Working out at home is a budget alternative to working out at the gym. Benefits of training at home:
» Accessibility » Ability to choose a convenient time » Saving travel time » Lack of critical views » Psychological comfort
However, to pump up without a barbell at home, you need self-discipline and knowledge of at least the basics of sports physiology. Not having a coach who can point out mistakes increases the risk of injury. A beautiful body is a combination of physical activity, proper nutrition and rest.
Pros of doing bodyweight exercises without iron
To show you that not only can dumbbell training for men be an effective way to get toned, but bodyweight work can also work, we spoke with Bobby Windebank, a personal fitness trainer, who explains why training using only your bodyweight is a the best.
Available to everyone
“Bodyweight training can be tailored to your fitness level,” Windebank says. “Regardless of your condition, even if you are starting from scratch and can barely do one push-up, bodyweight exercises will be accessible to you, and most importantly, effective. Progression is also possible, and as you progress, you can add new types of exercises.”
Read the guide for beginners: how to do push-ups correctly.
Increase your mobility and stability
“We were born to move, and mobility and stability are important parts of our daily lives,” explains Windebank. “Working with implements can have many positive effects on the whole body, but it can also limit your mobility. The movements you perform using your body weight improve mobility and help make your stabilizing muscles stronger. And strengthening your stabilizing muscles will give you more strength in other exercises.”
Helps improve technique and avoid injury
“Bodyweight training is a great way to hone your technique,” says Windebank. “Working with implements can be very taxing on you, and especially on your joints. "Bodyweight exercises put less stress on your joints, so you'll almost never get injured doing them."
They are much simpler and more effective
“Today, few people have the time to workout, so it’s important to find one that you can do quickly and still have an effect,” explains Windebank. “Luckily, bodyweight training doesn't require a separate gym to build muscles and uses minimal equipment. You can do them anywhere, and you can combine cardio with strength training. This way, you get a quick and effective workout without iron or exercise equipment for men.”
Is it possible to pump up at home without exercise equipment?
Keeping a fitness diary is a great way to discipline yourself and also celebrate your progress.
To train at home you will need the following equipment:
» Sportswear and shoes » Mat » Clock
If desired, you can use additional sports equipment:
» Fitballs » Elastic bands » Resistance bands » Horizontal bar » Crossbar » Rings » Loops
What you need to grow muscles: the basics
" Goals. Before you start training, it is important to set goals and choose the appropriate program. " Control. For self-control, it is recommended to enter a daily plan in a fitness diary, as well as the exercises performed, the number of repetitions, the number of hours of sleep and the daily diet. " Nutrition. To gain muscle mass and increase muscle definition, it is important to consume a sufficient amount of protein. Carbohydrates provide energy to perform exercise. Fats are necessary for the absorption of vitamins. » Water is necessary to maintain the vital functions of the body. It is recommended to drink up to 2.5 liters of water per day, as well as 1-1.5 liters during intense training. » Emphasis on basic exercises. For beginners, it is better to include 2-3 basic multi-joint exercises in the program that work the maximum number of muscles. The base will help tone your entire body. » The number of workouts at home should be 3-4 times a week for 60-90 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down. » The frequency of repetitions must be adequate to physical fitness. To pump up without iron at home, it is better to start with 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Gradually increase the frequency to 7-8 sets of 12-15 repetitions. » Cardio. Anaerobic exercises warm up the body well, pumping up the heart and endurance. " Speed. Exercises to build strength are performed quickly. " Rest. New muscle fibers grow during rest, so you should set aside time for relaxation.
Is it possible to build muscle with bodyweight training alone?
All of the above benefits are very pleasant, but if you can’t build defined muscles with these exercises, then why do them? But the answer will please you - exercises with body weight help muscle hypertrophy no worse than others, no worse than even exercises with apparatus.
A study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior2 showed that muscles will gain mass, and the gain is not always dependent on the load. On the contrary, most of the gain depends not on the load, but on the amplitude of the movement. A squat without additional load, performed with the correct technique, is no less effective than a squat with a barbell or dumbbells, and when you need to build muscle, it is not at all necessary to use equipment and increase the number of weights on the barbell.
