Working out at home is different from working out at the gym in many ways. While working out at the gym, you usually assign one day to a certain muscle group and you are able to dedicate equal time to almost all the muscle groups. This is great for uniformity and helps in a systematic muscle mass gain. But while working out at home, you have a limited number of equipment and you are able to do only certain exercises in the absence of large machines or heavier weights. In such cases, it is better to assign alternate days to a large part of the body (e.g. one day for the upper body and one day for the lower body).
This again helps in achieving uniform growth and saves a lot of time at the same time. Another key benefit of assigning alternate days to the upper body and lower body is that you can hit one muscle multiple times that can lead to better growth and improved results. Not many are lucky to have an entire gym setup at the home and in such conditions you can make the most of the limited equipment you have. There are ways that you can make the most out of a workout from home using the following 7 exercises.
Push-Ups
Push-ups are never out of style. They are great for your upper body. Push-ups not only help in growing the muscles in your chest but also increase the strength in your arms. While you don’t have the luxury of doing bench press while at home, you can get a similar result with several sets of push-ups everyday.
You can try different variations of push-ups such as normal pushups, close grip pushups, wide grip pushups and diamond push-ups to increase the intensity of your workout and get faster results.
Chest Press
You don’t need to have a special bench or barbell to do the chest press exercise. Lie down on the floor or a simple wooden bench and grab a pair of dumbbells. Do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps of chest press. You can also use resistance bands for the workout in case you don’t have dumbbells with enough weight. While you may not gain muscle mass as easily as in the gym, the strength will always be there.
Also Read, 7 Tips That Can Help You Adjust To Gym After A Long Break
Overhead Press
Shoulders are a key part of your body. Broad and round shoulders enhance your personality and make you look bigger. Overhead Press is one of the top 5 upper body exercises that is important for the overall growth and muscle gain of the upper body. You can grab a pair of dumbells, sit on a table or chair and start doing the exercise. You can also do the exercise while standing as it will also engage the core.
Pull-Ups
You don’t always need external weights to gain muscles or strength. Bodyweight workouts are one of the best when it comes to gaining strength and getting cuts. Pull-ups activate the entire upper body, add strength to the arms and volume to the back. Several muscles in the back are activated through pull-ups.
All you need to do is find a handle or bar strong enough to take your weight. Hang on it straight and pull yourself up with the help of your arms while concentrating on your back.
Rows
Rows are another great variation for adding mass to the back. They also activate the muscles in the forearm as a secondary effect. Rows help you in building bigger and stronger lats and rhomboids. They also help in improving your posture.
Grab a dumbbell, find a plain but elevated surface, bend down with your back straight and pull the dumbbell up while putting the focus on the lats. You can also do the exercise with resistance bands.
Dips
In order to make your arms look back, you need to build strong and big triceps. Dips are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises to build strong triceps. They are also great for building a big and strong chest. Doing dips regularly increases your upper body strength significantly.
If you can’t find a pair of bar handles, you can do dips on the edge of a chair with the knees bent at 90-degrees or the legs straight out in front of you.
Shoulder Raise Variations
There are a series of shoulder raise variations that you can try to get bigger and rounder shoulders as well as strong and well-shaped traps. These variations will help you in building bigger, stronger delts and you can add serious volume to your upper body using these variations.
These variations include lateral raises, front raises and rear delt flys. These three exercises hit different parts of the lats and help you in adding volume to the edges of the shoulder. You can finish this exercise by 3-4 sets of shrugs.
