I always thought I’d want a state-of-the-art place to work out at home, but there’s just something about my little gym community that keeps me so inspired. Just when I start feeling demotivated or burned, somebody always manages to make me feel better. I won’t always have met the person or even have seen them before, but that intangible bond of mutual support is a constant that I’ve come to treasure.
Now with all that said, that is ME. And I know there are many of you out there who are perfectly thrilled to work out at home, or in some cases have no other choice based on your circumstances. Either way, I’ve received a few requests to tweak my daily workouts so they can be done with the basic free weights housed in a more spartan environment. For these exercises I’ll assume you have dumbbells an incline/flat bench and an Olympic bar, rack and some weight plates.
Even if you have access to a gym loaded with equipment, you might consider trying these if you’re needing a change of pace. So. Let’s get started!
4 SETS OF 8 REPS FOR ALL EXERCISES
LOWER1
Deadlift with Hex/Trap bar This is a specialized bar, which I HIGHLY recommend, but you can use a straight bar or dumbbells for traditional deadlifts
Romanian Deadlift with Olympic Bar Wedge the bar into a corner of the room and load with desired weight OR hold a dumbbell perpendicular to your body and use the same movement
Split Squat
Lying Leg Curls (each leg) Walking Lunges Use dumbbells or a barbell across your back
Single Leg Hip Thrust Couldn’t find a good example with just 1 leg OR *Reverse Hyperextensions approx 2:43 into the video (ahh love Erin!)
One-Legged Calf Raises on a step or block of some sort
CBS (CHEST/BACK/SHOULDERS)
Unassisted Neutral Grip Pullups I really would invest the $25-$30 for a pull-up bar that wedges into a door frame or find some outdoor monkey bars. This is a compound exercise EVERY WOMAN should be doing or at least working up to!
Incline Barbell Press
Seated High Cable Row Inverted Row
Flye Machine Flat bench DB flyes
Reverse Machine Flyes Reverse DB Flyes
Seated Military Press
8-10 minutes Metabolic Finisher
33 x Jump Squats
33 x Incline Push-Ups
33 x Kettlebell Swings watch this to avoid injury!
AS (ARMS/SHOULDERS)
Alternate Hammer Curls
Reverse Grip Pulldown (straight bar) Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension
Dip Machine Bench Dips add a weight plate on your lap to progress
Cross-Body 1 Arm Pressdown Lying Dumbbell Extension
8-10 minutes Metabolic Finisher
33 x Jump Squats
33 x Incline Push-Ups
33 x Kettlebell Swings watch this to avoid injury!
LOWER2
Lying Leg Curls (each leg) Glute/Ham Raise
Leg Extension (DB) Barbell Squats
Box Jumps
Reverse Hyperextensions Flutter Kicks
UPPERALL
Unassisted Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
Cable Flye Machine Dumbbell Bench Press
1 Arm Dumbbell Row
Concentration Curl
Seated Military Press
Reverse Machine Flyes Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise
20 minutes HIIT on Stepmill 1:1 at levels 3/10
SATURDAY
R E S T
SUNDAY
R E S T
Hope you find these changes helpful, and I’m sending strong wishes for your success. As always, let me know what you think.