The Home Workout Guide
An AWorkoutRoutine.com Creation
Copyright © 2020
All Rights Reserved.
THE HOME WORKOUT GUIDE
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THE HOME WORKOUT GUIDE
DISCLAIMER
&
COPYRIGHT
DISCLAIMER
All content contained herein is for informational use only and is designed solely
for healthy adults. It is not medical or professional advice, it is not meant to be
seen as medical or professional advice, and it should not be used to take the
place of medical or professional advice. You should always consult your doctor
before beginning any diet or workout program or making any changes to your
current diet or workout program.
This document and the content it contains is offered without warranties or
guarantees of any kind. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor
responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any of the information
contained in this document. The user (you) assumes all risk for any injury, loss or
damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by using any
information described herein.
COPYRIGHT
This document and the content it contains is fully protected under copyright and
intellectual property law. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be
reproduced, resold, reprinted or distributed in any form or by any means without
the express written permission of the author. Copyright infringement, trademark
infringement and theft of intellectual property are serious crimes. Copyright
infringement is a felony and civil fines for the conviction of such infringement now
begin at $150,000 per infringement and may also result in up to five years in
prison.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: WHAT MAKES A WORKOUT EFFECTIVE ........................ 11
It Needs To Be Realistically And Consistently Doable For You ................................. 14
It Needs To Be Designed Properly For Your Specific Goals ...................................... 16
It Needs To Be Challenging For You – Progressively So – In Ways That Matter For
Your Specific Goals .................................................................................................... 22
Putting The 3 Keys Together...................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER 2: MOST HOME WORKOUTS ARE SHIT .............................. 34
Workouts That Are Doable, But Useless .................................................................... 36
Workouts That Aren’t Challenging In The Right Ways ............................................... 38
Workouts That Are Challenging, But Unrealistic ........................................................ 41
The Big Point .............................................................................................................. 46
CHAPTER 3: YOU DON’T NEED A “HOME WORKOUT” ....................... 47
What You Need Is An “Effective Workout” ................................................................. 50
CHAPTER 4: THE TWO PROBLEMS....................................................... 54
Lack Of Equipment, Which Limits Exercise Options .................................................. 56
Lack Of Resistance, Which Limits How Challenging Exercises Can Be .................... 57
The Goal: Solving These Problems ........................................................................... 59
CHAPTER 5: HOME WORKOUT EQUIPMENT OPTIONS ...................... 60
Body Weight ............................................................................................................... 62
Resistance Bands ...................................................................................................... 69
Dumbbells .................................................................................................................. 78
My Recommendations For Equipment ....................................................................... 83
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CHAPTER 6: EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT HOME............................... 86
Chest Exercises ......................................................................................................... 89
Back Exercises ........................................................................................................... 91
Shoulder Exercises .................................................................................................... 93
Biceps Exercises ........................................................................................................ 95
Triceps Exercises ....................................................................................................... 96
Quad Exercises .......................................................................................................... 98
Hamstring Exercises ................................................................................................ 100
Glute Exercises ........................................................................................................ 102
Calf Exercises .......................................................................................................... 104
Ab Exercises ............................................................................................................ 105
CHAPTER 7: HOW TO MAKE EXERCISES MORE CHALLENGING .... 107
Add More Resistance ............................................................................................... 109
Do More Reps .......................................................................................................... 114
Do Harder Exercise Variations ................................................................................. 116
Do Single-Limb Exercises ........................................................................................ 117
Use Shorter Rest Periods......................................................................................... 120
Do Slower Reps ....................................................................................................... 122
Combine Different Methods Together ...................................................................... 123
CHAPTER 8: THE WORKOUTS ............................................................. 126
The Beginner Workout Routine ................................................................................ 132
The Muscle Building Workout Routine ..................................................................... 135
The 5-Day Workout Routine ..................................................................................... 142
The Push/Pull/Legs Workout Routine ...................................................................... 148
The 2-Day Full Body Workout Routine ..................................................................... 153
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CHAPTER 9: THE DIET CHAPTER ........................................................ 157
Set Calories .............................................................................................................. 159
Set Your Rate Of Progress....................................................................................... 164
Set Protein ................................................................................................................ 167
Set Fat ...................................................................................................................... 169
Set Carbs ................................................................................................................. 171
Set Micronutrients .................................................................................................... 174
Set Your Pre And Post Workout Meals .................................................................... 176
Set Your Enjoyability And Sustainability .................................................................. 177
CHAPTER 10: WHAT’S NEXT ................................................................ 179
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► INTRODUCTION
Hey there, it’s your internet buddy Jay.
In a minute, we’re going to cover everything you need to know to get
the best results possible without a gym. I think you’re going to like it.
Before we get started, though, there are two quick things I want to tell
you.
FIRST THING: WELCOME!
Welcome to The Home Workout Guide.
The fact that you’re reading this right now is a good indicator that you
value my opinion and trust my advice, and that’s something I take very
seriously. (Also, thank you. It means a lot.)
I’m pointing this out because I want you to know that you’re not just a
“sale” or a “customer” or a “subscriber” or a “page view” or a “reader”
to me.
Rather, you’re someone that I legitimately care about, and the results
you get and the progress you make as a result of the information and
advice I provide is something that I legitimately care about, too.
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I’m telling you this because I want you to have the peace of mind and
confidence in knowing that this goes into every single thing I put out
there… including this book. Hell… especially this book.
Just wanted you to know.
SECOND THING: WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR?
The Home Workout Guide is for people who – wait for it – work out at
home.
Shocking, right? Who could have possibly seen that coming?
Having said that, I want to narrow things down a bit further so you
know exactly who (and what) this guide is (and isn’t) aimed at.
The Home Workout Guide is for…
• People who work out at home with little to no equipment.
If you’re at home with nothing but your own body weight, or some
resistance bands, or some dumbbells, or some similarly limited
amount of equipment, this guide is for you. On the other hand, if
you have an amazing fully stocked home gym with a squat rack, a
barbell with hundreds of pounds of plates, tons of dumbbells, an
adjustable bench, gym-quality machines, a deadlift platform, and
more… you’ll still find this guide useful, but probably not as much.
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• People who want to build muscle and/or gain strength at
home.
If you’re working out at home for the purpose of gaining muscle
and/or getting stronger, this guide is for you. On the other hand, if
you’re training primarily for endurance-oriented goals, or to burn a
few extra calories, or to just “do some exercise” with no real goal
in mind beyond the act itself… you’re still likely to find this guide
useful. However, this type of stuff is definitely not the focus.
• People who want to get “toned” at home (and other code
words for “build muscle”).
I’ve written plenty about how “toned” is just a silly gimmick word
that perpetuates a bunch of weight training myths marketed
towards women. And how all “tone” really is, is a combination of
building some muscle + losing enough fat to make that muscle
more visible. That’s it. That’s tone. Which means if your goal is to
“get toned,” at least part of what you’re actually looking to do is
build muscle. In which case, this guide is for you. (Related
articles: How to Get Toned and The Toning Workout For Women)
• People who want to maintain muscle and strength at home.
If you’re working out at home with the goal of maintaining as much
muscle and strength as possible, this guide is for you. This could
be because fat loss is your primary goal and you want to ensure
you lose fat without losing muscle mass, or because you only
want/need to focus on maintenance for a while.
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• People who normally work out at a gym but need to
temporarily work out at home.
If you normally lift at a gym but you’re currently unable to get to
that gym for some reason, this guide is for you. This could be due
to being on vacation, or being too busy to make it to the gym for a
while, or because a snowstorm is preventing you from driving
anywhere, or – just a wild guess – maybe because your gym is
closed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 😉
With that out of the way… let’s get started.
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CHAPTER 1
What Makes A
Workout Effective
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WHAT MAKES A WORKOUT EFFECTIVE
I want you to take note of something very important in the headline you
see directly above this.
I didn’t say “what makes a home workout effective?”
I said “what makes a workout effective?”
Now why would I be pointing this out, you ask?
Because…
GYM VS HOME: IT DOESN’T MATTER
The proven principles of what makes a workout routine
effective are exactly the same regardless of where your
workouts are taking place or what equipment is being used
in them.
You see, your body doesn’t know or care whether you’re working out in
a big fancy gym or in your own living room.
Your body also doesn’t know or care whether you’re using a barbell,
dumbbells, machines, cables, resistance bands, your own body weight,
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a weighted vest, a suspension trainer, kettlebells, or any other form of
equipment or resistance.
This isn’t the stuff that matters.
This isn’t the stuff that dictates whether your workouts are going to be
effective or not, or if you’re going to get the results you want from
them.
Rather, that all comes down to these 3 keys…
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KEY #1: IT NEEDS TO BE REALISTICALLY
AND CONSISTENTLY DOABLE FOR YOU
Simply put, your workout routine needs to be something you
can/will actually do.
Let me give you a few examples of what that means.
• If your life schedule really only allows you to workout 3 days per
week, but you’re trying to use some 4- or 5-day program… that’s
not going to be realistically or consistently doable for you.
You’ll start missing workouts at some point due to how
inconvenient it is, and you’ll eventually stop working out
altogether.
• If you have some sort of injury (past or present), but the workout
you’re trying to use involves doing something that will be
problematic for that injury… that routine isn’t going to be
realistically or consistently doable for you.
• If you’re at a certain strength or fitness level, but you’re trying to
use some program that involves a lot of stuff you physically can’t
do or shouldn’t even be attempting to do at this stage… then
that’s not going to be realistically or consistently doable for
you.
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There are plenty of other examples like these, but I think you get the
point. And that is, a workout can only be effective if you actually do it.
And do it consistently.
And for a long-enough period of time to produce positive results.
So, regardless of whether you’re using a home workout, or a gym
workout, or the best workout ever created in the entire history of
human civilization, if it’s not realistically and consistently doable
for you, it’s not going to work.
Next…
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KEY #2: IT NEEDS TO BE DESIGNED
PROPERLY FOR YOUR SPECIFIC GOALS
There are many factors involved in designing an effective workout
routine.
This includes:
• Split and Scheduling
This is the structure of your workout routine over the course of a
week. You know… these body parts get trained on Monday, these
body parts get trained on Tuesday, and so on. This also refers to
how you divide up different body parts over the course of those
days. For example, the full body split, upper/lower split, and
push/pull/legs split are three of the most popular ways to do it.
• Frequency
This is how often you train each muscle group, and it goes handin-hand with the split you’re using. For example, if you train legs
every Monday, you’re training them with a frequency of once per
week. If you train legs on Monday and Thursday, the frequency
is twice per week. And if you train legs Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday, that’s a frequency of three times per week.
• Volume
This is how much work (i.e. sets, reps, exercises) you’re doing for
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each muscle group. It needs to considered with frequency in mind,
because the more often you’re training a muscle group, the less
volume you should be doing in each session to avoid running into
issues with recovery and/or overuse injuries. And the less often
you’re training each muscle group, the more volume you should
be doing each session to provide enough of a training stimulus to
be effective. Your goal is to find the sweet spot between not doing
enough, and doing too much that it becomes detrimental. (Related
article: The Optimal Volume Range)
• Intensity
Intensity is how challenging your sets are for you. It’s dependent
on a few factors (see the next two bullet points), the most obvious
of which is how much resistance you’re using and how heavy it is
for you. For example, if you’re doing some exercise with an
amount of weight that only allows you to perform 3-5 reps, that’s a
pretty high intensity. On the other hand, if you’re using an amount
of weight that allows you to perform 15-20 reps, that’s a lower
intensity in comparison. (Related article: Weight Training Intensity)
• Rep Ranges
This is how many reps you do in a set. It goes hand-in-hand with
intensity, as the intensity affects the rep range (i.e. the higher the
intensity and the heavier the resistance, the fewer reps you’re
going to be able to do… and vice versa). At the same time, the
rep range also affects the intensity. For example, when an
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exercise in your workout says to do X reps per set, that means
you’ll need to use an appropriate amount of resistance to perform
that number of reps.
• Failure
Failure is a term used to describe the point in a set where you are
unable to complete a rep without worsening your form (e.g. using
momentum, reducing your range of motion, etc.) or getting
assistance (e.g. a spotter helping you). So, you try to complete a
rep, but the muscle groups being trained are simply too fatigued to
complete it and you end up failing during the attempt. Failure is an
important factor of intensity, because regardless of how many
reps you’re aiming for (be it 5 or 25), or what amount of resistance
is being used (light weight or heavy weight), how close you get to
failure is the best indicator of how challenging that set was for
you. More about this later. (Related article: Training To Failure)
• Rest Periods
This is how long you rest between each set of an exercise. 30-60
seconds (or less) is generally considered short, 1-2 minutes is
considered moderate, and 3-4 minutes (or more) is considered
long. (Related article: How Long To Rest Between Sets)
• Exercise Selection
This is which exercises (e.g. for which muscle group), category of
exercises (e.g. compound vs isolation, free weights vs machines
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vs body weight, dumbbell vs barbell, etc.), and movement pattern
(e.g. horizontal push, vertical pull, etc.) you choose for each
workout in your overall routine. The goal is to choose exercises
that suit your goals, needs, and preferences, and allow you to
safely train the target muscle group(s) in a way that provides the
stimulus you’re looking for. (Related article: Selecting Weight
Training Exercises)
• Exercise Order
This is the order in which you perform the exercises in a workout.
