I know, I know. The Coronavirus has you stuck at home. Me too. But are you still working out? Oh, you can’t work out because your gym is closed and you have to stay home. What? You don’t have a gym at home, so you can’t work out? I understand. No, wait, I don’t understand. Not having a gym is no excuse for not being able to work out.
I’ve heard this too many times over my life time. Oh, how many Coronaviruses have I experienced? Well, two. If you guys remember SARS..that was a Coronavirus, and Covid-19 is as well, though Covid-19 has raised the bar for sure. But I have heard this excuse for not working out many times before. Maybe it wasn’t because of a virus or not having a home gym. I have heard it from people who use excuses like, “the gym cost too much money” or “the gym is too far away” or “I travel all the time and can’t work out.” If you’ve used any of these excuses, or ones like them, I challenge you with these 5 exercises that can give you a workout without owning a home gym or any personal weights. And these exercise will get you results!!!
1. Planks
This exercise will help you strengthen your core, improve your posture, and strengthen your back. There are many ways you can perform this exercise, but one of the simplest is to just get down like in a push-up position and just hold yourself there like at the top of a push-up. You could also get down, like in a push-up position, but rest on your elbows and perform a plank. Either way works. Try them both out and see what works best for you.
Perform 3 rounds of this exercise, holding for at least 30 seconds per set. Increase the hold time as this exercise becomes easier.
2. Push-ups
This is one of the best exercises for strengthening your chest and your core. You can do many variations of it. There are too many to list here. The standard way is simply the straight up and down, bringing your chest as close to the floor as you can. If you want to hit different muscles in your chest, you can elevate your feet to hit the upper muscles of the chest, or elevate your hands to hit the lower muscles of the chest. Either way, these are great.
Perform 3 rounds of push-ups attempting to max out each round.
3. Squats
This is a compound movement that works muscles in your body. There are so many benefits to this exercise that I recommend you include some form of squats in every workout routine. There are many variations of the squat as well, but a simple up and down, with no pause is the way to start.
Perform 3 rounds of squats maxing out each round. If you want to learn more about the benefits of squats, check out my post: The One Super Exercise You Should Be Doing .
4. Bird Dogs
This exercise helps strengthen your core and your back, especially your lower back. It can really improve your balance and engage some of those small stabilizing muscles as well. All you have to do is get down on all four and then point your right arm out in front of you while extending your left leg behind you. Hold for 3 seconds and then switch to the opposite arm and leg. Easy peasy.
Perform 3 rounds of 10 bird dog repetitions. A point with your left arm/leg and right arm/leg is one repetition.
5. Glute Bridges
This exercise primarily focuses on your butt, specifically your glutes. It also hits your core and some leg muscles, though your buttocks is the real target. All you have to do is lay on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor, back on the ground. Once in this position, raise your hips to the sky as high as you can go. Hold for 3 seconds and back down. That is one repetition.
Perform 3 rounds of this exercise with 10 repetitions each round.
The Takeaway
Not having a gym or not having access to one isn’t an excuse for not getting a workout in. These 5 exercises, if performed consistently each week, at least 3x a week, can transform your body in just a couple months. You can make a real change, or even maintain what you’ve been doing by performing these body weight exercises that require no weights at all. You can perform them anywhere and get a great workout in. This is also a great routine to use for a change. If you are always working with weights and lifting, you can use this routine to throw some variety into the mix. You can increase the intensity as the exercises get easier.
So, no gym? No excuse. Don’t let this Coronavirus stunt your progress. Use these exercises and keep your fitness goals on track. Start them today. After this isolation time is over, you can come back out into the world looking fit and feeling better. Good luck!!!