There’s plenty of ways to get in a good strength training workout at home.
Chances are, you own a few books either from school, work, or pleasure.
Now, let’s take those books, pack them tightly in to a box, and use them to workout.
Yep! You can get in a workout from your beer habit. (And no, 12 oz curls don’t count) All you need is a small box (a sturdy beer case works) and duct tape. Wrap it up nice and tight so I’m not responsible for books cascading on to your toes.
You want your new workout buddy to be heavy enough to be challenging, but not enough that it compromises your form. Just throw a few books in and see how it works. You can always take some books out or add more.
If you don’t fill your box to the top, make sure you pack in something lightweight to make it stable and tight. I used some towels for mine.
And ‘voila! Now you’re ready for strength training at home, Rambo-style. We’ll use this nice bundle of weight to get in a full body home workout.
First up is part I for your lower body (watch out for part II next week!)
Lower Body Strength Workout at Home
Remember, this is a strength workout. If it’s not somewhat hard to get to 10, that means you need more weight!
- 3×10 Single Leg Deadlifts
- 3×10 Bridges with Overhead Hold
- 3×10 Squats
- 3×10 Reverse Lunges
Single Leg Deadlift
I love single leg deadlifts because they require stabilization from your entire core. You help develop balance while working those hamstrings and glutes!
It’s important to hinge forward at the hips. Keep your standing leg mostly straight and focus on trying to use your hamstrings to pull yourself back up.
Bridge with Overhead Hold
This is another great move to build your glutes and reverse quadricep dominance that seems to be prevalent for people who sit at a desk. You’ll notice that I’m on my heels for this move. This helps you push through the heels and really target that behind.
Just don’t drop your box on your face. Not liable for that one.
Squats
Oh the squat. It’s pretty great. Easy, customizable and you can take it with you wherever you go – essential for any strength training at home, especially without equipment. I’ve even done them trying to hold 40 lb puppy. She didn’t like it so well.
Anyways, push that butt back, track your knees towards your 2nd and 3rd toes, and keep your torso upright.
Reverse Lunges
These work the quads pretty well. You can make it harder by holding your box straight overhead.
You’ll want your both of knees to be at 90 degree angles.
Upper Body Strength Workout at Home
As I mentioned in the lower body section, we all have things in our home that we can use to get stronger. Just like you go to the gym and lift heavy things, you have plenty of heavy things in your home that can function as a dumbbell or barbell. As long as you’re being safe and smart about it, there’s no reason why you can’t get in a good strength workout at home.
So take that beer box we made last week and let’s get to work on that upper body. You can use this and the lower body workout by staggering the workouts so that you do lower body one day, upper body the next, followed by a rest day. Repeat again for 4 days per week strength training.
Example Schedule
- Monday – Lower body
- Tuesday – Upper body
- Wednesday – Rest
- Thursday – Lower body
- Friday – Upper body
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – Cardio, either endurance, HIIT, or low intensity
- 4×10 Push Press
- 4×10 Pushups
- 4×10 Bicep Curls
- 4×10 Tricep Extensions
Push Press
Bend your knees and thrust upwards, using that momentum to push the box overhead. Don’t forget to use your delts (shoulders).
Pushups
Bend your knees and thrust upwards, using that momentum to push the box overhead. Don’t forget to use your delts (shoulders).
Bicep Curl
Flex that bicep and curl up the weight! Try to keep your elbows stationary so that you mostly use your bicep instead of recruiting other muscles.
Triceps Extension
This is the same as using a normal weight. Hold it overhead and drop it so your elbows are at a 90 degree angle. Engage your triceps to bring it back up to overhead.