Want to build muscle fast but don’t have time to go to a gym? I’ve put together a series of three workouts that you can perform at home.
You can use tubing, dumbbells, soup cans, paint cans, or whatever you can find for extra resistance. Perform 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions on each movement.
Perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions on crunches.
RELATED: RECOMMENDED PLANS FOR YOUPerform 30 sec. of high stepping in between sets of each movement to tax your cardiovascular system as well.
Workout 3 is a full-body workout emphasizing the Legs but keeping the musculature balanced for the rest of the body. You can use body weight as the main source of resistance or surgical tubing can easily be used on every exercise for added resistance if you don’t have access to dumbbells or weights.
This is the third workout in the series. Try Workout 1 and Workout 2 and compare the three.
EXERCISES: |
KEY POINTS: |
MAJOR MUSCLES |
MINOR MUSCLES |
ONE-LEG SQUATS |
With feet shoulder width, toes straight ahead or slightly out, place bar across the shoulders (behind your head) where it’s comfortable. Keep your abdominals tight and your back arched. Keep your head straight and your eyes looking up to help keep your back arched. Place one foot on a block positioned behind you, so that when you are in a squatting position the back of your knee comes down to the same line as the back of the other heel. Perform this one leg at a time. Stop just before the lower back starts to round out. |
Quadriceps, Gluteus Maximus, Hamstrings. |
Abdominals, Spinal Erectors, Upper/Mid back, Arms, Calves, Adductors / Abductors. |
DEADLIFTS |
Squatting down with your hips above your knees, and your shoulders above your hips, place the bar as close to your shins as possible. Take a reverse grip on the bar. Start the pull with your legs and continue with your back until you are standing upright. |
Legs, Lower/Upper back, Trapezius. |
Rest of the body. |
INCLINE PUSH-UPS |
Place your feet on an object so they are above your shoulders. Begin from the top position with the arms and hips straight and the abs tight. You may begin doing them from the knees for an easier progression. Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping the neck straight, until the shoulders are even with the elbows. If you feel a stretch in the shoulder, don’t go this far. Your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor when you are in the bottom position and keep your elbows out and perpendicular to your body. Return to the top. |
Pectoralis major (emphasis on upper portion). |
Triceps; Anterior deltoids; Pectoralis minor, Shoulder girdle muscles. |
STANDING REVERSE CALF RAISES |
Standing on a block with the toes off the end, point the toes down towards the floor to get a good stretch on the shin. Then, bring the toes up as far as possible. |
Tibialis Anterior. |
Anterior leg muscle. |
FOREARM CIRCUIT |
Perform for 2 sets of 15 each with no rest. Don’t worry about full Range of Motion. Do everything as fast as you can.
|
Brachialis, Forearm extensors, Forearm flexors |
Biceps. |
FLOOR BACK RAISE |
Lying face down on the floor, extend your arms above your head. Lift your left arm and your right leg off the ground as far as possible. Return to the starting position, and repeat with the right arm and the left leg. |
Hamstrings, Gluteus Maximus. |
Erectors. |
LEG TUCKS ON FLOOR |
Sitting on the floor, lean back slightly and support your upper body with your arms. Keeping your Abdominals tight and your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, lift your legs in a large arc until your thighs are above parallel to the ground. |
Hip flexors. |
Rectus Abdominis, Obliques. |