What happens to muscles during exercise
The most general thing is that training injures muscle fibers, nutrition and recovery help them grow. During class, we perform exercises that damage muscle fibers and create stimuli for growth. When we rest, eat enough proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and sleep, the body's hormonal levels switch to anabolism. The muscles are “repaired”, since the body “understands” that they are needed, the person will soon load them again. Over time, the muscles increase, and the person acquires the physique that he wants.
In fitness theory, changes in the body and muscle tissue are divided into training periods.
Complete beginner
Let's imagine that someone has spent their entire life on the couch. At school he had an exemption from physical education, or some irregular activities like running or football. At the university, for a couple of years he didn’t go anywhere except bars, at all, and then he saw that no one liked a belly and thin arms, and shortness of breath did not add to personal effectiveness. Our imaginary hero decided to build up his muscles.
He bought dumbbells for home, a horizontal bar for the doorway, push-up bars, and dug up a set of weights at his grandfather’s dacha. He doesn’t go to the gym, because greedy trainers there cheat newcomers out of money. He goes to YouTube, where some blogger teaches him how to do push-ups and pull-ups while compensating for part of his body weight by jumping. So our hero does push-ups, pull-ups, squats without weight, and light exercises with dumbbells.
Over the course of a month, his nervous system gets used to “digesting” the load, sleep and appetite improve, and the sore throat that plagued him at the beginning after each lesson goes away. His strength gradually increases, so he can already do more than 20 push-ups, and he is forced to purchase stops and a weighted vest.
In the first 3-4 months, the growth in strength is directly proportional to the growth in technical skill, so when working with a trainer, tasks like pumping up muscles are not set. But you can’t motivate a beginner with this! He wants to quickly see the cubes in place of a soft belly, and the peak of biceps in place of thin “chicken” arms. Therefore, a competent coach will tell the ward about proper nutrition during this difficult period. By normalizing your diet, a person will look better in a matter of weeks. This will be the first visual result.
For training at this time, exercises with body weight or minimal weights are preferable. The program is built around push-ups, pull-ups, goblet squats, lunges with minimal weight, squats without weights and straight abdominal crunches. These exercises need to be performed slowly, and you need to pay attention to your technique.
Hypertrophy
The next couple of years are turning points in the life of a novice fitness specialist. The average person doesn’t see much results from home training and quits. Yes, this is because we were taught that muscles should grow as advertised, that is, in 3-4 months we should see significant changes. After suffering for six months, a person joins the “dusty dumbbells” club. Yes, those who lose weight have a greater chance of long-term friendship with sports. They achieve results mainly through proper nutrition. The more carefully they follow their diet, the better they are able to change themselves. Such people successfully lose weight, and then begin to gain muscle mass.
In general, if you take a disciplined guy who lifts weights 3-4 times a week, increasing the load progressively, and eats for “mass growth,” he will gain about 20 kg in a couple of years. Yes, not all of it will be muscles; the fat component will also increase partly. To prevent this from “spoiling the aesthetics” too much, experts recommend alternating mass-gaining cycles with “drying.” But the fact remains unchanged - in 2 years the genetic potential for muscle hypertrophy in most natural athletes is not exhausted.
Hyperplasia
This word refers to an increase in muscle volume due to the division of muscle fibers. By the way, not all scientific studies confirm that a person, in principle, is able to increase weight due to hyperplasia. Bodybuilding experts refer to the theory of Professor Seluyanov and recommend his methods. Or they suggest training at a high volume with light weights, and they say that this way a person will gain about 10 kg of muscle.
It’s sad, but only a few manage to test words in practice. The point here is not that people are lazy to exercise, but that most theorists very heavily use not only sports nutrition, but also anabolic steroids. Here the science is clear - a person who trains on sports pharmacology is capable of muscle hyperplasia. And his weight is growing much faster.
