Register now or log in to join your professional community.
Last updated: Nov 30, 2015
What is the best home gym workout? Follow these innovative ideas of what equipment would be best, cost, sample workouts that really work ... Learn from the following pros and cons and start making amazing gains at home today!
There are two major parts to a good workout:
1. Aerobic Training - requires an elevation of the heart-rate for an extended period of time (aids in the reduction of body fat)
2. Strength Training - requires the use of weights or one's own body weight to apply stress on the muscles for eventual muscle growth and strength gains
The "At Home Workout" incorporates these two together for a high calorie consumption (for losing that little gut), and for monumental increases in strength while requiring almost no equipment!
A key point to make is that if your home gym looks anything like mine ... meaning you have nothing more than a pull-up bar, some dumbbells and a bit of floor space, this is definitely the workout for you! You'll get an excellent burn; give it a try!
AT HOME WORKOUTRule #1 about this workout - Keep in mind the muscle you are focusing on. This will allow you to achieve a much greater contraction and will thus be getting more muscle breakdown for eventual muscle growth.
Focus muscle: Pectorals If you are a beginner, there is no shame in doing push-ups with your knees on the ground rather than your feet. All that really matters is that you're feeling the burn.
Focus muscle: Abs and obliques
Focus muscle: biceps
Focus muscle: Lats (back)
Focus muscle: Triceps
Focus muscle: Quads and calves
Focus muscle: Hamstrings and Glutes
Focus Muscle: Calves
Focus Muscle: Abs
Focus Muscle: Biceps
Focus muscle: Hamstrings and Quads
Overall it is hard to achieve the same results from using the equipment at home, especially if you have a limited amount of equipment lying around. The gym definitely has a wide the variety of pieces of equipment that would definitely not be found in most homes.
The gym also has so many separate pieces of equipment that can isolate different muscles and even specific parts of those muscles. For example look at the cable machines, there are literally hundreds of exercises that can be done using those that couldn't possibly be mimicked at home.
That isn't to say that an excellent workout isn't possible at home, because it is. This is obvious because one is shown above. But if that workout is the only one you do, you could be lacking strength and conditioning in other body parts that are hard to isolate at home.
Overall, it is possible to get an excellent workout at home on occasion but there is no replacement for a good old fashioned gym in the quest for an awesome body.
One of the most versatile pieces of equipment that is often overlooked when making a home gym would be a nice upright abs rack. It seems odd that you can ask any guy what body part they would most like to have completely ripped and muscular and they will say abs, but when you look at their home gym all they have is a barbell set.
Now sure they can get an excellent set of legs, pecs, arms and back with that, but what they really want is ABS! That being said ... if you want to have that ripped set of abs, don't overlook the pieces of equipment that are actually going to set you in the right direction of your actual goals! (Upright abs rack and ankle weights should do the trick!)
To get a nice barbell set, a bench/rack combo, a set of medicine balls and you can expect to be spending 500-600 dollars. Depending on your budget, it can be expanded from there to approach the variability that a traditional gym has (including dumbbells, a smith machine, rowing machine, etc.) An upright abs rack will set you back 200-300 dollars as well. Since I live in an apartment this just isn't possible for me though!
The best home gym workout is one that is able to incorporate the equipment you have, however limited, in a way that allows you to get a workout comparable to those who train in gyms. It's basically a matter of making the most of what you have.
Now, we will take each muscle group one by one and lay out a variety of exercises you can do at home which will allow for the best home gym workouts without the worry of requiring equipment that could only be found in large gyms.
Squats are probably the best exercise you can do for the quads, but if you're working out at home then you will find it difficult to do this exercise. As I mentioned above, it is not advisable to hoist a bar over your head and start squatting. This is an easy way to incur a serious injury.
Lunges provide the best alternative to squats as they can safely and effectively stimulate the quads as well as the hamstrings secondarily. When working out at home, they should always be done with dumbbells and not a barbell.
There are two options for performing lunges, both of which are greatly effective. In the space where you have your home gym set up you can simply perform stationary lunges, either working one leg at a time or alternating legs between each lunge.
