So we’re in lockdown and the challenge of not having enough equipment has been worked around by most people in different ways. Some people have taken up bodyweight training, some people have taken to dong more cardio, online classes, some have made do with lighter weight and higher reps and some have even created their own weights with household items!
Progression is the key when it comes to training and when it comes to general activity, we need to be moving at a higher rate than what the government advise (150 minutes per week or the 10,000 steps on Fitbit per day). In fact we need to be doing about double what most people think and that means alot of walking, moving, household duties and so on. When we train, it is imperative we train at the right intensity that will allow us to progress over time. So how do you find the right intensity? Ask many people and you get many pieces of advice from “do 1 set to failure” to “do supersets until you can’t do any more” to “do HIIT 4 times a week…”
I’m going to offer you a way to find your own solution through a week’s worth of training every day to calibrate to your suited intensity. Have a look:
I’ve used Steve Reeves’ influenced workouts pretty much my entire life; which is to train the whole body each session starting with 10 minutes of cardio then an exercise or 2 for each muscle group in this order: Abs, Shoulders, Chest, Back, Arms, Legs. But I know my intensity and how far to push in order to recover adequately by the time the next session arrives (every other day), but you may not especially if you are relatively new to resistance training.
I’ve used exercises which are fair and don’t require equipment but if you have a good selection of equipment to use at home feel free to substitute exercises but stick to the format and order or muscle groups worked.
Week 1
Day 1
Walk half mile as quick as you can – walk don’t run!
Sit Ups – feet under your couch or something for support, hands locked behind your head and keep your spine neutral. Do as many as you can but do not go to failure – when it starts burning or you feel you can do 5 or 10 more, stop. Feel free to do 2-3 sets like this.
Lateral raise 2 sets 15 reps picking a weight which you could normally do more than 20 reps with (should be fairly light)
Hanging Dips – have a few practise reps then see how many you can do in one go full range
Pull Up / Australian Pull Up (horizontal row) – same as dips have a few practise reps then see how many you can do in one go
Squat Test – you have 5 minutes to rep as many Squats as possible – don’t sacrifice quality for quantity…make sure to go all the way down and keep your hands locked behind your head
Day 2 and beyond
Walk half mile 2 minutes sower than your effort yesterday
Sit Ups – do 3 sets of about 5 or 10 less than what you did on day 1
Lateral Raise – same as yesterday
Hanging Dips – 3 sets of half the number you did in one go yesterday
Pull Up – same as dips
Squats – Do 3 sets of a quarter of the reps you did in 5min yesterday (if you did 100 in 5min then you do 3 sets 25 reps). This time you do them slowly about 3 sec down 3 sec up.
The whole point of day 1 is to test your strength level. Then you do around 50% effort every day to subject your muscles to constant activity and tension. This increases what’s called Protein Synthesis, or your cells’ ability to make Protein…ie muscle. Don’t get scared you’re not going to get bigger! We’re going to make this intensity the norm and if it’s too easy you can add reps and sets, if you struggle after a few days then reduce the reps. Remember this is your “every day” intensity, not your true strength so let the ego slide!
Week 2
Train 4 days
Ok now you would have been training every day at a manageable intensity so you may feel a bit sore but you shouldn’t be feeling like you need a rest. This week you train 4 days, so we can push the intensity a bit as you’ll have days in between to recover. This intensity jump is vital and is the key to providing your muscles with forced progression.
Walk 1 mile and time it – stay at about 70% intensity don’t push it!
Sit Up – double your reps from last week and stick to 3 sets max
Overhead Press if you have weights or use pike press up for 3 sets of 50% max reps
Dips – double your reps and do 1-3 sets
Pull Ups – same as above
Squat – 2 sets of your max reps from day 1 (5min test)
See how this goes and get in touch for advice on how to approach week 3 and beyond. Good luck and enjoy the positive changes your body’s about to go through!
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