System adaptation
They say that not every bodybuilder can get to the stage where nothing else works. It's all about the notorious life circumstances. What helps a little here is that strength sports alternate in practice. Some people start just to build up muscles, and then go to CrossFit or powerlifting to start using these muscles. Others alternate between “mass” and “drying” and delay this moment. But when adaptation occurs, it is believed that the athlete can only maintain shape and ensure that injuries do not occur.
Abs workout (without equipment)
This plan is all about developing your abdominal muscles. Here, too, no equipment is needed - only your own body is used. There are only 3 exercises in the plan - it turns out to be a very short, but still very effective workout. This will be your main method of pumping up beautiful abdominal muscles.
Reverse crunches
We perform all three exercises, and then rest for 2 minutes.
We repeat five times.
- Approaches: 5
- Reps: 60
- Rest: 0 seconds
How to do it: Lie on your back, keeping your arms on the floor at your sides, with your palms facing down. Bend your knees and pull them towards your chest, squeezing your abdominal muscles. At the same time, lift your hips off the floor. In the upper position of the movement, we squeeze the muscles, and then slowly lower ourselves until the thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
Sit-ups, aka crunches
- Approaches: 5
- Reps: 60
- Rest: 0 seconds
How to do it: Lie on the floor and bend your knees. If possible, we fix the feet under any object so that the legs do not move while performing the exercise. We hold our hands behind our heads and raise our torso, tensing our abdominal muscles. As a result, the upper body and hips should be in the shape of the Latin letter V. Then we slowly lower ourselves to the starting position.
Rock climber
- Approaches: 5
- Reps: 60
- Rest: 120 seconds
How to do it: We take a position on the floor (similar to the position of a sprinter on the starting line - one leg is bent at the knee so that the foot is directly under the waist, and the other is straightened behind. Now we suddenly change the position of the legs. We repeat this movement the specified number of times.
How to build muscles: basic requirements
Building muscle requires at least 2 fundamental principles.
- Progressive workouts that can stimulate growth. (A sound training plan = success.)
- A diet that can support muscle growth. (First of all, consume enough calories and protein).
As long as both principles work correctly, regularly and for a long enough time, the muscles will grow.
What should you do and use to make your muscles grow?
As you may have noticed, the main principles of muscle growth do not include a gym membership, training with free weights such as barbells and dumbbells, machines or additional equipment.
And this is because they do not play a decisive role in increasing muscle size and mass growth. These are just useful additions that can help speed up results and improve quality.
And not only in the sense that they will effectively train every muscle group and provide the muscle growth that you so desire. They simplify the progression of loads that is so necessary to stimulate muscle growth and progress in training both at home and in the gym.
That's why all gyms are filled with dumbbells from 2 to 45 kg + in 2 kg increments, barbells and plates from 2.5 kg to 20 kg (also in 2 kg increments); benches that can be adjusted to any angle; racks on which you can perform many exercises; complex, block and various exercise machines for each muscle group.
So I'm not going to lie to you here. If you want to build and pump up beautiful and strong muscles, then applying all of the above will be the best and most effective way to achieve this. Of course, you can do without something, but if you don’t have anything on this list, then this is a big problem.
But, as I already said, everything in this world is possible. There are a large number of different programs and workout options that can be used to build muscle at home without using equipment, and even the most controversial of them can work effectively when used correctly.
Fat burning home workout with your body
How to burn fat and boost endorphin levels with a simple three-set home workout.
This home workout for the whole body will greatly speed up your metabolism and stimulate the release of endorphin - the hormone of joy and pleasure.
Here you can forget about dumbbells and weights, since here they are completely optional. To effectively burn calories, you don't need anything other than your own body.
This workout breaks down six different movements into upper and lower body exercises. Both categories have three exercises that are performed at once, one after the other, as one big set. We perform the first “triple set” three times, resting only when necessary, and then proceed to the second large set and also perform it three times.
Your goal should be a slight burning sensation and fatigue in your muscles, as well as an increase in your heart rate. As a result, the maximum amount of fat will be burned and more endorphins will be released. This process will continue even after the end of the workout.