The second option will require that you have some extra space such as a driveway or a backyard with level ground. Here you can do the walking lunge, alternating each leg and moving forward down the driveway or through the backyard. This lunging method is particularly effective, and if done properly, will leave your legs burning as much as heavy squatting.
When it comes to the hamstrings, you have at your disposal a effective exercise that requires the minimum amount of equipment: the stiff-legged deadlift (SLDL).
All that is required is a pair of dumbbells and just a small area to work with. Don't use too much weight with this exercise. If it is done improperly it can result in injury to the lower back. Choose a weight that you can complete for at least 12 reps.
In order to put more focus on the hamstring and reduce lower back involvement, do not lock your knees. Despite the name, there should be a slight bend in the knees. As you lower the weight slowly down below your knees, keep your glutes tense. Lift the weight up slowly and do not lock out at the top of the movement.
Without the equipment you find in gyms, working the calves can be slightly more difficult than most other muscle groups. The calves can often be worked with a heavy load because they are used so frequently in daily activities such as walking.
Since you likely don't have a machine and hundreds of pounds of weight you will need to improvise in order to get an effective calf workout.
The best way to do this is to perform one-legged calf raises with heavy dumbbells. You may need to lean against a wall to keep from losing your balance. Standing on one leg and lifting up on your toes with heavy dumbbells can be tricky. The support of a wall can help you keep your balance while handling an intense work load.
If you do not have a spotter on hand, I recommend you forego barbell bench presses and use heavy dumbbells for presses. This way if the weight becomes too heavy you can drop the dumbbells to the side. If a barbell becomes too heavy, it is a much greater problem.
With dumbbells and a bench you can perform heavy presses as well as flyes, which serve as a great finishing movement for the chest. Another chest exercise that many people have unfortunately disregarded is the basic push-up. As simple as it is, this is a great exercise to follow up with after presses. Do one set to failure after presses in order to make sure you have fully stimulated the chest.
This muscle group can be easily be worked with very little equipment. There are so many exercises that can be used, you are virtually unlimited. Barbell curls, alternating dumbbell curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, andreverse curls are a few basic bicep exercises that can be done with nothing more than a dumbbell and a barbell.
Although there may not be as many exercises available to the home trainer as biceps, there is still a sufficient number of tricep exercises to keep this muscle group stimulated.
Lying tricep extensions, also known as skull crushers, can be done with a barbell and a bench. However, whenever you are lying on a bench with a barbell, you should make sure you use a weight that is completely controllable.
Don't try to go too heavy on these or you risk the chance of reaching failure and being unable to get the barbell under control. A great alternative is to use two dumbbells instead of a barbell.
In addition to lying triceps extensions, you can perform triceps kickbacks and overhead triceps extensions with dumbbells. If you work triceps with chest then close-grip pushups are a great alternative to close-grip bench presseswhich are not recommended for anyone training at home without a spotter.
Shoulders are another exercise that can be worked with minimal equipment. Like biceps, practically everything you need can be found in your home gym. Arnold presses, barbell military presses (with a controllable weight), and side lateral raises are some of the most effective shoulder exercises which can all be done at home.
In terms of equipment, there is no doubt that what you find in a gym will be vastly superior to what you likely have at home. Most people who workout at home are on a budget in terms of what types of equipment they can purchase. In addition, they probably have a limited amount of space to keep that equipment.
That said, there are numerous benefits from home training that may make it more effective in the gym. There are few if any distractions in your own home gym. No one is hogging the equipment you want to use and forcing you to wait or pass up on an exercise you need to finish your workout.
There are no members of the opposite sex who might lead you to show off and do more than you should be doing. You can train without a shirt on ... or h#ll, you can even train without your pants on if you want. Training can take place at your convenience and not be dependent on the operating hours of the gym. I'm sure you can think of many more positive reasons for training at home. For me, at least, this makes home training far more effective than going to the gym.
