At Home Fitness Routine: Full Body Workout
Many of us have been struggling to maintain our fitness levels without access to the gym or the outdoors. Even though we’re living under restrictions, it’s important to do what we can to maintain our mental and physical health. Fortunately – with some creativity – we can manage to get in a great strength training workout with little to no equipment.
I’ve created a full-body strength at home workout program that can be done 2-3 times a week. All of the exercises have been selected with minimal equipment in mind. If you’re one of the lucky people with access to fitness equipment, feel free to make some substitutions to the exercises, but I’d recommend keeping the overall template the same.
For each exercise, I’ve given a rep range instead of a specific number. Start at the bottom of your range for the first week, then add 1-2 reps each week if you can. This means this workout should take about 4 weeks to master, and you should see progress each week.
Vertical Press
Move: Pike push-up
Start by getting into the top position for a push-up. Then bring up the hips into a downward dog position – you can let the knees bend slightly here if the hamstrings are tight. You may also want to walk the feet up a few inches. Lower your head down so that the forehead is almost touching the ground a few inches in front of your hands. At the bottom position, your head and hands should form a triangle, not a straight line. Then press back up into the top position and repeat.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
To make this exercise harder, put your feet on a chair or wall. To make it easier, just rock from the top of a push-up position into the pike and back again.
Vertical Pull
Move: Over the door pull up
To set up for this exercise, find a sturdy door and drape a towel, sheet, or belt over the top. Facing the edge of the door grab onto either side of the towel, and let your body sink down as low as you can. The next part is the trickiest – keep your feet on the ground, but do your best to not stand up using your legs. Starting with the shoulder blades pulll with your arms as much as possible to do a modified pull-up. Then return to the bottom position and repeat.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
To make this exercise harder, you can take your feet off the ground (as long as the door is sturdy), to make it easier, use your legs to help you lift your body.
Core
Move: Leg lifts
For this exercise, you’ll need something heavy to hold onto. A couch, door, or table can work well. Lay down on your back while holding onto your anchor point above your head. Flatten your back out against the ground so that there’s no space between your low back and the surface. This should be maintained the entire time you’re doing the exercise. Lift both feet up off the ground with the legs straight. This is the starting position. Lower the legs down while keeping the back flat and the legs straight. Once you get as low as you can, bring the legs back up to the starting position.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
This exercise is easy to make easier or harder: just lower the legs further to make it harder, or limit your range of motion to make it easier.
Horizontal Press
Move: Push-ups
This one is simple, but effective. Start in the top position with the hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Make sure that the pelvis is tilted posteriorly, so that the low back is flat. Lower your body to about an inch off the ground. In this position, take note of the angle of your forearms. They should be straight up and down, but most people end up with the elbow behind the hands. Press up into the start position, and make sure to really get all the way to the top. Press your chest as far away from the ground as possible in the top position.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
There’s lots of options to modify the push-up. To make them more challenging change your hand position by going narrower or wider to challenge the triceps or pecs respectively. To make them easier, find a couch, bench, or ottoman so that you don’t have to go all the way to the ground.
Horizontal Pull
Move: Door rows
The set up for this one is a little tricky. Start with the same door and towel from the pull-up exercise. Starting from the bottom of one of the doorknobs, wrap the towel around the back of the knob. Then, take the part of the towel from the top of the door knob, and wrap it around the front edge of the door. Continue with that part of the towel, and now go behind the other side of the doorknob and pull the towel around the back of the knob and towards the front. The towel should look similar to the handlebars of a road bike, and not have any give when you pull both sides. Holding both sides, walk the feet forward and lean the upper body back. Starting with the shoulder blades, pull the arms to the sides, hold briefly at the top, and then let the body return to the starting position.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
This one is easily modified by changing the position of your feet – the further forward, the harder the exercise; the further back, the easier.
Lower body
Move: Reverse lunges
Start by standing with the feet shoulder width apart. Step one leg back and lower your body to the ground. In the bottom position, the front knee should be bent to about 90 degrees and should be behind the toe. The bottom knee should be an inch or two from the ground, and your body should be straight up and down. From this position, stand back up and return to the starting position. Repeat, alternating sides.
Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps per side, resting 30-90 sec in between sets.
To make this exercise harder, you can hold something heavy in front of your body. To make it easier, don’t go down quite as far.
Conditioning
Move: Tabata Air Squats
Performing the air squat is easy enough: stand with the feet about shoulder width apart, with the feet anywhere from straight ahead to about 30 degrees turned out. Stick out your arms as a counterbalance, and sit back like you’re going to sit in a chair. Go as low as you can comfortably and come back up. Make sure you’re not “dive bombing”; control your motion throughout the movement.
This is where the magic happens. Set an interval timer or put a clock in a visible position, because instead of going for reps we’re going for time. You’ll perform as many squats as you can for 20 sec, then rest for 10. Repeat this cycle eight times for the worst four minutes of your life. If you’re feeling really spicy, take a 1-2 minute break and do another round.
To make this harder, find something heavy and hold it in front of your chest. To make it easier, limit your squat depth or the number of rounds that you perform.
Whether it be determining an at home fitness routine to meet your needs or to perform a movement screen to ensure you are performing movements properly, Therapydia is here to help you achieve your fitness goals. Staying healthy and active starts with staying strong, and we’re fortunate to have some extra time right now to invest in our fitness. If we take this opportunity we can come out of a bad situation better and stronger than before.