1A) Jump squats, 15 reps without rest
Adding a jump makes the regular squat not only a good muscle-building movement, but also an excellent cardio exercise for burning fat. Keeping your back straight, squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor and your glutes are level with your knees (A), then jump up (B). We land softly and proceed to the next repetition.
1B) Squat jumping jacks, 20 reps without rest
This exercise is simple, but at the same time very intense. By doing it, you will become more agile and lose excess weight faster. First we do a wide-legged squat (A). Now we bring our legs together as quickly as possible (B), and then immediately raise them back to a wide position. Expect your legs to be very sore by the end of the 20th rep.
1C) Crab walk, 30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
This exercise is not easy. To maintain muscle balance here you will have to work very hard. First, we sit on the floor, keeping our hands behind our backs and our legs in front of us. Now lift your hips (A) and move forward (B). After half a minute of performing this exercise, we rest for 30 seconds, after which we again proceed to the first exercise - squats with jumps.
2A) Push-ups with clap, 10 repetitions without rest
This improved version of the classic exercise will leave you tired. From a push-up position, lower your chest until it almost touches the floor (A). Then we push off, but unlike a regular push-up, we lift both hands off the floor, do a clap (B), and then immediately proceed to the next repetition. If you clap your hands while your hands are in the air, the effect of the exercise will be even better.
2B) Shadowboxing, 30 seconds without rest
To get in good physical shape, you don’t have to become a professional boxer - you just need to imitate the fighting technique. To perform this exercise, we take a fighting position. Making slight bends in different directions and sometimes squatting a little, we perform lateral and direct blows with our fists. The type of strikes is entirely up to you, but remember - try to make the exercise as intense as possible, and therefore effective.
Training program without iron
Whether you have access to a gym or not, it doesn't really matter, working out at home can be just as effective.
There are tons of exercises you can do without free weights, in the privacy of your own home, hotel room or office to build muscle and improve your fitness.
Of course, training with additional weights and machines is great, but the simple fact is that you can build muscle without additional equipment.
How to build muscle without exercise equipment at home?
Use these exercises!
Exercises that you perform only with your body weight go a long way in developing functional strength at any fitness level. Since you won't be using additional weights for these exercises, it's best to focus on a very fast pace and high number of repetitions to fully engage your muscles. Of course, technique always comes first, but in general, bodyweight exercises have a much lower risk of injury than free weights.
Below is a list of the 10 best exercises that will help you build muscles at home. You've probably heard of many of them, but I've added my own tips for improving your technique and approach.
Squats
Squats work 85% of the muscles in your entire body. Just think about it. The productivity of this exercise is many times greater than any other. Additionally, squats are known to promote greater testosterone production. If you want to build muscle mass, then this is definitely your option.
To perform a deep, proper squat, start with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out slightly, and as you begin the squat, keep your back straight and focus on pushing your butt back and keeping your chest high. When you squat, bring your knees forward and outward, but not over your toes, and press your heels into the ground to maintain balance. If you need extra balance, move your arms forward. When the pace is fast and explosive, this extra balance can become very necessary.
You can do bodyweight squats every day if you want. You can also change up your squatting technique by trying single-leg squats or sumo squats (wide-legged).
Push ups
Push-ups are an upper body exercise. Anytime, anywhere, you can do push-ups and work your chest, shoulders, triceps and back muscles. Follow your breath and lower yourself until your chest touches the ground.
For variety, a wide stance will target the pecs more, while a close stance will increase resistance.
If you elevate your legs on a chair or wall and change the angle, you will work the upper pectoral muscle, increasing the difficulty.
Reverse push-ups
Using a chair, coffee table, or even a bed, you can always work your triceps and pecs with reverse push-ups. This is an excellent exercise, by doing which you will be able to see a beautiful and prominent horseshoe-shaped muscle on the back of your arm. Remember to keep your head straight so that your spine is in the correct position.