Generally speaking, you want to put the harder, more technical,
and/or more physically taxing exercises earlier in a workout when
you’re fresher, and everything else somewhere later in the
workout. (Related article: How To Arrange The Exercises In Your
Workout)
• Proper Form
Form technically isn’t a part of a workout’s design, but it’s
definitely a big part of its effectiveness. Because if you’re doing
exercises with bad form, not only does the risk of injury greatly
increase (and it’s tough for a workout to be effective when you’re
injured and unable to actually do the workout), but you probably
won’t be effectively training the target muscle group, either.
(Related article: How To Learn Proper Form)
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• Progression
This is how you adjust things over time to gradually increase the
training stimulus your workout is providing, thereby ensuring it
continues to be challenging and effective for you. Much more
about this in a minute (see Key #3).
• And more.
There are other factors to take into account when designing an
effective training program, but the components listed above are
the major ones. (Related guide: How To Create A Workout
Routine)
You don’t need to worry too much about this stuff at the moment,
because I’ll be including workouts later in this guide that will put it all
together for you.
I just want to make sure you’re familiar with the basics, because this
info will come in handy along the way.
For right now, though, there are two main things I want you to know:
1. Your home workout needs to be designed well enough to be
effective.
Yes, the closer to “optimal” each of the factors on the list above
are adjusted to be, the better your results will be. This is true, and
making everything “optimal” is something I’ve written an entire
book about (Superior Muscle Growth). In the end, though, you
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don’t need to lose your mind obsessing over every minor detail in
an attempt get it all perfect. You do, however, need to make sure
things are designed effectively enough to work. Otherwise… it
won’t.
2. Your home workout needs to be designed specifically for the
goals you care about.
While there is sometimes enough overlap between different goals
for a routine aimed at one thing to still work okay for another thing,
the fact remains that the best results will come when you’re using
a workout that’s designed specifically for the goal you’re trying to
achieve. So, for example, if the main goal of your home workout is
to build muscle, you shouldn’t be using an endurance workout, or
a cardio workout, or a fat loss workout, or even a strength
workout. You should be using a muscle building workout.
Everything else will either not work as well, or not work at all.
And finally…
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KEY #3: IT NEEDS TO BE CHALLENGING
FOR YOU – PROGRESSIVELY SO – IN
WAYS THAT MATTER FOR YOUR SPECIFIC
GOALS
You’re going to want to pay extra attention to this one.
The act of “working out” – in and of itself – isn’t going to do much for
you.
Even if you’re super consistent, design most of the programming
components (split, volume, frequency, etc.) as optimally as possible,
and you have all of the best equipment in the world available to you…
your workout routine will still fail to be effective if this final key is
missing.
And that key is this: your workouts need to be challenging for you –
progressively so – in ways that matter for your specific goals.
Let me break down exactly what this means, part by part, so it’s as
clear as possible…
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WHAT DOES “CHALLENGING FOR YOU” MEAN?
All of the physical improvements you want to make – more muscle,
more strength, less fat – they’re all adaptive responses from your
body that occur only when you give it a reason to adapt and
improve in these ways.
For example, when you create a caloric deficit (aka eating fewer
calories than you burn), you give your body a reason to start burning
your stored fat for energy instead. And thus, fat loss occurs as your
body’s adaptive response to the presence of a caloric deficit.
But if that deficit doesn’t exist, nothing happens.
So, how does this apply to your workouts?
MAKING WORKOUTS CHALLENGING
It’s simple.
You need to make your workouts challenging enough to
produce a stimulus that gives your body a reason to adapt
and improve the way you want it to.
If your workouts fail to provide that stimulus, nothing happens.
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You become one of the countless people who “work out” regularly and
get little to no results from it (which is the case with most home
workouts, as you’ll see in a minute).
So, the question is, how do you make your workouts challenging
enough to create this stimulus?
Well, many of the programming factors we covered earlier play
important roles in making it happen. However, when it comes to goals
like building muscle, gaining strength, or just maintaining your muscle
and strength, there is one factor at the top of the list: intensity.
Specifically, the biggest determining factor of how challenging
your workouts are is how close you get to “failure” during your
sets.
Here’s what that means…
GETTING CLOSE ENOUGH TO FAILURE
As you may remember from a minute ago, failure is the point in a set
where you can no longer complete a rep.
So, let’s say you’re aiming to do a set of 8 reps:
• 1st rep… no problem.
• 2nd rep… no problem.
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• 3rd rep… no problem.
• 4th rep… getting harder.
• 5th rep… even harder now.
• 6th rep… pretty damn hard.
• 7th rep… extremely hard.
• And then you attempt the 8th rep… you try really hard… maybe
you struggle with it for a few seconds… maybe you even move
the weight part of the distance it needs to go… and
then… nothing. You failed to complete the 8th rep.
That’s an example of failure.
And in order for a set of an exercise to be considered
“challenging” for you, you need to get pretty close to that
point of failure.
No, you don’t need to fully reach that point and actually fail during
every set of every exercise in every workout in your routine.
That would have a negative effect on your performance in subsequent
sets/exercises in the same workout, and a negative effect on your
overall performance and recovery in general, which would hinder or
even prevent progress.
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Not to mention, depending on what exercise you’re going to failure on
(e.g. bench press, squats, deadlifts vs triceps extensions, biceps curls,
lateral raises), going all the way to the point of failure can be
dangerous.
So, rather than aiming to reach failure all the time, you want to
aim to get within 1-3 reps of that point the majority of the time.
And if you occasionally reach failure from time to time? That’s fine as
long as you’re 1) safe about it, 2) not making it your goal, and 3) not
doing it too often. It’s pretty much bound to happen at some point,
intentionally or not.
NOT GETTING CLOSE ENOUGH TO FAILURE
Alright, so, you know that your workouts (home or gym) need to be
challenging enough in order to be effective.
You also know that the best determinant of being “challenging enough”
is how close you’re getting to failure during your sets. And you know
that, in most cases, this means getting within 1-3 reps of reaching
failure.
With me so far? Cool.
Here’s an example of what not to do.
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If you’re doing some exercise with some amount of resistance where
you could probably get 15-20 reps (or more) before reaching failure,
but you only do 10 reps (or less)… that set isn’t challenging enough
for you.
In an example like this, you would need to either do more than 10 reps
so you end up in the 15-20 range and get within 1-3 reps of reaching
failure, or you need to increase the resistance so that when you do 10
reps, that’s now putting you within 1-3 reps of failure.
More about all that later.
WHAT DOES “PROGRESSIVELY SO” MEAN?
The next part of Key #3 (“Your workouts need to be challenging for you
– progressively so – in ways that matter for your specific goals.”) is the
“progressively so” part.
What does that mean exactly?
Well, you know how your workouts need to be challenging enough to
give your body a reason to adapt the way you want it to (i.e. more
muscle, more strength, etc.)?
When those adaptations occur, the workout stimulus that caused
them to happen is no longer challenging enough to cause
additional adaptations.
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And that will mean something different for you depending on what your
goals are. Let me explain.
MAINTAINING MUSCLE AND STRENGTH
If the goal of your home workouts is to maintain the muscle and
strength you already have, then this fact isn’t a problem for you.
Rather, it’s exactly what you’re aiming for.
Once your home workouts are at a point where they are
challenging enough for you (i.e. you’re going to within 1-3 reps of
failure in pretty much every set of every exercise), all you need to
do to maintain your current levels of muscle and strength
is maintain that stimulus.
So, whatever amount of resistance you’re using for each exercise, and
whatever amount of reps you’re doing in each set with that amount of
resistance… maintain that.
Maintaining the stimulus maintains the adaptions it caused. And since
maintaining is your goal, that’s exactly what you want.
But wait, I know what you’re thinking now.
“What if I want to do more than just maintain progress?”
In that case…
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BUILDING MUSCLE AND/OR GAINING STRENGTH
If the goal of your home workouts is to make progress – specifically
build muscle and/or gain strength – then your job is a bit different.
You’ll need to make your workouts more and more challenging
over time so your body has a reason to continue to adapt and
improve the way you want it to.
And that brings us to a little something called…
THE PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD PRINCIPLE
In order for muscle or strength to be gained, your body must be
forced to adapt to a stimulus that is above and beyond what it
has previously experienced.
Go ahead and read that again. It’s pretty important.
And what it means is, if you use the same amount of resistance, for the
same number of reps, the same way, for the next 20 years… nothing
new will happen.
Your body won’t change or improve. No new muscle will be built. No
new strength will be gained. No new adaptations will occur.
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As I mentioned a minute ago, you’ll only maintain your current state.
However, if you increase the demands you are placing on your body by
increasing the amount of resistance, or doing additional reps with the
same amount of resistance, or doing something within your workouts
that increases the stimulus your body needs to adapt to, then your
body will adapt accordingly.
Or, to put that another way:
Making your workouts challenging enough for you is what
makes them effective. Gradually making them more
challenging over time is what ensures they remain effective
and continue to produce the results you want.
Additional details here: The Progressive Overload Principle
WHAT DOES “IN WAYS THAT MATTER FOR YOUR
SPECIFIC GOALS” MEAN?
And now for the final part of Key #3 (“Your workouts need to be
challenging for you – progressively so – in ways that matter for your
specific goals.”)… the “in ways that matter for your specific goals” part.
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It should be pretty clear by now that your home workouts need to be
challenging for you.
I’ve hopefully made this point really clear? Like… annoyingly so? Such
that if I mentioned it again, you might start yelling “ALRIGHT! I GET IT!
ENOUGH ALREADY!” at your screen?
Perfect. 😉
The thing is, though, “challenging” is a fairly board and subjective term
that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
And therein lies a big problem.
CHALLENGING IN THE WRONG WAYS
You see, it’s possible for workouts to be “challenging” for you in
ways that aren’t actually relevant to the stimulus that’s needed for
the goals you’re trying to achieve.
For example, we know that when it comes to goals like building
muscle, gaining strength, or maintaining muscle/strength, the specific
form of “challenging” we’re looking for entails going to within 1-3 reps
of failure during our sets.
That’s challenging in the right way.
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However, you can do endurance workouts that will be challenging in
other ways.
And cardio workouts that will be challenging in other ways.
And fat loss workouts that will be challenging in other ways.
And all kinds of different workouts that will make you work hard, get
sweaty, be out of breath, and feel tired and sore afterwards.
And you may perceive this as being “challenging” for you. And it may
very well be.
But this stuff isn’t challenging for you in ways that matter to the
goals you care about.
Which means it’s not the kind of “challenging” that will work.
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PUTTING THE 3 KEYS TOGETHER
Here’s what we know so far.
In order for your home workouts to be effective, they need to be:
• Realistically and consistently doable for you.
• Designed properly for your specific goals.
• Challenging for you – progressively so – in ways that matter for
your specific goals.
And that brings us to an interesting question.
Do most home workouts get all of this stuff right?
And the answer is… hahahahahahahahahahhhahahahhahah.
Sorry, let me try that again.
And the answer is… hell no.
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CHAPTER 2
Most Home Workouts
Are Shit
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MOST HOME WORKOUTS ARE SHIT
The unfortunate reality is that most of the home workouts you find on
major fitness websites, popular social media accounts, well known
workout apps, and inside expensive memberships and programs from
your favorite “experts” will fail to get ANY of our 3 keys right, let alone
all of them.
Don’t believe me?
I’ll show you.
Let’s take a look at the three most common categories of home
workouts and see what they get right, what they get wrong, and why
you should avoid all of them.
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1. WORKOUTS THAT ARE DOABLE, BUT
USELESS
These are workouts that can easily be done at home, but take little to
nothing into account in terms of actually being challenging or effective.
Rather, they seem to be designed for the sole purpose of being
“something you can do in your house” and literally nothing more
than that.
They’re often a random collection of exercises that everyone will be
able to easily perform at home with little to no equipment.
For example… some body weight squats. Some push-ups on a chair.
Plenty of ab stuff. Some biceps curls and triceps extensions while
holding a soup can. Maybe some glute bridges and “toning exercises”
if it’s aimed at women. And so on.
These workouts are short, extremely convenient, and as simple as it
gets.
And this is quite appealing to people, which is great.
But the only problem is, they’re shit.
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WHY THEY’RE SHIT
• They completely ignore most/all programming factors.
• They don’t care about resistance or whether any form of it is even
being used in the first place.
• There’s no focus whatsoever on progressive overload.
• They won’t be remotely challenging for the vast majority of people.
For all of these reasons, home workouts in this category will fail to
even come close to providing the stimulus needed for goals like
gaining or maintaining muscle and/or strength for anyone but the most
out of shape complete beginner.
And even then, the ceiling for progress will be extremely low.
Simply put, these workouts are nothing more than a useless list of
easy things that can be done at home.