It is usually the basic home gym necessities that are overlooked because so many people. Most people will hopefully realize that a bench and free weights are absolute requirements for any home gym setup.
I believe it is a good idea to purchase a relatively inexpensive "home gym" such as the ones you can find in department stores for $100-200. These will give you extra options like leg extensions, pull-downs with a pulley attachment and press-downs for the triceps. You can then add attachments as you see fit and/or as you can afford to purchase them.
Here are a few pieces of equipment that are often overlooked but can be beneficial to the home gym experience:
In the beginning one should expect to invest between $100-200 for the minimal amount of equipment needed to get an effective home workout program started. After this you can choose to invest in new equipment based on your needs, wants and finances.
Every once in a while when I have the money to spare I will go out and purchase some new equipment. It may be some extra weight plates, a jump rope, a new pulley attachment, an exercise ball or something else. Since I already have a foundation to work with, I can increase the equipment I have based on what I can afford to spend at any given time.
Assuming that the standard home gym consists of the basic flat bench, squat rack, dumbbells and barbells, the best home gym workout is composed of the tried and true compound lifts. A home gym is usually capable of any form of workout, however, I've included a basic German Volume Training workout program that I've used in the past which delivers results.
90-120 seconds rest
60 seconds rest
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 1.
90-120 seconds rest
60 seconds rest
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 2.
90-120seconds rest
60 seconds rest
Repeat.
*Perform sets A1 and A2 back to back with 90-120 seconds of rest in between each exercise. Follow the same protocol for B1 and B2 supplementary exercises with 60 seconds of rest. Example: A1- Bench Press, 90 seconds rest, A2- Deadlift, 90 seconds rest, Bench Press ...
Whether one would achieve better results from equipment at home or at the gym depends on different aspects which should be evaluated.
The gym should be in (functional) order. If one's gym is in a cool, damp, cramped and dust covered basement, it'll pose a challenge when working out. When working out becomes a nuisance, few will stick to it and results will be far and in between. The gym should have enough room for overhead pressing, and multiple weight stations which are not crammed into a small space.
Cost is almost always an issue. A gym membership could cut down on monthly grocery funds.
Time may also be the deciding factor. A home gym cuts down on the commute and allows for increased flexibility. The additional 15-20 minutes could be used for meal preparation.
The atmosphere is the main reason why I'm still loyal to my gym. The gym is a place dedicated to training. When I'm at the gym, I'm ready to hit the weights. A garage gym might be distracting and rest times may get exaggerated after finding an old unfinished hobby project.
The most overlooked accessories and/or pieces of workout equipment are usually a squat rack, chin/pull-up bar and parallel (dip) bars. These are what I consider necessities when it comes to training.
How much one expects to spend on a functional home gym depends on how "functional" and luxurious that one wants their personal gym. By incorporating some innovative thinking and seeking out the best value, a functional home gym can cost as little as a few hundred dollars.
To save a lot of cash, build any required equipment aside from dumbbells and barbells. A squat rack can be constructed from wood and double as a flat bench rack with some creativity. Make sure that safety isn't sacrificed to save a couple bucks.
When I think about the home gym workout; I think two sets of dumbbells, barbell and cement blocks on each side of it
Seriously, I think you do not need anything too fancy to get in great shape and stay healthy for a lifetime.
Many people forget how much can a good session of push-ups and crunches do for your body health. When I give advice on this question to people just starting out with training I usually give them a basic plan to work at home with the least amount of equipment, and still get a good results.
WORKOUTHere is a sample plan anyone starting out in a home gym environment can follow:
The workout is split in three non-consecutive days, working the whole body on each workout.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of This Home Gym Workout.
That's it for the exercise plan. I also advise increasing repetitions over the time, speed of the movement and or weight as working out progresses.
Every aspect of it has it's own advantages or disadvantages. Working in your home gym means you have to spend less time traveling to and from the gym. Means you do not have to pay for the membership, and you never have to wait in the line to do the exercise. No one is there to bother you and you can play your own music. But you are alone.
