How to exercise at home

In the current climate, amongst the worldwide gym closures and quarantines, most of us are having to rethink how we pursue our health, fitness and body composition goals!

Lucky for us, we can keep things going by simply being creative. How creative you'll need to be, really depends on how much equipment you have.

Personally, I work with clients with all different types/levels of equipment. Some have an incredible home gym setup, equipt with their indoor swimming pool; others have a set up similar to hardcore Rocky training montage, like the one when he's in Russia, you know the one I mean, in the barn, the 4th one, damn that's a great film! Anyway, I digress, each client has different equipment available, and it's my job to get the best results using the equipment they have available.

Let's break down the categories of home training setups I see the most.

Firstly, we have pure bodyweight training, where, of course, we have nothing but our body, this is not a problem, it's your body, and you'll want to get used to moving it!

Example exercises:

Burpees

Lunges

Mountain climbers

Press-ups

Alt V-sits

Secondly, we have minimal equipment available like a resistance band and swiss ball; this is a fair setup that can be picked up for under £30. With this setup, you'll be able to continue to develop your posterior chain (back of the body), this would be difficult with conventional bodyweight training as they consist primarily of exercises that develop the anterior chain (front of the body).

Example exercises:

Band pull apart

Banded y raise

Banded press-ups

Banded glute bridge

Thirdly, we have suspension training (TRX), this setup, again, will allow you to train the entire body.

Example exercises:

TRX leg curls

TRX mountain climbers

TRX leg pull in

TRX row

Last, but certainly not least, we have the fourth category, comprising of an adjustable dumbbell and adjustable bench setup, this kind of setup can be purchased for around £200. You might think of a set of dumbbells and a bench as a pretty basic set up, and you'd be right, but honestly, it's all you need! In fact, even with clients who have a squat rack, barbells, and machines, the majority of their sessions are still is spent primarily using dumbbells and a bench.

Example exercises:

Dumbbell bench press

Single-arm dumbbell row

Dumbbell thrusters

Dumbbell bicep curls

Whichever set up you have, and whatever exercises you chose, remember you can make any exercises appropriately intense. Just as an example, if you have no equipment, and you want to do a squat, then ensure you make every rep count. Take it slow on the eccentric (lowering phase) and concentrate on the tension building up in your leg. Hit a decent depth (ass to grass) then explode up while simultaneously contracting your quads and glutes, concentrate on your mind to muscle connection.

No matter what equipment you have, you can achieve great results with limited, or no equipment; you will need to be a bit more creative and perhaps work harder than our very well equipped counterparts.

Here’s a great, super quick workout, using nothing but your bodyweight and skipping rope. Enjoy!