No thanks.
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2. WORKOUTS THAT AREN’T
CHALLENGING IN THE RIGHT WAYS
This is a step up from the previous category of workouts, because now
there’s actually some attempt being made at making things
challenging.
The problem, however, is that this comes in the form of a stimulus
that isn’t suitable for goals like gaining (or maintaining) muscle
and strength.
For example, these kinds of home workouts will often involve doing a
lot of stuff back to back to back, in supersets or circuits, with little rest
in between.
So maybe something like:
• 10 body weight squats, followed by…
• 20 crunches, followed by…
• 15 burpees, followed by…
• 12 glute bridges, followed by…
• 10 push-ups, followed by…
• 15 jumping jacks, followed by…
• 10 lunges, followed by…
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• 4 calling birds, followed by…
• 3 French hens, followed by…
• 12 dips, followed by…
• 15 bent over rows while holding a gallon of milk, followed by…
• 12 kettlebell swings, followed by…
• 30-second plank, followed by…
• Even more burpees, followed by…
• Banging your head against a wall 20 times.
And then repeat for 5 rounds. Or whatever.
Now, sure, this sort of workout will burn a few extra calories… which is
lovely if that’s what you’re going for.
And yes, it will make you sweaty and tired and fatigued and feel like
you did something useful by the end of it… which is terrific if that’s
what you’re going for.
And yup, it will provide some degree of cardiovascular/endurance
training stimulus… which is wonderful if that’s what you’re going for.
And I guess if you’re unable to get to the gym for a few days or if you
went on vacation for a week or something like that, and you’re looking
to get some form of physical activity done in your living room or hotel
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room just for the sake of doing something… then this is surely better
than nothing at all (by how much is debatable).
But for goals like gaining/maintaining muscle and strength, it’s shit.
WHY IT’S SHIT
Like the previous category of workouts, there is often little to no
attention being paid to resistance, progressive overload, or making
exercises challenging enough to matter.
And yes, they may be challenging cardiovascularly, but we
need our home workouts to be challenging muscularly.
That’s a very important difference.
And while these kinds of workouts sometimes have some degree of
intelligent programming behind them (for certain factors, at least), it’s
pretty rare, and it’s still not good enough to make it effective.
Workouts like these are basically a bunch of “exercises you can do at
home” thrown together in a way that will burn some extra calories and
provide an endurance/cardio stimulus, but do little to nothing for
providing the muscle and strength gaining stimulus we truly need.
No thanks.
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3. WORKOUTS THAT ARE CHALLENGING,
BUT UNREALISTIC
Then we have a category of home workouts that understands the
importance of making things challenging in a non-cardio type of way.
Hooray!
The only problem is, the approach to making things challenging is
mostly (if not entirely) done by doing really advanced and/or “cool”
variations of exercises.
I’m talking about stuff like:
• Handstand push-ups.
• Pistol squats.
• Weighted pull-ups from the top of your door.
• 1-arm push-ups.
• Inverted rows using your kitchen table.
• Inverted rows using a broomstick balanced on top of two chairs.
• Dips using two chairs.
• Dragon flags.
• Nordic hamstring curls.
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• Bulgarian split squat jumps.
• Fancy looking gymnastic stuff.
• And so on.
Yes, some of these can be great exercises (and I’ll even recommend a
few of them later).
And yes, they are much more challenging and potentially more ideal
for goals like gaining (or maintaining) muscle and strength than the
typical super easy body weight nonsense you normally come across in
home workouts.
But the problem is, while this sort of stuff will be perfectly fine for
some people, it’s not going to be realistically doable for many
others.
Here’s why.
WHY IT’S UNREALISTIC FOR MANY PEOPLE
For starters, some of this stuff is flat out stupid and dangerous, and
should never be attempted by anyone, ever.
I don’t care what your favorite Instagram fitness dipshit
recommended, inverted rows from a broomstick balanced on the
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top of two chairs and held in place via sheer luck alone is stupid
and dangerous.
And even ignoring the stupid/dangerous stuff, a lot of these types of
workouts are aimed more at training for certain physical skills (or
maybe just the ability to do stuff that looks cool) rather than for the
goals we actually care about.
In addition, many people won’t be physically able to do a lot of these
kinds of exercises right now or anytime soon (and for some, maybe
ever).
And in the cases where a person could start out with easier variations
and gradually work up to the harder stuff over time, many just aren’t
going to want to do that.
That’s not the fault of these kinds of workouts, but it’s still the reality of
the situation.
Take me, for example.
I’ve been lifting for 15+ years and I’ve done all kinds of physically
demanding, technically challenging exercises during that time, yet I
have no desire to ever attempt a handstand push-up.
I mean, it looks cool, but no thanks.
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Just saying.
I also don’t think my joints will be too happy with some of this stuff,
especially over the long-term.
And honestly, I’m a really big fan of the fact that my doors are able to
open and close, so I’m not too interested in ruining that functionality by
hanging from the top of them to do pull-ups.
And yes, I know this is all “just me,” but there’s going to be a lot of
people who feel the same way.
IT’S USEFUL AS ONE OPTION OF MANY
Now, don’t get me wrong here. Doing harder variations of exercises is
one of many good approaches that can be used to make your home
workouts more challenging.
You’re actually going to see me recommend this very approach later in
this guide as one of the many different options I think are good for
this purpose.
And that’s the problem with this category of workouts.
Harder variations aren’t one of the options. It’s the main option at the
very foundation of the workouts themselves.
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And while that will surely suit some people, it’s not going to be
realistically or consistently doable for most.
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THE BIG POINT
As you can see here, the majority of the home workouts you come
across are going to range somewhere between “not so good” and
“complete and utter garbage.”
They either won’t be realistically and consistently doable for you, or
they won’t be designed properly for your specific goals, or they won’t
be challenging for you – progressively so – in ways that matter for your
specific goals.
Or, all of the above.
And that brings us to the next question.
If most home workouts are shit, how the hell do you find one that gets
everything right?
That’s easy! You don’t.
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CHAPTER 3
You Don’t Need A
“Home Workout”
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YOU DON’T NEED A “HOME WORKOUT”
I want you to do me a favor.
Starting right now, I want you to forgot the concept of “gym workouts”
and “home workouts.” Instead, the only thing I want you to care about
is “effective workouts” and “ineffective workouts.”
Because here’s the big underlying problem.
Most home workouts are too focused on the “home” aspect of
things, and not enough (if at all) on actually being effective
workouts.
As you saw in my examples above, the majority of home workouts fail
to do what’s needed to be effective, all in favor of being something
that’s well suited to being done at home.
That’s always focus #1.
And, at best, actually being effective is the secondary focus.
Sorry, but no.
That’s a fundamental mistake, and it’s time for us to fix it once and for
all.
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How so, you ask?
By flipping that focus around.
We’re going to START with an effective workout routine –
literally any effective workout routine that gets all 3 keys
right – and then we’re going to make some adjustments to
it so it becomes something you’ll be able to do at home.
Taaadaaa!
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WHAT YOU NEED IS AN “EFFECTIVE
WORKOUT”
So, what’s needed here isn’t a home workout. It’s an effective workout.
Because, in the end…
An effective workout + some adjustments to suit your specific needs for
working out at home = an effective home workout.
That’s the correct way to approach this, and that’s exactly how we’re
going to do it.
So, let’s begin with the “effective workout” part of this equation.
You have four options:
1. CONTINUE USING THE ONE YOU WERE
ALREADY USING AT THE GYM
If you’re someone that normally works out at a gym but is now working
out at home for whatever reason, this is super easy: stick with the
same workout routine you were already using.
As long as it’s well-designed and fits our description of an “effective
workout,” you can simply continue using that same routine.
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2. DESIGN ONE YOURSELF
I’ve written an entire guide about how to design an effective workout
routine for building muscle or gaining strength. And it’s completely free.
Check it out here: How To Design A Workout Routine
In addition, my guide to building muscle (also free) will be useful for
this purpose, too.
It’s here: How To Build Muscle: The 15 Step Guide
And my book (not free, but currently 40% off so it’s more affordable to
anyone looking to purchase it while COVID-19 makes everything
terrible) covers all of this as well: Superior Muscle Growth
3. FIND ONE DESIGNED BY SOMEONE
TRUSTWORTHY AND KNOWLEDGEABLE
The fitness industry is filled with people who are the opposite of
trustworthy and knowledgeable, so this option is easier said than done.
But there are definitely a bunch of great coaches and trainers out there
with some very well-designed workout programs, many of which are
available for free.
If you can find them, then by all means feel free to use one of those.
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4. USE ONE OF MINE
And now for the easiest option of all.
Below is a list of some of the workout routines I’ve put out over the
years. All you have to do is pick one that fits your experience level,
available schedule, and personal preferences…
• The Beginner Workout Routine
This is the basic program I most often recommend to beginners.
It’s free.
• The Muscle Building Workout Routine
This is one of my most popular intermediate workouts. It’s free.
• The 5-Day Workout Routine
Here’s another option for mid/late intermediates and advanced
trainees. It’s free.
• Sample Push/Pull/Legs Workout
I wrote a complete guide to the push/pull/legs split and included a
sample workout at the end of it. It’s free.
• Sample Full Body Workouts
I wrote a complete guide to the full body split and included a few
sample workouts at the end of it. It’s free.
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• Sample Upper/Lower Workout
I wrote a complete guide to the upper/lower split and included a
sample workout at the end of it. It’s free.
• Superior Muscle Growth
This is the only not-free option on this list (although again, it’s
currently 40% off until the world is back to normal). But if you’re
looking for additional workouts and options to choose from,
Superior Muscle Growth contains plenty of them.
(Spoiler Alert: I’m going to be including home-friendly versions of
many of these workouts later in this guide. Stay tuned.)
So now you either have your “effective workout” picked out, or you at
least know how to find or design one after you finish reading this guide.
Awesome!
That means step #1 is complete.
Now for step #2: adapting that “effective workout” into an
“effective workout you can do at home.”
And that brings us to a little something I call…
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CHAPTER 4
The Two Problems
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THE TWO PROBLEMS
“No gym? No problem!”
Ever see that phrase before?
It makes for a cute little saying, doesn’t it?
And it sounds great as the slogan for some kind of home workout
product or program.
And it looks super cool as a hashtag on a relevant social media post.
But, “no gym, no problem” isn’t actually true.
There are, in fact, two major problems with working out at home
instead of a gym.
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PROBLEM #1: LACK OF EQUIPMENT,
WHICH LIMITS EXERCISE OPTIONS
At a gym, you have access to a ton of equipment.
• Various barbells with thousands of pounds of plates.
• Tons of dumbbells that may start as low at 2 lbs and go as high as
150 lbs.
• Multiple machines from multiple brands for every single body part.
• Squat racks.
• Deadlift platforms.
• Adjustable benches.
• Pull-up bars, dip bars, and assisted pull-up/dip machines.
• All of the handles, attachments, and accessories you could ever
need.
• And on and on and on.
Your options are endless. You can do every exercise or variation of
exercise there is for every body part. The world is your oyster.
At home, however, it’s the opposite. You have very little equipment
available (if any at all), which significantly limits your exercise options.
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PROBLEM #2: LACK OF RESISTANCE,
WHICH LIMITS HOW CHALLENGING
EXERCISES CAN BE
At a gym, you have unlimited potential for progressing, as you have
unlimited amounts of resistance conveniently available to you that can
be added or removed however you want, whenever you want.
For example, at the gym, if an exercise isn’t challenging enough
for you, you can just add more weight.
That might mean adding 5 more pounds to the bar, or going up the
next weight in dumbbells, or putting the pin in a heavier weight
increment in the machine’s stack.
It’s as quick and easy as can be, and you can keep adding weight as
often as you need to for as long as you need to with infinite room to
continue making progress.
Which means, you’re able to instantly make each exercise exactly as
challenging for you as you need it to be, and gradually increase that
over time.
At home, however, it’s the opposite.
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You have a very limited amount of resistance available, and limited
options for increasing that resistance.
This makes it significantly harder for you to make exercises as
challenging as you need them to be or progress at them over time.
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THE GOAL: SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS
And so, our goal is now clear.
Once you have an effective workout routine ready to go, adapting it
into something you can do at home will be a matter of:
1. Replacing the exercises you can’t do with similar variations
you can do using the equipment you have available at
home.
2. Finding ways to make each exercise as challenging as you
need it to be right now, and then progressively more
challenging over time.
With that in mind… let’s get down to business.
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CHAPTER 5
Home Workout
Equipment Options
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HOME WORKOUT EQUIPMENT OPTIONS
The first place to start is with equipment.
The three main “home-friendly” options are:
1. Body Weight
2. Resistance Bands
3. Dumbbells
Let’s take a look at each, see what their pros and cons are, and figure
out which will be best for you.
I’ll be including my own recommendations along the way.
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BODY WEIGHT
Your own body weight is, well, your own body weight. And it’s usually
the first option people turn to when working out at home.
Like most things, it has pros and cons.