Wall Squats
Wall squats are a great way to work on your quads and endurance. With your back close to the wall and your arms at your sides, lower yourself down to create a 90-degree angle between your knees and the wall. You can't lean on your knees! Personally, I like to use the timer on my phone for this exercise. Start by trying the high chair exercise for 60 seconds or until you can no longer stand the burning sensation in your muscles.
Lunges
Lunges are one of the best exercises, but proper technique takes some practice, as with any exercise. People have a tendency to sway when they shift their body weight from one leg to the other. As you shift your weight forward to the other leg, remember to keep your back and shoulders straight; You'll also want to focus on moving your hips down toward the floor rather than forward—this will allow you to complete the rep with proper form.
Plank
Starting from your stomach, keep your spine straight and support your weight on your forearms, which at this point are on the floor and form a right angle with your shoulders. Pull your stomach in to increase the intensity. Planking is another exercise for which I recommend using a timer. Try it for 90 seconds and tell me you can't do core workouts at home.
Side plank
The concept of doing this is similar to the plank, but the difference is that the upper body should be supported by only one arm. The oblique abdominal muscles and core muscles are worked.
"Superman"
The expression that applies to this exercise is: “As it is heard, so is it written.” It will work your arms and lower back. Lie on your stomach, then reach forward and lift your arms, legs and head off the floor as if you were trying to fly, hold this position for a few seconds and lower down.
Crunches with leg raises
I like to combine crunches and leg raises to work my upper and lower abdominal muscles. Lie on your back with your heels flat on the floor, lift your knees toward your chest and do a crunch, squeezing your abs as your knees and chest touch each other. Then return to the starting position.
Burpee
A burpee is a multi-muscle movement that combines a jump with a push-up. This is a great option for working multiple muscle groups. The main thing to pay attention to is the lower back; Avoid bending your spine as much as possible when you squat and then jump up.
Circuit training
If you've been working out for a while and don't think bodyweight exercises are going to give you the muscle gains you're looking for, you can up the intensity of your home workout by doing circuit workouts. This will work on your muscles and endurance, add an aerobic element and really increase the difficulty of your workouts.
Circuit training constantly keeps you toned, heart rate and pulse accelerated, while one muscle group rests and another works hard. You will be amazed at how many physical results you can get in less time using this method.
When planning a circuit workout, it is important to turn off certain muscle groups to give them rest one at a time. So, if you start with push-ups, then move on to squats and abdominal exercises.
Conclusion
So now you have my favorite at-home exercises that build muscle without any equipment. They can help you get in shape and lose weight while improving your overall health and strength. No gym? No problem!
Tyson as an example
Mike Tyson (“Iron Mike”) is rightfully considered an excellent example of speed, punching power and physical fitness. Surely this effect was achieved thanks to the right approach to training. In his approach, he did not neglect any wrestling tasks (neck warm-up on a bridge), or powerlifting tasks (barbell press), or athletics tasks (long-distance cross-country).
You should also not neglect the usual horizontal bar and parallel bars. In order to improve your skills, it is not at all necessary to start immediately with a barbell, an athletic belt and a wrestling tights. In one training day, Iron Mike could perform up to 800 push-ups and up to 500 simple push-ups on the parallel bars. And now you just have to imagine how it was possible to escape from such a machine! I once heard that Mike specifically tried to arrange fights during the full moon because... his level of aggression at this time was at its very limit.
Choosing a load for exercises at home without iron
If you cannot perform the exercise at least 9 times, then you need to choose an exercise of a simpler level.
You need to choose only exercises that you can perform at least 6 times in 5 sets. That is, in the total of five approaches you need to score at least 30 repetitions.
In the size/quarter method, the load range is 6-12 repetitions per set.
If you were able to do more than 60 repetitions in five approaches, then the exercise needs to be complicated.
It is better to increase the load according to the 10% rule. Increasing the load by more than 10% is dangerous.
Each exercise has its own ways of increasing the load by 10%. For example, in push-ups, this means reducing the grip width by the width of your palm, and in lying pull-ups, reducing the height of the TRX loops to the floor by 10 cm. In jumping squats, this can be an increase in the jump height by 5 cm.
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