While bodybuilding is an individualistic sport, a good training partner can go a long way. Also you have a better choice of exercises and equipment to choose from in the actual gym. The other thing is you meet like-minded people. They are all trying to do the same thing as you, and there can be a lot of competitive spirit going on in the gym that can push you to the limits.
By my opinion it doesn't really matter where you workout. It is how hard you workout and how persistent and consistent you are. Results will come regardless of the gym. Through all my competition days I was working out at my home gym, and I still won second place in a state championship.
Most overlooked ones are already over there. When people start thinking about exercising and working out, they immediately think about fancy machines and cable rows. But as you can see in my sample plan you need two chairs, a sofa, few private square yards and thick walls, so no one would hear you screaming doing squats (LOL!).
Floor mats are mostly forgotten until you need to work abs and end up doing it on a cold floor. Everyone just thinks about the weights.
This entirely depends on your specific needs. If you wish to recreate a couple times per week, then all you need is few sets of dumbbells, say: 10, 15 and 20 kg. Bench and barbell with about 100 kg of various plates like: 2x20 kg, 4x10 kg and 4x5 kg. I believe you can get this between $200-to-500 for all your basic recreation needs.
Source: bodybuilding.com
Neck movement exercises, moving the shoulders,
Work on bending back and return to the concavity of a top-to-back, move the hips and legs, doing for the chair, payment against Desk exercises, squat session exercises, lift the legs while sitting on the chair, tensile exercises with the hands placed behind the head, chest pressure exercises, exercises Extension leg and arms, up-and-down stairs without using the elevator and escalator.
You can walk, run around the house, the ups and down stairs several times, dance sports such as dance Alzumba, the use of devices and gym equipment at home such as Sir device and sports bike,
Performance of some aerobic exercise, such as easy-leg, back, arms, abdomen and squat exercises, you can use the trampoline, raising and extending the arms and legs, jumping rope, lifting weights by tins cans and empty bottles, playing ball with the kids.
be active, regular walk, diet control, proper nutrition,
Body Weight exercises are the best including squatting, jumping, planking and crunches to be considered very first for loosing weight. Can later on concentrate on different types of dips and pushups also once maintained a regular routine.
in the first you should follow good diet then u have to start with light streching and training like flexibility movements and light jogging, then u can start a good progmar like cardio training in the first then weight lifting in the end light streching good luck
training week.
Monday - chest, arms;
Tuesday - aerobic activity (swimming, 1 session in the pool);
Wednesday - legs;
Saturday - aerobic activity (swimming, 1 session in the pool);
Friday - back, shoulders;
Saturday / Sunday - rest.
jump the rope. walk around the house or on a tredmill ,dance alot
she must drink water alot... Aerobic exercise... squat....
Start with walking and a normal jog will suffice as well. Basic stretching exercises are good. You must consume no less than 3 liters of water regularly.
Generally anything that will give you and increased heart rate between 15-30 minutes at least 3-5 days per week with good eating habits as this goes hand in hand with exercise.Jogging on the spot for 2-3 minutes with a mixture of squats, lunges, star jumps, press ups, crunches, burpees, side twist (avoid if pregnant) between each exercise jog on the spot sometimes raising the knees higher to work hips and lower abdominals. When you get good at this you can repeat the exercises for longer periods of time and jogging on the spot with small weights, or hold a bottle of water in each hand starting with 500ml, if too light then 1 litre etc.You can also be creative by timing yourself doing the house work in a particular order and then trying to beat your record times.Just to add if you a cat or dog chase it around the house, this can be fun a good work out.
As well as doing exercise to lose belly fat you also need to start making a conscious effort to move more during the day. Here are our top hints for the best way to lose weight:
By incorporating these exercises to lose belly fat and to lose overall body weight, you will get back in shape in no time. The best part of our exercise plan is that it is healthy and safe for both you and your baby
make sure that you are avoid junk food and laziness and to make your daily routine example when you doing domestic work make sure that you are stand and keep walk around the house when you chart while you are using your cell phone you can do the same
IN additional for high intensive exercise you can do jumping rope or step aerobics