PROS OF BODY WEIGHT TRAINING
• It’s free.
• You already have it.
• It doesn’t take up any extra space, so you don’t need to find a
closet, basement, or garage to store it in (unless you’re a serial
killer).
• Some exercise options will require nothing but yourself and the
floor, or a chair, or a couch, or a wall, or some other basic item
you probably already have.
• You can make things more challenging by progressing to harder
variations of the same exercise (e.g. from push-ups on your
knees, to full push-ups, to push-ups with your feet elevated).
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CONS OF BODY WEIGHT TRAINING
• Exercise options are extremely limited for many body parts
without buying some accessories.
• Some exercises won’t be doable for certain people because their
body weight is more than they can lift.
• Certain options will be too hard or unrealistic for many people
regardless of their body weight or strength levels.
• Creating enough resistance to make things challenging (and then
adding more over time) is trickier with body weight training than
with any other form of equipment, and will require some additional
accessories. Speaking of which…
USEFUL ACCESSORIES TO IMPROVE BODY
WEIGHT TRAINING
There are a handful of items you can purchase to give yourself more
options for exercises, as well as options for making body weight
exercises more challenging.
For example:
• Suspension trainer.
This will give you quite a few additional options compared to just
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having your body weight alone. TRX is probably the most popular
brand, but there are plenty of other similar (and often cheaper)
alternatives. (Here are some examples on Amazon.)
• Pull-up bar.
Allows you to do exercises like pull-ups and chin-ups, and also
provides an anchor point above you which can be used in
conjunction with other equipment (such as a suspension trainer).
(Here are some examples on Amazon.)
• Dip stand.
Dips are known to bother a lot of people’s shoulders (mine
included), but if you don’t have any issues, it can be a good chest,
shoulder, and triceps exercise. (Here are some examples on
Amazon.)
• Inverted row bars.
Allows you to do horizontal pulling exercises (aka rows) for the
back. Certain dip stands can double as inverted row bars (or vice
versa), so that would be something to keep in mind if you’re
looking to do both types of exercises. (Here are some examples
on Amazon.)
• Pull-up/dip belt.
This allows you to add resistance to exercises like pull-ups and
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dips. You’d also need to buy some weight to put on the belt. (Here
are some examples on Amazon.)
• Weighted vest.
This will allow you to add resistance to most body weight
exercises for both the upper body (push-ups, inverted rows, dips,
pull-ups, various suspension trainer exercises, etc.) and lower
body (squats, split squats, lunges, step-ups, etc.). (Here are some
examples on Amazon.)
• Resistance bands.
Bands can be used a few ways during body weight exercises. For
example, they can be used to increase the resistance during
exercises where your body weight alone isn’t challenging enough
(e.g. push-ups, squats, etc.). Bands can also be used
to decrease the resistance during exercises where your own body
weight is too heavy for you (such as when doing band-assisted
pull-ups). (Here are some examples on Amazon.)
ARE THESE ACCESSORIES REQUIRED?
Now… do you have to buy any of this stuff?
That would depend on whether you have any other equipment
available.
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So, let me ask you this: in addition to your own body weight, do you
also have resistance bands or dumbbells available?
If you don’t, and all you have is your own body weight, then my
answer is yes… you will need to buy at least some other
accessories.
Just your own body weight and literally nothing more is simply not
going to cut it for anyone serious about gaining (or maintaining) muscle
and strength at home.
On the other hand…
If you do have bands or dumbbells available as well, then these
body weight accessories become much less important and much
less necessary.
They’d still give you plenty of additional options, which means they’d
still be beneficial. So if you happen to have the space, money, and
interest in any of the stuff on that list, feel free to get whatever you’d
like.
But if not, you’ll be fine as long as you have bands or dumbbells to
cover most of your bases.
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HOMEMADE BODY WEIGHT ACCESSORIES
If you’re creative enough, you can create your own useful body weight
accessories to replicate some of the stuff on the list above.
My favorite example of this is a backpack filled with weight (e.g.
books, canned food, etc.) which can be used like a weighted vest.
(More about this later.)
You can also hold the backpack in your hand(s) and use it for a variety
of other exercises. Everything from lateral raises, to goblet squats, to
biceps curls, to overhead triceps extensions, to bent over rows, and on
and on and on.
Other types of bags (tote bags, duffel bags, etc.) can be similarly
useful.
Another popular homemade option is to use towels or a bed
sheet the same way you’d use a suspension trainer like TRX. Search
around and you’ll find plenty of examples for how to anchor this sort of
stuff to a door for this purpose.
Then there are options like using your kitchen table to do inverted
rows, or putting two chairs next to each other to do dips, or using a tree
branch in your yard (or monkey bars at a playground) to do pull-ups,
and so on.
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The more creative you are, the more options you’ll find.
Just one thing to keep in mind, though… be smart and be safe.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of the cool looking homemade options you’ll
come across are stupid and/or dangerous. Always use common sense
and err on the side of caution when attempting certain “creative”
options.
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RESISTANCE BANDS
Another very popular form of home-friendly equipment is resistance
bands.
There are three main types to consider:
1. LOOP BANDS
Loop bands are closed on all sides, kinda like a giant rubber band.
They fall somewhere between moderate and long when it comes to
length, and they are typically the most heavy-duty, the most durable,
and the one capable of providing the most resistance.
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They’re usually sold individually, though you can find them in sets as
well.
You’ll often see these bands used for band-assisted pull-ups (when
body weight alone is too heavy for you) and in powerlifting training to
add a certain kind of resistance to barbell exercises like bench press
and squats.
However, they are quite versatile and can be used in a variety of ways
for all kinds of upper body and lower body exercises.
2. MINI BANDS
Mini bands are basically small versions of the loop bands described
above, as they are also closed on all sides.
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The main difference is that mini bands are the shortest type of band
(hence the “mini”), and the one that typically provides the least amount
of resistance.
They’re usually sold as a set, where you’d get a few different bands, in
different colors, that provide different amounts of resistance.
Due to the short length of mini bands, you’ll most often see them used
for lower body training, especially glute-focused movements. They
can be used for other types of exercises as well, but that’s not really
their ideal usage.
3. TUBE BANDS WITH HANDLES
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Unlike loop bands and mini bands, tube bands are open on the ends
and have a handle on each side.
In terms of length, they range between moderate and long. And in
terms of resistance, it varies. On average, I’d put them above mini
bands, but not quite as heavy as loop bands. But again, it varies.
Similar to mini bands, tube bands are usually sold as a set of different
color bands, each of which provides a different amount of resistance.
One major added bonus with these types of bands is that they
are easily stackable. Meaning, you can use multiple tube bands
together (it’s as simple as clipping an additional band onto the
handles), which means you have significantly more resistance
available than just the amount a single band provides.
For example, if you add a 20 lb band with a 30 lb band, it’s like you
have a 50 lb band. And if you add an actual 50 lb band on to that, it’s
like you have a 100 lb band.
Another bonus of tube bands is that they often include a few useful
accessories along with the set:
• Door anchor attachment.
This allows you to anchor the bands to any spot on your door (at
the top, in the middle, at the bottom, or anywhere in between),
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which gives you a ton of additional options and really just
improves the whole experience of working out with bands.
• Ankle attachments.
This allows you to connect the band to your ankles, which gives
you a bunch of additional options for lower body training (and
makes things more comfortable and convenient).
Between the handles, the length, the door attachment, the ankle
attachment, the resistance, and the ability to combine bands together
to get even more resistance, tube bands like these are the most
versatile of the group.
PROS OF RESISTANCE BANDS
The “pros” will vary depending on which type of band we’re talking
about, but here’s an overall list for resistance bands in general:
• As affordable as it gets when it comes to home workout
equipment.
• Takes up very little space – you can fit a whole set of bands in a
small bag – which makes it super easy to store or even travel
with.
• Plenty of exercise options for every body part.
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• Plenty of room for adding resistance and progressing over time.
• Can be used to add additional resistance to body weight
exercises.
• Often comes in a set with additional bands.
• Often comes with additional accessories.
CONS OF RESISTANCE BANDS
Again, this will vary depending on which type of band we’re talking
about, but here’s an overall “cons” list for resistance bands in general:
• The resistance isn’t consistent throughout the rep. Meaning, the
more stretched the band is, the more resistance it’s providing (and
vice versa). So, there will be a ton of resistance at the end of a
rep, but significantly less at the beginning.
• The elasticity can potentially decrease over time from lots of
usage. (Although, the price point is low enough where it shouldn’t
be too big of an issue to replace them down the road if you ever
needed to.)
• Bands that are poorly made (or just used in stupid ways) can
potentially snap at some point.
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ADVICE FOR BUYING RESISTANCE BANDS
When it comes to buying bands, my advice is to:
• Get multiple bands that provide different amounts of resistance.
• Get bands that provide significant resistance individually.
• Get bands that provide even more resistance when combined with
other bands in the set (if they are tube style) or folded
over/doubled up (if they are loop style).
• Get bands that include a door anchor attachment (if they are tube
style).
Let me give you an example of how to put this advice into action.
I bought this set of tube bands with handles on Amazon. If you check it
out, you’ll see that it comes as a set of 5 bands along with the handles,
a door attachment, and ankle attachments. (And yup, it all fits in that
small bag.)
In terms of resistance, many of the tube-style bands I’ve seen come in
a set where the “heaviest” band provides 20-30 lbs of resistance.
These go up to 50 lbs. And that also means the “lighter” bands in the
set are heavier, too.
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For example, bands like these sometimes come in a set of something
like:
• 2-4 lbs
• 4-6 lbs
• 10-12 lbs
• 15-20 lbs
• 25-30 lbs
But this specific set consists of:
• 10 lbs
• 20 lbs
• 30 lbs
• 40 lbs
• 50 lbs
So, they can provide more resistance individually, and even more so
once you start combining them together. I’ve used multiple bands for
many exercises, and the entire set of them for others. It works really
well. In fact, I even bought a second set of these so I can mix and
match as needed, and go even higher in total resistance.
In addition, I also bought this set of loop bands from EliteFTS.
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You’ll once again notice that it’s a set of multiple bands that provide
varying amounts of resistance (and in this case, length). And most are
long enough to be folded over to double the amount of resistance each
one provides.
I really like these as well and they come in handy for a bunch of
exercises, but tube bands with handles are the ones I’ve used the
most.
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DUMBBELLS
The third and final home-friendly equipment option is dumbbells.
There are two main types to consider:
1. INDIVIDUAL DUMBBELL SETS
This would be the typical way you see dumbbells in a gym: multiple
sets in 5 lb increments.
Something like a set of 20 lb dumbbells, a set of 25 lb dumbbells, a set
of 30 lb dumbbells, a set of 35 lb dumbbells, a set of 40 lb dumbbells,
and so on.
As nice as that sounds, this is easily the most expensive option, and
the option that will take up the most space in your house. Which
means for most of the people reading this, it’s unlikely to be a realistic
option to consider. So, let’s ignore it altogether.
On the other hand…
2. ADJUSTABLE DUMBBELL SETS
Then you have a single set of dumbbells that can be adjusted to
become many different weights, usually in 5 lb increments.
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The weight ranges for dumbbells like these vary, but tend to be
something like:
• Light: 5 lbs up to 25 lbs.
• Moderate: 5 lbs up to 50 lbs.
• Heavy: 5 lbs up to 70 – 90 lbs.
The heavier the set goes, the more expensive it will be.
Even still, adjustable sets will be waaaay cheaper than individual sets
for the same amount of weight, and take up waaaay less space (most
adjustable sets are just slightly larger than one normal set of heavy
dumbbells).
When it comes to actually being “adjustable,” there are two different
approaches you’ll come across:
• Traditional
With traditional adjustable dumbbells, you have two dumbbell
bars, two screw-on collars for each, and a bunch of plates (e.g. 10
lb, 5 lb, 2.5 lb). You then create your own dumbbells with
whatever amount of weight you need… just like if you were using
a barbell at a gym.
• Modern
With modern adjustable dumbbells, you’ll have some sort of dial
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that you turn to select the weight you want each dumbbell to be,
or sometimes a pin you put into a slot to make the dumbbells a
certain weight.
Both types have their pros and cons.
For example, with the traditional kind, every time you need to change
the weight, you have to unscrew the collars, take off/add weight, screw
the collars back on, and then do it all over again with the other
dumbbell. With modern sets, it just takes a second to turn the dial or
move the pin and you’re good to go.
The traditional kind are likely the more durable of the two, as most
modern sets have some sort of moving part, or some component made
out of a less durable material (e.g. plastic). Of course, if you use them
properly and take good care of them, you probably won’t have any
problems.
With traditional, there’s also a bit more storage involved, as you have
to store the plates somewhere unless you want to fully load up the
dumbbells every time you finish using them. With modern sets, you just
put the dumbbells back in their base and everything is already together
in one unit.
Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of adjustable dumbbells in
general…
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PROS OF DUMBBELLS
• Adjustable sets take up very little space.
• Adjustable sets are much cheaper than individual sets.
• Plenty of exercise options for every body part.
