In a gym without exercise equipment, you need to take not in quantity, but in quality. Build muscle at home or in the garage with three shells on three workouts a week!

Author: Eric Velazquez, Certified Strength and General Fitness Specialist

A nearby gym may be equipped with the latest machines, rows of bench benches, and wall-propping squat racks, but if you don’t have time to go there, the best intentions will be of no use. Only the monthly subscription fee will regularly disappear from your bank account!

For many people looking for the perfect workout program, time pressure is the first and foremost obstacle. This is why a home gym in an empty room or garage can be a great budget solution. It’s hard to complain about the lack of time when the fitness workshop is just a stone’s throw away!

You might think that a home gym is very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You just need to make the right choice between sports equipment. For example, it’s great to have a squat rack at home, but it costs a lot of money and takes up a lot of space, especially when you count the barbell and the pancakes. Plus, if the goal of your workout is to build muscle and you’re not looking to become a powerlifter, you can get the same training stimuli with a pair of dumbbells, a bench, and a barbell. In such a gym, you only need to take quality, not quantity! So, get ready for your home workout concepts to be shattered.

Equipment

Adjustable bench. In theory, you can survive on a strict diet of both standing and lying on the floor, but with so many new opportunities open up a stable bench with quality padding, it’s worth the investment. Choose a bench where you can tilt your head up and down at different angles. Plus, the bench, which is set at a 90-degree angle, will provide back support during overhead presses. As a bonus, you can always put one foot on the bench and do Bulgarian split squats.

Stacked dumbbells. Dumbbells are an excellent choice for muscle development. The range of motion is greater than with a barbell and is harder to balance. The first and second allows you to recruit more muscle fibers.

Since a full-fledged rack with dumbbells takes up too much space and requires unjustified expenses, it is better to choose from a huge variety of type-setting dumbbells. Modular equipment allows you to work with weights from 2 to 50 kg per arm, and this provides the variability necessary for the development of muscle mass. If you stick with a pair that allows you to quickly change weight, you can include more supersets in your workout.

Power rack Horizontal bar / Bars. Power Rack for push-ups and pull-ups Pull-up bar / Bars – one of the most valuable devices in terms of price and quality of everything that you can buy. It allows you to use body weight in a variety of pull-up variations, focusing on different areas of the back, and several incarnations of bar push-ups, a time-honored chest and triceps exercise. If such a stand does not fit into your living space or budget, you can pull up on a regular bar, and adapt tall boxes or other objects for push-ups.

XNUMX-day split for home workouts

If your maximum weight of your adjustable dumbbells is 40-46kg, you may not have enough tonnage to stimulate in the ideal 8-12 repetition range. When the weight limit is low, one solution is to shorten the rest interval between sets. This technique increases cumulative muscle fatigue, which is still considered a criterion for progressive overload.

Supersets with a minimum of rest will allow you to whip up your intensity while keeping your joints happy at the same time. Smart use of a power rack for pull-ups allows you to attack massive upper body muscle mass with just your own weight, and if you add a loaded backpack or weight lifting belt, you can manipulate the rep range.

Workout 1. Chest and back

You will alternate chest and back exercises throughout this workout until you complete it with a movement for both muscle groups — the classic dumbbell pullover. Since these are large and strong body parts, you will have to manipulate rest periods to achieve muscle failure within the intended rep range. Keep a smart phone with a timer close at hand.

Workout 1. Chest and back

Workout 2. Legs

Start with jump squats – they will prepare your muscles and nervous system for quick engagement in subsequent exercises. Just do not do this exercise to failure, leave the strength for a couple of repetitions.

This exercise can be combined with the goblet squat, which recruits the quadriceps and gluteus muscles, and at the same time imposes increased demands on the muscles-stabilizers of the trunk. If the weights are not heavy enough to work the muscles for the specified number of reps, put two heavy dumbbells in your backpack and hang it on your chest. The Romanian deadlift, the main builder of hamstrings and glutes, comes next, followed by alternating dumbbell lunges.

Workout 2. Legs

Workout 3. Shoulders and arms

In this workout, you can do the exercises one after another, or you can combine them into supersets and three-sets to speed up the workout and strengthen the muscles. Dumbbells fit perfectly here, on which you can quickly change weight. Supersetting antagonist exercises like biceps and triceps is especially effective in boosting blood flow and pumping your arms.

Workout 3. Shoulders and arms

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