Gyms are great for a lot of people. Some people like all the equipment available. The motivation provided by the people around them helps drive others. There are some people who use the gym as place to get away from everything and concentrate on gaining muscle mass. But that does not mean the gym is for everyone. There are a lot of people who aren’t working out in gyms, for a variety of reasons; the cost may not be practical, you may not have the time, or you may not be comfortable working out in a fishbowl. No matter your reasons they can all be overcome while still gaining muscle mass at home.
One of the downsides of training at home is that you won’t have all the equipment available at the gym. Don’t let that bother you. People have gotten real results from home equipment. You can too. If you can afford all the equipment you need that is great. If you can’t there are always alternatives. I have heard of coffee tables used as flat benches, and kitchen chairs as the place to do shoulder presses. The bottom line is there is almost always a way to work out. Remember though, no amount of muscle is worth an injury. If you can’t do an exercise safely, then don’t do it. Often times the safety issues can be addressed by having another person or even two there to spot for you and help lift weights into awkward starting positions.
One of the best ways to work out at home is using dumbbells. They can be easily dropped to your sides if you reach a fail point in your lifting. They are also a lot easier to get into a good starting position than a barbell.
Here are a few exercises that you can do to build muscle at home:
- Push-ups – These are a stand-by of most home workout routines. They are perfect for building muscle. They can also be adjusted into an infinite amount of positions. In order to change the portion of the muscle that is being worked you can move your hands closer together or farther apart. You can also change the angle that you work from by elevating your feet on a chair, a step, or even a coffee table.
- Curls – Hope fully you have dumbbells, if you do not you can use anything that can be held securely in your hand. Even a filled grocery bag. By keeping your elbows close to your side, you can curl from your hip up to a spot directly in front of your shoulder.
- Tricep Press – Place a chair 3-4 feet in front of you and hold the top of the chair-back with both hands. Your body should be leaning at a 50°-60° angle with your arms against your chess. Press yourself up from the chair-back by straightening your arms. The intensity of this exercise can be adjusted by how far over you are leaning in order to reach the chair.
- Lunges – You can use a set of dumbbells to do lunges in your house. You can either do them in place or if you have enough room like a hallway, you can do them walking. Hold the dumbbells down by your waist as you lunge in place or a walking lunge.
- Calf raises – These are one of the easier exercises to do at home. Sitting in a chair, with your feet on a block, place your free weights on top of a board laid across your knees. You can now perform the calf raises against the weight that is resting on your legs.
There are limits to the amount of weight training you can do at home. But the weight training you do at home is a lot more effective than anything else you choose to do at home. Until you are comfortable or able to go to a gym, building muscle at home is the best option. Remember that the same things apply at home that would apply at a gym. Always warm up and cool down. Never put yourself or others into danger with risky exercises.