• Plenty of room for adding resistance and progressing over time
(assuming you get an adjustable set that suits your strength
levels).
• Can be used to add additional resistance to many body weight
exercises.
CONS OF DUMBBELLS
• Dumbbells are the most expensive home-friendly equipment
option we’re covering in this guide. Even an adjustable set, which
is considerably cheaper than buying individual sets of the same
weight, will still run you a few hundred dollars for something in the
moderate to heavy range.
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USEFUL ACCESSORIES TO IMPROVE DUMBBELL
TRAINING
• A bench.
A flat bench, or, even better, an adjustable bench, is a useful
accessory item to purchase when working out at home with
dumbbells (it also comes in handy for certain body weight and
band exercises, too). No, it’s definitely not required, as most
dumbbell exercises can be done without one. Plus, some
exercises that involve sitting/lying/leaning on a bench can be done
on the floor (e.g. dumbbell floor press instead of dumbbell bench
press) or a sturdy chair (for support during something like one-arm
bent over rows). A bench simply gives you more options.
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MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EQUIPMENT
People often ask me something along the lines of “How much
equipment do I need at home for my workouts to be effective? How
much do I have to buy to get the best results? What should I buy?”
I have two sets of answers to these kinds of questions.
MY GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Buy the maximum amount of equipment you can reasonably fit
and afford.
The more equipment you have available, the better and easier it’s
going to be for you to solve the problems that come with working out at
home and successfully adapt your “effective workout” into an “effective
workout you can do at home.”
Put simply, more equipment = more options for exercises and
resistance.
So, for example, someone who has nothing but their own body weight
will have some options, but someone who also has a suspension
trainer or a pull-up bar will have more options.
And someone with a weighted vest will have even more options.
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And someone who has a set of resistance bands will have even
more options.
And someone with an adjustable dumbbell set will have even
more options.
And so on.
So, my advice to you is this. If you’re able to get any additional
equipment or accessories – whatever it may be – I recommend doing
so. Your home workouts will be better off for it.
That’s my general recommendation.
MY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Now let me get a bit more specific.
First… I recommend getting yourself a good set of tube
resistance bands with handles (and a door anchor).
They’re the most realistic option for working out at home for the vast
majority of people, because they are the best combination of
affordable, easy to store, capable of providing a good amount of
resistance, and extremely versatile in terms of the many different
exercises they can be used for.
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Again, this is the set of tube bands I use and fully recommend.
(Depending on your goals, needs, and preferences, you can also
consider a set of loop bands, mini bands, or both.)
Second… if you have the money to spend, get yourself a good set
of adjustable dumbbells.
This will be more expensive than bands, but similar in terms of the
many different exercise and resistance options they will give you, while
still being easy to store.
I considered a bunch of different dumbbell sets before eventually
deciding on Core Fitness Adjustable Dumbbells… and they are
fantastic! Seriously, I love them. They definitely get my full
recommendation.
Beyond that… if you can reasonably fit and afford more than this (and
you want more than this), then feel free to consider a pull-up bar, an
adjustable bench, and/or whatever else suits your personal needs and
preferences.
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CHAPTER 6
Exercises You Can
Do At Home
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EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT HOME
So now you know what equipment you’ll be using.
Nice!
The next thing you need to know is how to use it.
Below you’ll find a list of home-friendly exercises for every muscle
group categorized by the equipment that’s needed to do it (body
weight, bands, or dumbbells).
This isn’t meant to be a list of every single possible exercise option in
existence, but it is a list of the best and most realistically doable
options for each type of equipment.
For each exercise listed, I’ll also include a video link next to it to
provide an example of how the exercise is done. Sometimes I’ll include
more than one link for an exercise if there are multiple ways of doing it.
Disclaimer: I want to state up front that some of these video examples
aren’t perfect. And honestly? Some aren’t even… like… entirely good.
This is because most of the videos out there (on YouTube or wherever
else) demonstrating how to do an exercise are complete shit.
Trust me, I’ve looked. (Related article: How To Learn Proper Form)
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So, some of these examples will be great, and some will be the least
shitty example I found.
Fun Fact: If you’d like to only see great examples of everything, we
have an entire exercise video library inside The Results Crew.
And at the time I’m writing this, we’ve filmed a bunch of new body
weight and band exercises (in addition to the many dumbbell exercises
we already have) that we’ll be editing and adding into the library in the
coming days/weeks.
So, if you’re interested, feel free to check it out: The Results Crew.
Anyway… let’s get to the exercises.
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CHEST EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly chest exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE CHEST
• Push-Ups – (video)
• Knee Push-Ups – (video)
• Incline Push-Ups (Torso Elevated) – (video)
• Decline Push-Ups (Feet Elevated) – (video)
• Deficit Push-Ups – (video)
• One-Arm Push-Ups – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Push-Ups/Chest Press – (video, video, video)
• Suspension Trainer Chest Fly – (video)
• Dips – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE CHEST
• Band Chest Press – (video, video, video)
• Band Chest Fly – (video, video, video, video)
• Band Resisted Push-Ups – (video)
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DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE CHEST
• Dumbbell Floor Press – (video)
• Dumbbell Floor Fly – (video)
• Dumbbell Bench Press – (video)
• Dumbbell Incline Press – (video)
• Dumbbell Fly – (video)
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BACK EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly back exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE BACK
• Pull-Ups – (video)
• Chin-Ups – (video)
• Neutral Grip Pull-Ups – (video)
• Band-Assisted Pull-Ups – (video)
• Negative Pull-Ups – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Inverted Row – (video, video, video)
• Bar Inverted Row – (video)
• Table Inverted Row – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE BACK
• Seated Band Row – (video, video)
• Standing Band Row – (video)
• Bent Over Band Row – (video)
• One-Arm Bent Over Band Row – (video)
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• Band Pull-Downs – (video, video)
• One-Arm Band Pull-Downs – (video, video)
• Straight Arm Band Pull-Downs – (video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE BACK
• Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – (video)
• One-Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – (video, video)
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SHOULDER EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly shoulder exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE SHOULDERS
• Pike Push-Up – (video)
• Handstand Push-Up – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Rear Delt Fly – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Face Pulls – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE SHOULDERS
• Band Shoulder Press – (video, video, video)
• Band Lateral Raise – (video, video)
• Band Upright Rows – (video)
• Band Front Raise – (video)
• Band Rear Delt Fly – (video, video, video)
• Band Face Pulls – (video)
• Band Pull-Aparts – (video)
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DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE SHOULDERS
• Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press – (video)
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press – (video)
• Standing Dumbbell Arnold Press – (video)
• Seated Dumbbell Arnold Press – (video)
• Dumbbell Lateral Raise – (video)
• Dumbbell Upright Row – (video)
• Dumbbell Front Raise – (video)
• Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly – (video)
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BICEPS EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly biceps exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE BICEPS
• Suspension Trainer Biceps Curl – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE BICEPS
• Band Biceps Curl – (video)
• Alternating Band Biceps Curl – (video)
• Band Hammer Curl – (video, video)
• Alternating Band Hammer Curl – (video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE BICEPS
• Dumbbell Curl – (video)
• Alternating Dumbbell Curl – (video)
• Dumbbell Hammer Curl – (video)
• Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curl – (video)
• Dumbbell Concentration Curl – (video)
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TRICEPS EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly triceps exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE TRICEPS
• Chair Dips – (video)
• Triceps Extension – (video, video)
• Suspension Trainer Triceps Extension – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE TRICEPS
• Band Triceps Push-Downs – (video)
• One-Arm Band Triceps Push-Downs – (video)
• Overhead Band Extension – (video, video)
• One-Arm Overhead Band Extension – (video)
• Band Skull-Crushers – (video)
• Band Kickbacks – (video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE TRICEPS
• Dumbbell Overhead Extension – (video)
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• One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Extension – (video)
• Dumbbell Skull Crushers – (video)
• Dumbbell Kickbacks – (video)
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QUAD EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly quad exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE QUADS
• Squats – (video)
• Lunges – (video)
• Split Squats – (video)
• Bulgarian Split Squats – (video)
• Step-Ups – (video)
• Pistol Squats – (video)
• Sissy Squats – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Pistol Squats – (video)
• Suspension Trainer Reverse Lunges – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE QUADS
• Band Squats – (video)
• Band Split Squats – (video)
• Band Bulgarian Split Squats – (video)
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• Band Step-Ups – (video)
• Band Leg Extension – (video, video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE QUADS
• Dumbbell Squats – (video)
• Dumbbell Front Squats – (video)
• Dumbbell Goblet Squats – (video)
• Dumbbell Split Squats – (video)
• Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squats – (video)
• Dumbbell Lunges – (video)
• Dumbbell Step-Ups – (video)
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HAMSTRING EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly hamstring exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE HAMSTRINGS
• Sliding Leg Curls – (video, video)
• Nordic Ham Curls – (video, video)
• Stability Ball Curls – (video)
• Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE HAMSTRINGS
• Band Resisted Sliding Leg Curls – (video)
• Band Romanian Deadlift – (video)
• Band Pull-Throughs – (video)
• Lying Band Leg Curls – (video)
• Standing Band Leg Curls – (video, video)
• Seated Band Leg Curls – (video)
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DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE HAMSTRINGS
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift – (video)
• Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – (video)
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GLUTE EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly glute exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE GLUTES
• Glute Bridges – (video)
• Single-Leg Glute Bridges – (video)
• Feet Elevated Glute Bridges – (video)
• Feet Elevated Single-Leg Glute Bridges – (video)
• Hip Thrusts – (video)
• Single-Leg Hip Thrusts – (video)
• Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – (video)
• Reverse Hyperextension – (video, video)
• Frog Pump – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE GLUTES
• Band Glute Bridges – (video)
• Band Hip Thrusts – (video)
• Band Glute Kickbacks – (video, video, video)
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• Band Side Lying Clamshell – (video)
• Band Lateral Walks – (video)
• Band Fire Hydrant – (video)
• Band Pull-Throughs – (video)
• Band Romanian Deadlift – (video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE GLUTES
• Dumbbell Glute Bridges – (video)
• Dumbbell Single-Leg Glute Bridges – (video)
• Dumbbell Hip Thrusts – (video)
• Dumbbell Single-Leg Hip Thrusts – (video)
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift – (video)
• Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – (video)
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CALF EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly calf exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE CALVES
• Standing Calf Raise – (video)
• Single-Leg Calf Raise – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE CALVES
• Band Standing Calf Raise – (video)
DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE CALVES
• Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise – (video)
• Dumbbell Single-Leg Calf Raise – (video, pretend the kettlebell is
a dumbbell)
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AB EXERCISES
Here’s a list of home-friendly ab exercises for each type of
equipment…
BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES FOR THE ABS
• Crunches – (video)
• Hanging Leg Raises – (video)
• Lying Leg Raises – (video)
• Reverse Crunches – (video)
• V-Ups – (video)
• Planks – (video)
• Side Planks – (video)
• Dead Bug – (video)
RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR THE ABS
• Band Lying Crunches – (video)
• Band Standing Crunches – (video)
• Band Kneeling Crunches – (video)
• Band Wood Chop – (video)
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DUMBBELL EXERCISES FOR THE ABS
• Dumbbell Crunches – (video)
• Dumbbell V-Up – (video)
• Dumbbell Russian Twist – (video)
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CHAPTER 7
How To Make Exercises
More Challenging
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HOW TO MAKE EXERCISES MORE
CHALLENGING
Okay, let’s recap.
You have your “effective workout routine.”
You have your equipment.
You have a ton of options for exercises you can do at home with that
equipment.
The next step is to figure out how to make these exercises challenging
enough to actually be effective, and then make them more challenging
over time so they continue to be effective (assuming your goal isn’t just
to maintain, of course).
Here now are the best methods for doing just that…
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1. ADD MORE RESISTANCE
Let’s start with the most obvious way to make an exercise more
challenging, and it’s the exact same thing you’d do if you were at a
gym: you’d add more weight.
DUMBBELL EXERCISES
With dumbbells, this means going up to next dumbbell weight you
have available.
So, for example, if you’re using 30 lb dumbbells for some exercise and
it’s not challenging enough for you (or you’re ready to make
progressive overload happen), you’d go up to 35 lb dumbbells.
From there, you’d progress to the 40 lb dumbbells. And so on.
BAND EXERCISES
With bands, you’d go up to the next heaviest band you have
available, or perhaps combine multiple bands together to get the
heavier resistance you need.
For example, if you’re doing some band exercise with a 30 lb band,
you’d progress to the 40 lb band. After that, the 50 lb band.
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If the 50 lb band is the heaviest you have, you’d progress from there by
combining the 10 lb band with the 50 lb band to make 60 lbs (behold
my first-grade math skills). And so on.
And since bands provide varying amounts of resistance depending on
exactly how they’re being stretched, you have some additional options
for increasing their resistance. For example…
• Move further away.
If you’re doing a band exercise where one end of the band is
anchored to a door or piece of furniture, the further away you go
from that anchor point, the more resistance there will be.
