training at home" or "body weight training tutorials" on YouTube

- The e-learning platform Udemy offers many training and further education courses at low cost or even for free, just take a look

- At Amazon there are books that we want to recommend to you like z.B. " Fit ohne Geräte" by Marc Lauren with many inspirations for home training or also the detailed book " Overcoming Gravity". Also the book of our friends and partners Monique König and Leon Staege " Calisthenics x Mobility" is definitely an asset to training at home. The links will take you directly to the books on Amazon. With the purchase you support us with a commission from Amazon.

 

I wish you the best in achieving your goals.

Keep growing, 

 

Phil

Founder GORNATION