Have you ever dug into a muscle or fitness magazine trying
to find an awesome home workout routine? Sometimes it can
be hard because a lot of the exercises they list are done
on the latest and greatest machines that have rolled out of
the factory in the last month or two. With a little
imagination, you can take any of those workout routines and
get a good sweat on at home by making a few little
adjustments.
What I frequently hear is that people don't want to skip
over any exercise or anything that may be important to the
program. Since they would be working out at home for
awhile, they're not really sure as to what they should do.
They would go to a gym but often live a ways out of town
and it is definitely a trip to get over to that area.
The good news is that most people that want to work out at
home have a bench press or at the very least a stability
ball. With that much we are all set to go in modifying our
awesome program into a home workout. It just so happens
that I know of a few things that you could change so lets
look at them.
Modifying a gym based workout program into a home workout
is very easy. Mostly because its not so much the "magic" of
the movements themselves but proper weight progression as
well as the applied effort and scheduled rest that will get
you the results.
I am going to assume, like I said above that you have a set
of dumbbells and something to lie on. Now if you don't have
a set of dumbbells to do the workout that is o.k, because
almost every dumbbell movement ever created can be done
with a barbell. For example Dumbbell curls can be turned
into barbell curls. What about lateral raises? You could
simply do barbell presses because both exercises work the
shoulder equally well. In fact, I would actually use the
barbell shoulder press over the lateral raises anyway.
Compound movements always give you more bang for your buck.
The basic idea in modifying workouts so that they can be
done at home is you just have to realize what muscle you
are working and sub in something that works the same muscle
that you can do at home.
For example, in a typical workout routine you will see
something like Machine Rows for the back. What are you
supposed to do with that unless you have a couple of
thousand dollars to spend on a machine? Simple, it's a
rowing exercise for the back, so you would look for rowing
exercises that work that back that you can do at home. In
this case since you have a barbell, it would be bent over
barbell rows. If its only dumbbells you have then one arm
rows it would be. If you had no equipment, you might go for
the chin-up hanging off your door instead.
Remember, there are no magic exercises. It's the effort
applied that will get you results.
The same thing goes for any body part but lets look at calf
raises for another example. You don't really need a fancy
machine to do these. As a matter of fact, machines rob you
from working your stabilizer muscles anyway! Just find a
set of stairs and some weight. Your weight could be single
leg raises with bodyweight or you may want to use a
dumbbell in your hand or a barbell across your back.
Remember, the set of weights you always have with you is
your bodyweight. It will always be there for you in a pinch
and it the best weight to learn how to move properly.
Triceps pushdowns are another one that people think is
mandatory. These can easily be replaced with bench dips,
close grip bench presses or close grip pushups. If you
start to use your imagination, you could really start to
have fun mixing up your exercises like this. You never get
bored and you really cannot mess it up, because in the end,
as long as you are working the muscle, you're doing great.
----------------------------------------------------
Ray Burton is a an ISSA-certified personal trainer,
bodybuilder and author of the best selling Fat to Fit
Program. To watch personal training videos and get your
free e-course on losing weight and getting in shape, visit:
Free
e-course====>http://buildingbodies.ca/factsaboutfitness.shtm
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