• Grip further down on the band.
The closer your grip is to the anchor point of the band (the door,
under your feet, etc.), the more resistance there will be. With loop
bands, that just means grabbing further down on the band. With
tube bands with handles, that may mean not using the handles at
all so you can grip it at a point that’s further down.
• Double up the band.
If the band is long enough, double it up the same way you’d
double up a rubber band when you want it to hold something
tighter.
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BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES
If a body weight exercise isn’t challenging enough for you, you have
plenty of options to fix that.
• You can add dumbbell resistance.
For example, if you were doing body weight glute bridges, you can
start holding a dumbbell on your waist while doing them. If you
were doing body weight lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg
Romanian deadlifts, single-leg calf raises, or any similar exercise
with only your body weight, you can start holding dumbbells in
your hands while doing it.
• You can add band resistance.
For example, if you were doing body weight push-ups, you can
wrap a band around your upper back and then under your hands
when doing it. Or, for most squat variations, stand on one end of
the band and then hold the other end in your hands (if they have
handles) or wrap it over your upper back/shoulders (if it’s a loop
band).
• You can add weighted vest resistance.
For example, if you’re doing any type of squat, push-up, pull-up,
dip, inverted row, or suspension trainer exercise, you can start
wearing a weighted vest when doing those exercises.
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• You can add belt resistance.
If you’re doing pull-ups, chin-ups, or bar dips, you can add
resistance by wearing a pull-up/dip belt with some weight on it.
OTHER FORMS OF RESISTANCE
Then there are other, slightly more creative forms of “resistance.”
As mentioned earlier, my favorite is a backpack filled with weight.
First, get a well-constructed backpack. Then, find something heavy to
put in it. This can be all kinds of things…
• Books.
• Cans of food.
• Containers of protein powder.
• Packages of pet food.
• Bottles/gallons of water.
• Rocks from your backyard.
• Dumbbells.
• Individual plates from adjustable dumbbell sets.
• Pretty much anything that you have around the house that weighs
a useful amount and can safely fit into a backpack. (Note: please
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get consent before you throw your dog, cat, or child into a
backpack.)
Now when you wear that backpack, you have the homemade
equivalent of a weighted vest, as it will allow you to add resistance to
most body weight exercises (everything from push-ups, to squat
variations, to pull-ups, and so much more).
Pro Tip: tighten the backpack straps really well so it’s not moving
around at all when you’re using it.
As I also mentioned earlier, the weighted backpack (or any other
sturdy bag filled with weight) can be held in your hand(s) and used like
a dumbbell for various exercises (lateral raises, goblet squats, biceps
curls, triceps extensions, bent over rows, overhead press, etc.).
A weighted vest can be used the same way.
And as long as you do it safely, you may be able to come up with other
stuff you can hold, lift, or use in some way to provide additional
resistance.
For example, fill a large protein powder container with water and hold it
during goblet squats. Or have a partner sit on your back during pushups or on your waist during hip thrusts. And so on.
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2. DO MORE REPS
One of the best ways to turn “light weight” into “effective weight” is by
doing more reps with it.
As I explained earlier, your goal is to get within 1-3 reps of
reaching failure during your sets. As long as you’re doing
that, it’s going to produce an effective training stimulus
regardless of whether you’re doing 5-10 reps, 10-20 reps,
or even 20-30 reps.
We have some good research – especially this 2017 meta-analysis by
Brad Schoenfeld and James Krieger – that supports the fact that lighter
weights can be effective as long as you’re doing enough reps to get
yourself close to failure.
That last part is the key.
So, for example, if you’d normally get near failure in the 5-15 rep
range when you’re at the gym with heavier weight available, you
may now need to go into the 15-30 rep range with lighter weight to
reach that same point.
As long as you do, it’s still going to work.
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Your goal is to adjust your rep ranges accordingly for each exercise so
you’re doing whatever number of reps is needed to get yourself within
1-3 reps of failure.
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3. DO HARDER EXERCISE VARIATIONS
When it comes to body weight exercises, in addition to adding more
resistance or doing more reps, you can also progress to harder
variations of the same type of movement.
For example, are squats too easy for you? Even with whatever amount
of dumbbell/band resistance you have available?
Then switch to a harder variation of a squatting movement… such as
split squats.
Are split squats too easy for you? Switch to a harder split squat
variation… such as Bulgarian split squats. Still too easy? Try pistol
squats.
Here’s another example.
If you started with knee push-ups and they became too easy for you,
you’d move on to full push-ups. When that’s no longer challenging,
you’d move on to push-ups with your feet elevated. And so on.
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4. DO SINGLE-LIMB EXERCISES
This is closely related to the previous approach of moving on to harder
variations of an exercise.
But in this case, we’re specifically talking about moving from an
exercise where both limbs (arms or legs) are trained together, to the
single-limb version of that same exercise.
Doing so serves two purposes:
1. It makes body weight exercises harder.
Like we just covered a minute ago, single-limb variations are
harder. So, for example, you can make things more challenging
by progressing from squats to split squats, glute bridges to singleleg glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts to single-leg Romanian
deadlifts, push-ups to one-arm push-ups, and so on.
2. It maximizes your available resistance.
Single-limb exercises will require (about) half the amount of
weight/resistance that you’d need if you were training both limbs
together. Meaning, if a weight is so light for you that you could
easily do 40 reps when training both limbs together, you may only
be able to do 20 reps when training each limb individually with
that same amount of weight. That switch from both limbs to
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single-limb instantly makes the same amount of resistance twice
as challenging.
On that second point, there are a few ways to put it into action.
WITH DUMBBELLS
With dumbbells, if you only had 50 lb dumbbells and that’s too easy for
you when doing an exercise like dumbbell squats, those same 50 lb
dumbbells will be (about) twice as challenging for you when doing
exercises like split squats, lunges, or Bulgarian split squats where
you’re training one leg at a time.
The same thing would apply to dumbbell glute bridges vs single-leg
dumbbell glute bridges. Or dumbbell hip thrusts vs single-leg dumbbell
hip thrusts. And so on.
WITH BANDS
With bands, you can maximize the available resistance even further.
For example, let’s say you have a tube band with handles that provides
50 lbs of resistance. Now let’s say you’re doing an exercise like band
pull-downs, and 50 lbs is too light for you. In that case, you can attach
both sides of the band to one handle, and then do band pull-downs
one arm at a time.
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Now you have 50 lbs of resistance per arm instead of 50 lbs for both
arms (essentially 25 lbs per arm).
You’ve successfully doubled the resistance, and you can do this
with tons of band exercises for most muscle groups (you can also
connect both sides to the same ankle attachment for certain single-leg
exercises).
This can also be done with loops bands by grabbing both sides with
the same hand. Not quite as convenient as with handles, but it can still
work.
Basically, if you want to make an exercise more challenging, or make a
certain limited amount of resistance more challenging, you can simply
use less of your body (i.e. 1 leg vs 2 legs, or 1 arm vs 2 arms) when
doing that exercise or using that resistance.
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5. USE SHORTER REST PERIODS
The longer you rest between sets for the same muscle group, the
fresher, stronger, and more recovered you’re going to be during
subsequent sets.
On the other hand…
The shorter you rest between sets for the same muscle group, the
more fatigued your muscles will be, and the more challenging those
next sets will become as a result.
So, for example, if you normally rest for 2 minutes between sets of a
certain exercise, you can make that exercise more challenging by
resting 1:30 instead.
And when you want to make that even more challenging? Try resting 1
minute.
WHAT ABOUT CIRCUITS?
Note that what I’m recommending here is very different from the kinds
of circuit/endurance workouts we talked about earlier, which also use
shorter rest periods to make things more challenging.
The big difference, of course, is that typical circuits involve doing a
bunch of different exercises for a bunch of different muscle
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groups with little to no rest in between, and then repeating the circuit
again from the beginning for some number of rounds.
Yes, this will make your sets/exercises a lot more challenging for sure.
BUT… why is it more challenging? What is making it harder?
It’s largely just cardiovascular fatigue (and to some extent, mental
fatigue caused by the cardiovascular fatigue), whereas what we’re
looking to accomplish by using shorter rest periods is muscular
fatigue.
So, while typical circuit workouts can certainly make things harder,
they do so in ways that aren’t really relevant to the specific goals we
care about.
If anything, they tend to be counterproductive to those goals.
(Note: This isn’t to say that circuits can never be used in a useful and
effective way for these kinds of goals. But rather, the way circuits are
most often used sucks for these kinds of goals.)
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6. DO SLOWER REPS
With all else being equal, X reps done slowly will create more muscular
fatigue than the same X reps done quickly, because your muscles
spend more time under tension (aka TUT).
And this, in turn, makes the set more challenging.
So, how can you slow down your reps? You have a few options:
• Do slower eccentrics.
For example, instead of taking 1-2 seconds to do the “lowering” or
“negative” portion of a rep, take 3-4 seconds to do it.
• Pause for a second at the bottom.
For example, instead of getting to the bottom of a squat variation
and instantly going back up, pause in that bottom position for a
second.
• Squeeze hard for a second at the top.
For example, when doing a row or pull-down exercise for your
back, squeeze your lats hard for a second before going back to
the starting position.
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7. COMBINE DIFFERENT METHODS
TOGETHER
Making exercises more challenging isn’t just a “one or the other” type
of thing. You can simultaneously use many of the methods we’ve
covered here to make each exercise as challenging as you need it to
be.
For example, let’s take an exercise like body weight squats, and let’s
pretend you have 20 lb dumbbells at home.
Now, if body weight squats aren’t even remotely challenging for you,
here’s one of the many examples of what you can do…
First, try switching to a harder squat variation, like split squats or
Bulgarian split squats.
Still need more?
Do those split squats while holding a single 20 lb dumbbell in both
hands (like a goblet squat).
Still need more?
Do those split squats while holding both 20 lbs dumbbells, one in each
hand.
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Still need more?
Wear a backpack filled with weight. Now you’re holding dumbbells in
your hands AND wearing a backpack that’s providing additional
weight.
Still need more?
Do you have any bands? You could put one end of the band around
your upper back/shoulders (or even in your hands around the
dumbbells), and the other end under your feet. Now you have
dumbbell AND backpack AND band resistance.
Still need more?
If you have a weighed vest, put that on, too.
Still need more?
Go higher in reps.
Still need more?
Do slower negatives and pause at the bottom of each rep.
Still need more?
Reduce your rest periods.
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See what I’m getting at here?
We’ve covered a bunch of great options for making exercises more
challenging, each of which can work extremely well individually.
But if you need more than what each approach provides by itself, you
can absolutely feel free to use multiple options together to make
things as challenging as you need them to be right now, or to make
them progressively more challenging over time.
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CHAPTER 8
The Workouts
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THE WORKOUTS
At this point, you’ve learned how to take any effective workout routine
and adapt it into an effective workout routine you can do at home by:
• Replacing the exercises you can’t do with similar variations you
can do using the equipment you have available.
• Finding ways to make each exercise as challenging as you need it
to be right now, and then progressively more challenging over
time.
So, you’re good to go!
You’re ready to take any effective workout you want (or design your
own) and adapt it accordingly.
That’s the good news.
The better news is that I’m going to give you the option of making
things even easier.
How so?
By walking you through home-friendly versions of many of my own
“effective workouts.”
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All you’ll need to do is pick one that suits your schedule, experience
level, and personal needs/preferences, and then fill in the blanks
accordingly.
What “blanks,” you ask? Let me explain…
WHICH EXERCISE?
I won’t be prescribing a single specific exercise in any of the workouts
you’re about to see, because I don’t know what equipment you have
available or what exercises you’re capable of doing.
So instead, I’ll be prescribing a specific type of exercise for you to
choose from.
Here’s an example.
I normally put “Bench Press” in many of my workouts. However, in
these workouts, I’ll put “Chest Exercise” and follow it up with some
additional details such as “Choose any type of push-up or chest
pressing exercise.”
I’ll be doing something like this with every exercise in every workout.
From there, you can use the lists of exercises for each body part from
earlier to choose which specific exercise you do in that spot based on
the equipment and resistance you have available, your strength levels
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(and what’s needed to make things challenging enough for you), your
personal goals, needs, and preferences, and what you’re capable of
doing safely and correctly.
HOW MANY SETS?
A specific number of sets will be prescribed for each exercise in each
workout, so there won’t be any blanks for you to fill in when it comes to
sets.
On the other hand…
HOW MANY REPS?
I normally recommend a very narrow rep range for the exercises in my
workouts. For example, 6-8 reps, 8-10 reps, 10-12 reps, or 12-15 reps.
But those rep ranges are prescribed with a gym in mind, where I know
the person will have all of the equipment and resistance they need to
make exercises precisely challenging enough to get near failure within
the narrow rep range I want them to.
At home, of course, we know that’s not the case.
For that reason, I won’t be recommending a narrow rep range for any
exercise in any of these workouts. Instead, my rep ranges will be
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quite broad. Specifically, 6-30 reps for most compound exercises,
and 10-30 reps for most isolation exercises.
