Do you want to grow some muscle but you can't leave the house? You don't really need a subscription to a gym or a sophisticated home gym, so that's something you can forget about.All you need to get your swole on at home is the weight of your body or a pair of dumbbells. Your body weight is plenty.
Home workouts 101: How to build muscle
Now, let's begin with the fundamentals: Your workout plan has to consist of a combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength training. You may choose to train your strength with hand weights or you can just use your own body weight.
Weights will become your new best buddy as you continue to become stronger and need more of a challenge in your workouts. On the other hand, don't forget about cardio. It continues to be an essential (and sometimes debilitating) component of every fitness programme. At least a couple times each week, you should concentrate on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio routines.
When should you go to the gym, and how often? An analysis of data conducted in 2016 found that the optimal amount of time spent engaging in strength training is at least two days per week. This means that you should begin by doing two or three days of full-body weight training, two days of cardio, and two days of recovery.
As your strength increases, you may consider adding a fourth weight day to your routine and alternating between upper-body and lower-body exercises on the days that you work out. Additionally, make sure that you set aside at least two days every week to allow your body to recuperate and relax. The following is an example of how your plan may look:
Bodyweight exercises to build muscle at home
You actually don’t have to pump iron to get stronger. All you need is yourself and some creativity to get those muscles moving.
Chest
1. Push-up: 3–6 sets of 6–12 reps
The push-up is one of the most efficient bodyweight exercises you can do to build strength in your chest and triceps. But it also gives your shoulders, core muscles, lower back, and lower body a workout.
How-to: Lie facedown and place hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulders. Push up to lift shoulders, torso, and legs until arms are fully extended. Only your hands and toes should be touching the floor. Slowly lower your body until chest almost touches the floor, then repeat.
Pro tip: Push-up variations are nearly endless. If you’re a beginner, you can start with wall push-ups or knee push-ups. Feeling advanced? Give pike push-ups a try.
2. Burpee: 6 per minute for 15 minutes
Need a more explosive exercise? The burpee may be the ultimate bodyweight exercise mash-up, working your chest, core, arms, back, glutes, and legs for a full-body cardio workout.
How-to: From a standing position, lower yourself into a squat and put both hands on the floor, just wider than your feet. Jump feet back into a plank position. Do a push-up, returning to the plank position. Draw your legs back up into a squat, then jump up explosively with your hands above your head. Repeat.
3. Pull-up: 3 sets of 2–5 reps
The pull-up can be intimidating, especially when you’re just starting out. But it’s a great bodyweight exercise to work your shoulders, upper back, and biceps. Start with just a few reps and work your way up as you get stronger.
How-to: Grab the pull-up bar with an overhand grip, wrapping your thumbs around the bar. “Play dead” — start in a dead hang from the bar. Squeeze the bar with your hands and engage the muscles of your upper body and core. Pull up until chin clears the bar. Slowly lower yourself back into the dead-hang position. Repeat.
Arms
1. Plank-up: 3 sets of 5–10 reps
Doing any type of plank exercise will make your arms stronger, but doing plank-ups is especially effective for strengthening the triceps and biceps muscles in your arms.
How-to: Start in plank position, with elbows and toes on the floor, core engaged, and torso elevated. Raise yourself into a push-up position by extending one arm at a time, keeping your body straight. Lower onto your elbows one arm at a time. Repeat.
2. Triceps dip: 2 sets of 10–12 reps
You’ll need a chair, box, ledge, bench, or staircase to do triceps dips. This move will quickly strengthen your triceps (and your pecs!), which tend to need a targeted workout to grow.
How-to: Start seated in a chair (or on a step, etc.). Grab the edge of the chair with hands on either side of hips. Lift up and out into a hovering position beyond the chair edge. Extend legs until mostly straight. Slowly lower yourself toward the floor until elbows are roughly parallel with shoulders. Push down into your hands to raise back up until your arms are straight again. Repeat.
3. Inchworm: 3 sets of 4–6 reps
This exercise that just requires your bodyweight is (nearly) as much fun as it sounds. This is one creepy-crawly workout that will make you feel like a child again while also growing your triceps, shoulders, chest, abdominal muscles, glutes, and quadriceps with a lot of strength.