The world is weird right now. Just throwing that out there and addressing the elephant in the room. Our normal everyday lives have been completely altered in the matter of just a few days. Which makes it the absolute perfect time to throw routine out the window and say “forget it,” right? We’re limited with what we can buy at the grocery store, we’re told we can’t be in groups of more than 10 people, and businesses are closing left and right (including our absolute favorite place to be: the gym).
If your mindset is urging you to give up on your goals, there’s never been a more important time to stay strong. Sticking to as much of a routine as you can is essential for helping you stay stress-free and still on top of your physical and mental health.
Whether not having a gym membership is the norm for you, or you’re staying home right now because of social distancing, here are three ways you can still get a killer sweat sesh in and stay focused on your goals when you can’t make it to the gym.
At Home Strength Training
If you have any weights available at home then you have no excuse not to pick them up and move them around. Dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, plates, bands - you name ‘em, you can use ‘em. It’s all about learning to work with what you’ve got. If muscle strength and development is what you’ve been working on but you’re limited to using lighter weights, you can still work on those goals by making the following adjustments:
Higher Rep Ranges
Lifting lighter weights for 20-30 reps can be just as effective at building both muscle strength and muscle endurance as lifting heavier weights for 6-12 reps.
Tempo Work
Change the speed at which you lift the weight. For example, count for 3 seconds down + 3 seconds up. Slower lifts often build muscle size, while faster lifts build muscle strength. Reducing your speed increases your muscle tension, and more muscle tension is what causes the muscles to ultimately breakdown, recover, and grow.
Cluster Sets
Cluster sets are great for building both strength and muscle. Use small periods of rest (10-20 seconds) in between your reps to provide recovery. You can do this a couple different ways:
4-6 reps with your 4-6RM with 10 seconds of rest between each cluster
4-6 reps of only 1 rep (75-90% of your 1RM) with 20 seconds of rest between reps
Time Sets
Aim for achieving max reps in a certain amount of time. For example: max reps of biceps curls in 20-40 seconds.
Decreasing Rest Periods
AKA: stay away from social media between sets. Instead of resting for 2-5 minutes between rounds, set shorter intervals of 30-90 seconds to increase muscle hypertrophy (size) and muscle endurance.
Pauses
Just like you’ve practiced at the gym during squats, implement pauses at different points of your movement to increase the level of difficulty.
Tip: If you don’t have dumbbells at home, try grabbing canned goods from the pantry, milk/water jugs, paint cans, or anything else around the house that would be “easy” to grab and use in place of your weights.
At Home Bodyweight Exercises
Never underestimate the power of a bodyweight movement. Taking it back to the basics can be great for a lot of reasons: we can re-focus on our form and proper body mechanics, plus it’s completely possible to still get a great workout using the most effective weight around: ourselves.
Bodyweight movements you can do at home:
Pushups
Air squats
Planks
Lunges
Glute bridges
Shoulder taps
Supermans
Wall-sits
Burpees
Mountain Climbers
High Knees
Skaters
Sit-ups
Tip: To make something more challenging, work on balance. For example, you can work on single leg RDLs without any equipment. You’ll get a full body workout from one movement because you’ve moved to one leg; ultimately engaging more muscles to help you stay balanced throughout the movement.
At Home Cardio
There’s never been a better time to bust out your running shoes and put them to use. Whether you’re an avid runner or a total newbie, cardio is a great way to get your heart rate up and just overall help you feel GOOD.
Try getting outside and going for a walk, jog, or run. You can even incorporate 20 second sprints for a higher intensity workout (just make sure you allow enough rest time in between your intervals to get your heart rate back down to normal). If you’re new to running, you can start out by walking for two minutes, then running for one minute. Repeat this for 30 minutes (or any designated amount of time).
If the weather isn’t cooperating, but you have stairs in your home or apartment building - put them to use. Walking or jogging up and down your stairs is a great way to build/tone muscles, blast calories, and increase your endurance.
Try this at-home circuit to get you away from the computer/television and moving toward your goals:
A1. Single Leg RDLs: 4 x 12 each
- Any object will work
A2. Single Leg Glute Bridge: 4 x 20 each
B. ...For time...
30 Burpees
30 Jumping Lunges
30 American KB Swings OR Ground to Overhead
30 Jumping Lunges
30 Burpees