What does this mean to you? It’s really simple.
Your goal is to do whatever number of reps you need to in each set of
each exercise to end up getting within 1-3 reps of reaching failure.
If that’s 8 reps on some exercise, cool. If that’s 12 reps on some
exercise, cool. If it’s 15, or 20, or 25, or 30, or anywhere in
between… cool.
This will be dependent on your own strength levels, how much
resistance you have available, and how challenging your chosen
exercise is for you.
As long as you’re getting within 1-3 reps of failure the majority of the
time within the broad rep ranges I’m prescribing, and you’re gradually
progressing over time (assuming that suits your goals)… then you’re
doing it right.
HOW LONG TO REST BETWEEN SETS?
Generally speaking, I think 1-3 minutes of rest between sets is ideal
for the goals we care about.
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Narrowing that down a bit, I’d say 1-2 minutes is usually perfect for the
less physically demanding stuff, and 2-3 minutes is usually perfect for
the more physically demanding stuff (and maybe up to 4 minutes for
the really hard stuff).
Having said that, I won’t be recommending specific rest periods for any
of the exercises in these workouts because, yet again, your needs will
vary based on the exercise you’ve chosen, how challenging it is for
you, how many reps you’re able to do, and so on… plus the fact that
rest periods can be reduced as an approach to making exercises more
challenging.
So, 1-3 minute rest periods is my general recommendation, and you
can feel free to narrow it down further or adjust it in some way based
on whatever your needs are for each exercise.
Now let’s get to the workouts…
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THE BEGINNER WORKOUT ROUTINE
This is Version 1 of my basic beginner workout. It uses a 3-day full
body split. It goes like this:
WEEK 1
• Monday: Workout A
• Tuesday: off
• Wednesday: Workout B
• Thursday: off
• Friday: Workout A
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
WEEK 2
• Monday: Workout B
• Tuesday: off
• Wednesday: Workout A
• Thursday: off
• Friday: Workout B
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• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
WORKOUT A
1. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
2. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
3. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
WORKOUT B
1. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
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2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
3. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of overhead pressing exercise for the shoulders.
(If none of those options are doable, choose a front raise, lateral
raise, or upright row.)
Additional details here: The Beginner Workout Routine
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THE MUSCLE BUILDING WORKOUT
ROUTINE
This is one of my most popular intermediate workouts. It uses
an upper/lower split, which has quite a few different versions that can
work well (see my article for a breakdown of each).
However, the 3-day and 4-day versions tend to fit most people’s
schedule the best. They go like this:
3-DAY VERSION
WEEK 1
• Monday: Upper Body A
• Tuesday: off
• Wednesday: Lower Body A
• Thursday: off
• Friday: Upper Body B
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
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WEEK 2
• Monday: Lower Body B
• Tuesday: off
• Wednesday: Upper Body A
• Thursday: off
• Friday: Lower Body A
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
4-DAY VERSION
• Monday: Upper Body A
• Tuesday: Lower Body A
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Upper Body B
• Friday: Lower Body B
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
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UPPER BODY A WORKOUT
1. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
3. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise that
emphasizes the upper chest (incline dumbbell press, feetelevated push-up, etc.) (If none of those options are doable,
choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.)
4. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
5. Shoulder Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of lateral raise exercise for the shoulders
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(dumbbell lateral raise, band lateral raise, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose an upright row.)
6. Triceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-downs,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
7. Biceps Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curls,
dumbbell curls, etc.).
LOWER BODY A WORKOUT
1. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
2. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
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3. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
4. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise.
5. Ab Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of ab exercise.
UPPER BODY B WORKOUT
1. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
2. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of overhead pressing exercise for the shoulders.
(If none of those options are doable, choose a front raise, lateral
raise, or upright row.)
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3. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
4. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
5. Chest Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of chest fly exercise (dumbbell fly, band fly,
etc.). (If none of those options are doable, do some type of pushup or chest pressing exercise.)
6. Biceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curl, dumbbell
curls, etc.).
7. Triceps Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-down,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
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LOWER BODY B WORKOUT
1. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
2. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise that’s different from the
one you did earlier in the workout.
3. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
4. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise..
5. Ab Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of ab exercise.
Additional details here: The Muscle Building Workout Routine
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THE 5-DAY WORKOUT ROUTINE
This is a popular intermediate/advanced workout of mine. It uses a 5day upper/lower/push/pull/legs split. It goes like this:
• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Push
• Friday: Pull
• Saturday: Legs
• Sunday: off
UPPER BODY WORKOUT
1. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
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3. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of overhead pressing exercise for the shoulders.
(If none of those options are doable, choose a front raise, lateral
raise, or upright row.)
4. Back Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
5. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of chest fly exercise (dumbbell fly, band fly,
etc.). (If none of those options are doable, do some type of pushup or chest pressing exercise.)
6. Biceps Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curl, dumbbell
curls, etc.).
7. Triceps Exercise
2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-down,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
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LOWER BODY WORKOUT
1. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
2. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
3. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
4. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of quad exercise that’s different from the one
you did earlier in the workout.
5. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise.
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PUSH WORKOUT
1. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise that
emphasizes the upper chest (incline press, feet-elevated push-up,
etc.) (If none of those options are doable, choose any type of
push-up or chest pressing exercise.)
2. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
3. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of lateral raise exercise for the shoulders
(dumbbell lateral raise, band lateral raise, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose an upright row.)
4. Triceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-down,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
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PULL WORKOUT
1. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
3. Rear Delt Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of rear delt exercise (band pull-aparts, band
face pulls, dumbbell rear delt fly, etc.).
4. Biceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curl, dumbbell
curls, etc.).
5. Ab Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of ab exercise.
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LEGS WORKOUT
1. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
2. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
3. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise that’s different from the
one you did earlier in the workout.
4. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
5. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise.
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THE PUSH/PULL/LEGS WORKOUT
ROUTINE
This is an intermediate/advanced workout that uses a push/pull/legs
split.
There are a few different versions of this split (see my article for a
breakdown of each), but the 5-day version tends to fit most people’s
schedule the best. It goes like this:
WEEK 1
• Monday: Push
• Tuesday: Pull
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Legs
• Friday: Push
• Saturday: Pull
• Sunday: off
WEEK 2
• Monday: Legs
• Tuesday: Push
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• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Pull
• Friday: Legs
• Saturday: Push
• Sunday: off
WEEK 3
• Monday: Pull
• Tuesday: Legs
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Push
• Friday: Pull
• Saturday: Legs
• Sunday: off
PUSH WORKOUT
1. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
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2. Chest or Shoulder Pressing Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
If you choose a chest exercise, choose any type of push-up or
chest pressing exercise that emphasizes the upper chest (incline
press, feet-elevated push-up, etc.) (If none of those options are
doable, choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.) If
you choose a shoulder exercise, choose any type of overhead
pressing exercise for the shoulders.
3. Chest or Shoulder Isolation Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
If you did a chest exercise in the spot before this, choose any type
of lateral raise exercise for the shoulders (dumbbell lateral raise,
band lateral raise, etc.). If you did a shoulder exercise in the spot
before this, choose any type of chest fly exercise (dumbbell fly,
band fly, etc.). (If none of those options are doable, do some type
of push-up or chest pressing exercise.)
4. Triceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-down,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
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PULL WORKOUT
1. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
3. Rear Delt Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of rear delt exercise (band pull-aparts, band
face pulls, dumbbell rear delt fly, etc.).
4. Biceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curl, dumbbell
curls, etc.).
5. Ab Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of ab exercise.
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LEGS WORKOUT
1. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
2. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
3. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise that’s different from the
one you did earlier in the workout.
4. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
5. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise.
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THE 2-DAY FULL BODY WORKOUT
ROUTINE
This is a full body workout for anyone who is only capable of working
out twice per week. It uses a 2-day full body split. It goes like this:
• Monday: Workout A
• Tuesday: off
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday: Workout B
• Friday: off
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off
WORKOUT A
1. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
2. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise.
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3. Back Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of pull-up or pull-down exercise for the back. (If
none of those options are doable, choose a rowing exercise for
the back.)
4. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of overhead pressing exercise for the shoulders.
(If none of those options are doable, choose a front raise, lateral
raise, or upright row.)
5. Hamstring Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of leg curling exercise (sliding leg curl, band leg
curl, etc.).
6. Biceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of biceps isolation exercise (band curl, dumbbell
curls, etc.).
7. Rear Delt Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of rear delt exercise (band pull-aparts, band
face pulls, dumbbell rear delt fly, etc.).
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WORKOUT B
1. Hamstring or Glute Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of hip hinge exercise for the hamstrings
(Romanian deadlift, pull-throughs, etc.) or hip extension exercise
for the glutes (hip thrust, glute bridge, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose any type of leg curl exercise.)
2. Back Exercise
3 sets of 6-30 reps.
Choose any type of rowing exercise for the back.
3. Chest Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of push-up or chest pressing exercise that
emphasizes the upper chest (incline press, feet-elevated push-up,
etc.) (If none of those options are doable, choose any type of
push-up or chest pressing exercise.)
4. Quad Exercise
3 sets of 8-30 reps.
Choose any type of squatting exercise (squats, split squats,
goblet squats, etc.).
5. Shoulder Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
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Choose any type of lateral raise exercise for the shoulders
(dumbbell lateral raise, band lateral raise, etc.). (If none of those
options are doable, choose an upright row.)
6. Triceps Exercise
3 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of triceps isolation exercise (band push-down,
overhead dumbbell extension, etc.).
7. Calf Exercise
4 sets of 10-30 reps.
Choose any type of calf exercise.
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CHAPTER 9
The Diet Chapter
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THE DIET CHAPTER
I know what you might be thinking.
“What is a diet chapter doing in a book about working out at home?”
And if you’re thinking that, you might also be thinking: “Ah, I eat pretty
healthy. I’m sure that’s good enough. I don’t need to focus on any diet
stuff now. I’ll just focus extra hard on my workouts.”
Yeah… um… that’s not how this works.
Here’s why.
If your diet isn’t designed to support your workout goals,
your results will either be a lot worse than they could be,
or, in many cases, completely nonexistent. That’s how
important your diet is in this equation.
So, let’s make sure you get it right.
Here now is my quick and simple 8-step process for creating the
effective diet you need to get the results you want.
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STEP 1: SET CALORIES
Above all else, your calorie intake is always going to be the most
important part of your diet. This is because…
TO LOSE FAT, YOU NEED A CALORIC DEFICIT
Losing fat requires consuming fewer calories than your body needs to
maintain its current state. This is known as a caloric deficit.
When this caloric deficit is present, your body will be forced to find
some alternative fuel source to burn for energy instead. Guess what
that alternative fuel source will be? Yup, your stored body fat.
TO BUILD MUSCLE, YOU NEED A CALORIC
SURPLUS
Building muscle requires providing your body with more calories than it
needs to maintain its current state. This is known as a caloric
surplus.
When this caloric surplus is present, your body will have the extra
calories it needs to synthesize new muscle tissue as well as support
the overall training performance and recovery needed during this time.
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Now, in certain cases (most notably beginners who are fat or skinnyfat), these extra calories can come via internal sources. Meaning, your
stored body fat gets converted into the extra energy needed to support
the muscle building process, and a magical “recomp” (simultaneous fat
loss and muscle growth) takes place.
Pretty awesome, right?
Unfortunately, as wonderful as this scenario sounds, it’s not going to
be a realistic option for the rest of us, which means the surplus will
need to come via external sources. Meaning, eating additional calories.
DETERMINING YOUR DAILY MAINTENANCE LEVEL
Your daily “maintenance level” (aka your Total Daily Energy
Expenditure, aka your TDEE) is the number of calories your body
needs each day to maintain its current state.
• To lose fat, you need to consume less than this amount so a
deficit exists (but not so much less that you lose muscle, feel
hungry all the time, can’t sustain your diet, etc.).
• To build muscle, you need to consume more than this amount so
a surplus exists (but not so much more that you gain excess body
fat).
So, what is your maintenance level?
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Google something like “calorie calculator” or “TDEE calculator” and
you’ll find a million calculators you can use to estimate your
maintenance level.
If you want to do this even faster, just take your current body weight in
pounds and multiply it by 13 and 16.
Many people will find that their maintenance level falls somewhere in
between those two amounts.
For example, a 200 lb person would do 200 x 13 and 200 x 16 and get
an estimated daily calorie maintenance level of somewhere between
2600-3200 calories.
Those who are female, older, or less active (in terms of job, overall
lifestyle, and exercise) should usually stick more toward the lower half
of their estimate. Those who are male, younger, or more active should
usually stick more toward the upper half of their estimate. If you’re
unsure, just pick a number somewhere in the middle.
Now let’s set your calorie intake based on your goal…
HOW MANY CALORIES PER DAY TO MAINTAIN
If maintenance is your goal – which means you’re looking to maintain
your current body weight and maintain the muscle/strength you already
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have rather than make additional progress - then your maintenance
level calorie intake is the calorie intake you need for that goal.
Pretty simple.
