If you are like many people out there who struggle to realize their strength and fat loss goals, you detest the thought of working out for one simple reason, the gym.
From the drive there through busy highways and streets, to the hordes of sweaty, heavily muscled meatheads, the gym experience can be intimidating and frustrating.
Just getting to the gym itself doesn’t necessarily mean that you will make any progress either.
Many people find themselves just going through the motions, following the quickly put together, and oftentimes poorly designed, complimentary training programs given to them by overworked and underpaid gym staff.
If you are one of those people who hate the gym, keep reading because I have good news for you.
HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE FROM HOME
The truth of the matter is, you don’t need an expensive gym membership to simply and effectively reshape your body into one that you are proud of.
What is required to make this happen?
A well thought out plan, consistency, and a willingness to do what it takes to accomplish this (and it takes less than you might think).
In this article, I am going to give you a blueprint for reshaping your body in as little as 30-45 minutes, 3 times a week, provided you are willing to put in the effort.
Building muscle is relatively simple, but it is not necessarily easy, otherwise everyone would be walking around with big arms and a six pack.
There are 4 basic elements to a well thought out training program focused on building muscle, regardless of whether the method involves lifting weights, or just using your bodyweight for resistance.
THESE 4 ELEMENTS ARE:
- Proper Exercise Selection
- Progressive Overload
- Volume
- Nutrition/Recovery
Exercise Selection – The program will consist of 3 basic exercises, encompassing an upper body push, an upper body pull and a squat variation. All the exercises will be using your own bodyweight, however you can use dumbells or a kettlebell for the squat if you wish.
Progressive Overload – Your goal with each workout will be to add at least 1 rep to each group of exercises. If you were able to complete a total of 70 push-ups one workout, your goal is to get at least 71 the next workout, and so forth.
If you are able to add more than 1 rep that is great, just make sure you are stopping each set when you are within 1-2 reps of failure.
Don’t make the mistake of becoming too greedy with adding reps, because it can end up backfiring on you and stall your progress in the long term.
Volume – The amount of volume required for hypertrophy (muscle growth) is generally considered to be a minimum of 100 reps at 70-75% of your 1RM (the amount of weight you are able to lift for 1 repetition) per week to make steady and consistent progress. If you are a more advanced trainee, you can push this amount even higher for better, and faster, results.
However, if you find that your reps are not going up by at least 1 every workout, you are probably doing too much for your recovery ability, in which case you should reduce the volume a little bit until you find the spot where you are able to do the most amount of work and still recover properly.
Nutrition/Recovery – If your goal is to gain muscle size, you will want to be eating approximately 16 times your bodyweight in calories a day.
You should aim to consume about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, with the rest of your calories split between fats and carbohydrates.
Make sure that you are eating whole, organic foods as much as possible.
Stay away from any processed foods, and minimize your alcohol consumption.
Try to get at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night, and try to minimize stress also, as this raises cortisol which is a catabolic hormone.
THE WORKOUT
MONDAY / WEDNESDAY / FRIDAY:
Rest 60 seconds between each set
Bodyweight Squats – 7 Sets
Push-Ups – 7 Sets
Pull-Ups/Inverted Rows – 7 Sets
Stop each set about 1-2 reps short of failure to avoid nervous system burnout, as you will be performing a decent amount of volume, especially if you are a beginner.
Never sacrifice good form in order to get more reps, and make sure to try to feel the muscles working in each exercise that you are performing.
Perform the reps slowly and in control at all times for the best results.