HOW MANY CALORIES PER DAY TO LOSE FAT
Most people seeking fat loss should aim to create a deficit that is
about 20% below their maintenance level.
So, for example, if your estimated maintenance level is 2500, you’d
determine 20% of that to be 500. You’d then subtract 500 from 2500 to
get a daily calorie intake of 2000 calories.
Simply repeat this math using your own relevant numbers.
HOW MANY CALORIES PER DAY TO GAIN MUSCLE
• MEN: create a daily surplus of about 200 calories above your
maintenance level.
• WOMEN: create a daily surplus of about 100 calories above
your maintenance level.
So, for example, if your estimated maintenance level is 2000, a man
would eat about 2200 calories per day, and a woman would eat about
2100 calories per day.
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Now for step 2…
(Related article: How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day?)
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STEP 2: SET YOUR RATE OF PROGRESS
Since losing fat will cause you to lose body weight, and building
muscle will cause you to gain body weight, the next step is to
determine what your rate of weight loss or weight gain should be to
ensure you’re making the best progress possible. Specifically…
• Losing Fat
You want to lose weight at a rate that’s fast enough to make good
fat loss progress, but not so fast that it causes you to lose muscle,
feel hungry all the time, experience metabolic or hormonal issues,
or cause other similar problems you obviously want to avoid. (Fun
Fact: My previous book – Superior Fat Loss – is all about getting
lean while avoiding these problems.)
• Building Muscle
You want to gain weight at a rate that’s fast enough to make good
muscle building progress, but not so fast that it causes you to gain
excess body fat while you do it.
With all of that in mind…
WHEN LOSING FAT
The ideal rate of weight loss for most people is between 0.5-2lbs lost
per week.
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• People with an above-average amount of fat to lose can aim to
lose it at a rate of 2lbs per week (potentially even more early on if
the person is obese).
• People with an average amount of fat to lose should typically
lose it at a rate of 1-2lbs per week.
• People with a below-average amount of fat to lose should
typically lose it at a rate of 0.5-1lb per week.
WHEN BUILDING MUSCLE…
• MEN: The ideal rate of weight gain for the average male is about
2lbs gained per month. (About 0.5lb per week.)
• WOMEN: The ideal rate of weight gain for the average female is
about 1lb gained per month. (About 0.25lb per week.)
The more advanced you are and the more muscle you’ve already built,
the slower these weight gain rates should become since you have less
potential for additional progress.
THE KEY STEP: MONITOR PROGRESS AND
ADJUST IF NEEDED
Keep in mind that the calorie intake you’ve just set up is only an
estimate.
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Even if you used the best calorie calculator ever made, it’s still just an
estimated starting point and nothing more.
Which is why…
To ensure your calorie intake is what it needs to be for your
goals, the most important step will be to consistently weigh
yourself – doing it daily (first thing in the morning) and
taking the weekly average is the most accurate way – and
ensure that your weight is moving in the direction it should
be at the ideal rate it should be.
If it is, you’re good. Keep eating that amount.
If it’s not, adjust up or down in small increments (e.g. 100-300 calories
at a time), wait a few weeks, and see what happens then.
Are things moving in the right direction at the ideal rate now? If so,
you’re good. If not, adjust again and repeat this process until it is.
Now for step 3…
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STEP 3: SET PROTEIN
A sufficient protein intake is crucial for the overall health and function
of the human body. In addition…
• Protein is a requirement for building muscle.
• Protein is a requirement for maintaining muscle.
• Protein plays major roles in fat loss, such as preventing muscle
loss in a deficit, controlling hunger, and increasing the thermic
effect of food (aka the calories your body burns during digestion).
HOW MUCH PER DAY
The ideal daily protein intake for most people is between 0.8-1.3
grams of protein per pound of their current body weight.
Whenever in doubt, an even 1g per pound is an excellent choice.
So, if you currently weigh 180lbs, you could aim for an even 180g of
protein per day, or some degree higher or lower depending on your
personal needs and preferences. As long as you stay within this range,
you’ll be fine.
(Note: those who are significantly overweight should use their goal
body weight rather than current body weight when doing this
calculation.)
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PROTEIN SOURCES
Try to get most of your daily protein intake from higher-quality sources
you enjoy and don’t have any issues digesting (e.g. chicken, turkey,
eggs, beef, fish, dairy, protein powder, etc.).
(Related article: How Much Protein Per Day?)
Now for step 4…
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STEP 4: SET FAT
A sufficient fat intake is also crucial for the overall health and function
of the human body in a variety of ways, including the absorption of fatsoluble vitamins, and optimal hormone production.
HOW MUCH PER DAY
The ideal daily fat intake for most people is between 20-30% of
their total daily calorie intake. Whenever in doubt, an even 25% of
your total calorie intake is an excellent choice.
So, for example, let’s say someone will be eating 2000 calories per
day. Let’s also say they decide to go with an even 25% of their total
calories from fat.
First, they’d take 25% of 2000 and get 500. Then, since there are 9
calories per gram of fat, they’d simply divide 500 by 9 and get 56g of
fat per day.
You’d simply repeat this with your own relevant numbers.
FAT SOURCES
Try to get most of your daily fat intake from higher-quality sources you
enjoy and don’t have any issues digesting (e.g. various nuts, seeds
and nut butters, olive oil, avocado oil, fatty fish like salmon, etc.).
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Aim for a good mix of saturated, monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats (keeping saturated fat to no more than 1/3 of your
total fat intake), with an extra added emphasis on getting a sufficient
amount of the omega-3 fatty acids (and avoiding trans-fat).
Now for step 5…
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STEP 5: SET CARBS
A sufficient carb intake – while less important for sustaining life and
proper function compared to protein and fat – will still be crucial for
optimizing workout performance and recovery, as well as your ability to
generally be a happy person who doesn’t hate their diet and feel like
crap all the time because they restricted their carb intake unnecessarily
low (like countless people tend to do).
(Related article: The Truth About The Low Carb Diet)
HOW MUCH PER DAY
The ideal daily carb intake for most people is simply whatever
calories are leftover in their diet after their protein and fat intake
have been factored in.
Here’s an example of how this would be done…
• Let’s pretend we have a random example person who
weighs 175lbs and has figured out that they need to eat 2500
calories per day for their goal. (Again, these are just example
numbers.)
• Then, let’s say they go with an even 1 gram of protein per pound
of body weight. Since they weigh 175lbs, that means they’ll eat
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about 175 grams of protein per day. Since 1 gram of protein
contains 4 calories, that means their protein intake will account for
700 calories each day (175 x 4 = 700).
• Next, let’s say they decide to get an even 25% of their total calorie
intake from fat. Since this example person will be eating 2500
calories per day, they’d figure out that 25% of 2500 is 625 calories
(2500 x 0.25 = 625). Then, since 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories,
they’d figure out that they’d need to eat about 69 grams of fat per
day (625 ÷ 9 = 69).
• At this point they have 700 calories worth of protein and 625
calories worth of fat, which means a total of 1325 of their daily
calorie intake is accounted for (700 + 625 = 1325). But, since they
need to be eating 2500 calories per day, they’d see they still have
1175 calories that are not yet accounted for (2500 – 1325 = 1175).
So…
• All of those leftover 1175 calories will come from carbs. Since 1
gram of carbs contains 4 calories, this person would need to eat
about 294 grams of carbs per day (1175 ÷ 4 = 294).
You’d simply repeat these steps using your own relevant numbers.
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CARB SOURCES
Try to get most of your daily carb intake from higher-quality sources
you enjoy and don’t have any issues digesting (e.g. fruits, vegetables,
white rice, brown rice, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, oats, beans,
etc.).
Now for step 6…
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STEP 6: SET MICRONUTRIENTS
Micronutrients (i.e. various vitamins and minerals) will play a seemingly
infinite number of crucial roles within the human body in terms of
overall health and function, some of which can directly or indirectly
impact some aspect of the results you’re trying to get from your home
workouts.
HOW MUCH PER DAY AND FOOD SOURCES
Discussing each of the dozens of micronutrients and breaking down
how much of each you should eat per day and what food sources they
should come from is well beyond the scope of this guide.
And even more importantly, attempting to actually track your
consumption of each individual micronutrient on a daily basis will drive
most people insane.
That’s why I typically don’t get too specific with my recommendations,
and instead prefer people do what I personally do myself.
Which is this…
Eat a high-quality diet on a daily basis comprised of a good
balance of protein, fat, and carbs that come primarily via higher
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quality nutrient-dense foods with an extra added emphasis on
fruit and vegetable consumption.
Do that (and use supplementation to fill in any nutrient deficiencies that
you are unable to take care of through diet alone), and all of your
micronutrient bases will be covered.
Now for step 7…
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STEP 7: SET YOUR PRE AND POST
WORKOUT MEALS
What you eat before and after your workout will play a small but
meaningful role in your training performance and recovery.
HOW MUCH, FOOD SOURCES, AND TIMING
Most people make these meals a lot more complex than they truly
need to be. I’m not going to do that here.
Instead, I recommend simply eating a nice amount of protein and
carbs within 1-2 hours before your workout, and within 1-2 hours
after your workout… from whatever food sources you prefer.
No need to make it any more complicated than that.
(Related article: What To Eat Before And After Your Workout)
Now for the final diet step…
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STEP 8: SET YOUR ENJOYABILITY AND
SUSTAINABILITY
The previous steps – specifically your calorie, protein, fat, and carb
intake – are the key to goals like gaining (or maintaining) muscle and
strength, losing fat, or anything similar.
No other dietary factor will play a significant direct role in that regard.
Having said that, there are still other factors of your diet that will play a
direct role in your ability to put those key dietary factors into action and
actually stick to it on a consistent long-term basis.
This includes factors like:
• Meal Timing
Will you eat earlier in the day? Later in the day? Evenly
throughout the day? Have breakfast? Skip breakfast? Have a late
snack after dinner?
• Meal Frequency
Will you eat 2-3 meals per day? Or 4-5 meals? Or 6-7 meals? Or
maybe use some form of intermittent fasting?
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• Food Choices
Will you eat white rice or brown rice? Green beans or broccoli?
Almonds or walnuts? Chicken or turkey? Or all of the above?
• Strictness/Flexibility Within Your Diet
Will you eat “clean” and healthy 100% of the time? Will you use
the 80/20 rule and allow yourself to have some of the “fun stuff” as
a small part of your overall diet?
• And so on.
With all else being equal, this stuff won’t affect your results in any
meaningful way. However, it WILL affect the enjoyability and
sustainability of your diet.
And that, as you can imagine, is the final key component of your
success.
So, how do you get it all right? It’s quite simple…
HOW TO GET IT RIGHT
Design every single major and minor aspect of your overall diet
and approach to eating in whatever way is most Preferable,
Enjoyable, Convenient, and Sustainable (PECS) for you so that
the important stuff (eating the proper amount of calories, protein,
fat, and carbs) consistently occurs. Simple as that.
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CHAPTER 10
What’s Next
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WHAT’S NEXT
Welcome to the end of The Home Workout Guide.
QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK
If you have any questions about anything, or feedback you’d like to
share, or progress you’d like to tell me about, I’d love to hear it.
You can email me at: support@aworkoutroutine.com
FUTURE UPDATES
I already have a pretty nice list of updates planned for this book over
the coming weeks/months. Additional workouts, a fat loss chapter, a
section with frequently asked questions, and more.
And in case you didn’t already know, you’ll automatically receive all
of the updated versions for free.
So, if there’s anything you’d like to see added in a future update, feel
free to let me know: support@aworkoutroutine.com
NEED SOME PERSONALIZED HELP?
Want to work with me directly?
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I'll help you design and fully customize your home workouts, give
you custom diet guidelines to follow, and check in with you
regularly to keep you consistent, provide ongoing adjustments, and
guide you all the way to reaching your goals.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, you’ll love my
online coaching program: The Results Crew
In addition, we also have a full exercise video library (more dumbbell,
body weight, and band exercises are being recorded and edited as we
speak), an awesome community, unlimited form checks (not sure if
you’re doing an exercise correctly? send us a video and we’ll send a
video back to you with a full evaluation of your form), unlimited body
fat estimates, tons of guides, tools, and videos, and new stuff added
every month.
It's pretty awesome, and it’s currently on sale for 35% off until this
COVID-19 situation ends and the world is back to normal.
You can learn more about it right here: The Results Crew
PUT IT INTO ACTION
Want to hear something sad?
Most of the people who buy books like this never do a damn thing.
They just buy, download, skim through it a little at best, and… that’s it.
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No action is ever taken.
It becomes yet another book sitting in a big digital pile with all of the
other books and programs they’ve purchased but never used.
Even worse, that sad collection will only continue to grow a few weeks
or months from now when they come across the next book that looks
like the magical one they’ve been searching for all this time.
And then the exact same thing will happen.
And then again.
And again.
So, my advice to you is simple: don’t be this person.
THE END
And with that, we’ve reached the end of The Home Workout Guide.
I hope you liked it, and, even more so, I hope you put it into action.
- Jay
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