At-Home Workout No More Gym

At-Home Workout No More Gym The information contained herein is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment in any manner. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition or before engaging in any physical fitness plan.

The most common excuses for not exercising are:

Never Win

I don’t have time.
- I don’t know what to do.
- I can’t afford a gym/trainer/equipment.

This workout series eliminates all of those concerns. The whole series can be completed with 3 pieces of equipment, available for less than $200. The equipment requirements to be able to complete all of the workouts include:

A kettlebell
- A pullup bar
- A figure 8 resistance tube

Some of the workouts don’t require any equipment at all, while others use one or two or all of the tools.

All of the exercises are relatively simple to perform. There are tons of YouTube video demonstrations of each of the exercises and none require extreme athleticism or coordination. The workouts are designed to be done 3 days per week but can be done a minimum of 2 times per week (which is about 90% as effective as 3 days), and for less than 30 minutes per session. No excuses. Just do it.

Those who understand programming know that there is a constant tug of war between specialization and training transfer. Coach Dan John likes to say, “Specialization works, but it comes with a price.” That price is less training transfer. Training transfer is the degree to which gains in the gym translate to performance improvements on the field of play or in real life activities. Most people underestimate the degree of specificity involved in training. Generally, more variety = more training transfer. Less variety = more specialization (i.e., a powerlifting program focusing on the 3 big lifts). This program leans more towards training transfer than specialization. It accomplishes this through lots of variety. The fitness you achieve will transfer to activities in your daily life. Home Workout No More Gym

Like many of you, I am not a bodybuilder or powerlifter. And I am not competing in any sports either. That gives me incredible freedom to train the way that I want to. I don’t have to optimize for a specific goal. I think that if I had continued down the path of optimizing, and specializing, I would not have stuck to training as long as I have. I have a 40 year unbroken streak going. In 40 years, except for the handful of times I have been sick, I have not gone more than 3 days without training. Even two herniated disks and a torn ACL did not keep me from training. Because I did not have to optimize, I had the freedom to find something that I could do, and more importantly, was motivated to do. The best workout plan is the one you will do, consistently. Enjoying your workouts matters in the long run. These workouts were part of our effort to inject a bit of fun into our workouts, and to keep it simple and train in the great outdoors. Plus they are time

efficient. In about the same amount of time it takes to just drive to the gym, we can be done. I hope you enjoy the workouts as much as Suzanne and I have.

Let’s face it, training like an athlete is appealing to most of us, until we try it, consistently, for a long time. Then we realize why we aren’t elite athletes. The reality is that kind of training rarely fits your lifestyle if you have a job, family commitments, responsibilities etc. The vast majority of us are what coach Dan John would characterize as quadrant 3 (Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Dan John’s excellent book Intervention). A quadrant 3 athlete does not need a high number of fitness qualities, and does not need them at a high level either. Sounds depressing? It is not as bad as you think. You can become very fit in quadrant 3, especially compared to your couch potato peers. Also, quadrant 3 training gives us lots of flexibility to have some fun, and incorporate lots of variety. It is also lower risk, which is important for training longevity. This is a quadrant 3 system for regular folks, like most of us.

I find that when I train in the gym, it is easy for me to get in a rut and do the same exercises and programs. I start to repeat the same movement patterns, in the same way. When I train outdoors, I am much more creative and move in many different plains and speeds. We lose movement competency quickly once we reach our mid 20s so a program based on a wide variety of movements can be really beneficial. The purpose of this workout series is to provide a complete fitness solution for the busy professional who has little time, or inclination to go to the gym. You can squeeze a lot of fitness from just a few tools and you can accomplish quite a bit of quality work in 20 minutes if you are focused. This book is an effort at providing you some sensible options for brief, simple but effective workouts. Don’t underestimate the difficulty or effectiveness of these simple workouts. This is not a powerlifting or bodybuilding program. This is “fitness for life.” If your goal is building muscle or getting incredibly strong, this program is not for you. If you want to build a more resilient body, improve metabolic health, and have some fun, then these workouts are a good choice. The workouts offer quite a bit of movement variation, which increases fitness transfer to everyday activities. Home Workout No More Gym

6 Principles – Home Workout No More Gym

Each of the workouts includes the 5 fundamental human movement patterns:
1. Push
2. Pull
3. Squat
4. Hip Hinge
5. Core (I hate the term “core” too but what I mean by “core” is stabilizing the hips and spine while dynamically transferring force from upper body to lower body and vice versa. It’s a mouthful, so I just say “core.”)
The workouts are also designed to be done with minimal equipment (kettlebell, pullup bar, resistance tubing) For some of the workouts you might need your car, a hill, a park bench or some place to do dips (two chairs, playground equipment etc..) In shape males should generally start with a 20-24Kg bell and females a 12-16Kg bell. Big strong guys may try the 32Kg. The figure 8 tubing is cheap. Color indicates the resistance. Buy a few in different colors and you will be set for a long time. I find the figure 8 resistance bands to be more versatile and easier to travel with but you can also use any type of resistance band if you already have them. A door frame pullup bar works great, or you could get a set of rings that you can hang from a tree branch. You can also find several pullup/dip stations on Amazon for around $100, and these give you the option of adding dips to your workouts. You should be able to get all of this for under $200. It is a cheap, versatile fitness tool kit. You don’t need to join a gym.
The workouts are designed to be completed in about 30 minutes (less in some cases).
The workouts have an element of conditioning as well. Because we chose big, dynamic exercises, you will be working on mobility too.
The workouts provide meaningful loading. Most “minimalist” fitness programs are primarily metabolic conditioning and do not provide enough loading for real strength or hypertrophy gains. This program provides adequate loading, with some metabolic conditioning benefits as well. Home Workout No More Gym
This is not a specialist program. This is a minimalist general physical preparation program. The workouts provide a complete program when cycled. Some of the workouts are complete by themselves and can be repeated for weeks at a time. I’ll indicate which of the workouts meet this criteria. This is meant to be a minimalist “one stop shopping” fitness program. It provides adequate strength and cardiovascular training. However, this program works well when paired with some easy aerobic training like walking, rucking or light jogging. Workout at Home No More Gym

How to Use the Workouts – Home Workout No More Gym

Do the workouts on 3 non-consecutive days of the week. Pick a workout and perform it as written. You can pick workouts randomly, do them in order, or skip around. You can repeat your favorites as often as you like. Or you can stick with some of the workouts for 4-6 weeks for a consistent progression (Those workouts that are best for this purpose will be identified by the following statement, “You could use this simple workout as a long term plan all by itself.”). The choice is up to you. The 95% solution is to show up and do something. A progression strategy is included for each workout in case you are going to stick with that workout for a time. If you are using these workouts as part of a more comprehensive training program (i.e., if you are a runner using these as a supplement), consider doing these workouts only twice per week. Twice per week is 90% as effective as three times per week.

This workout series assumes that you can do at least 3-4 pullups and that you can press your kettlebell at least 3-4 times. If not, you can loop your resistance tubing around your pullup bar and use it for a little assistance, and buy a lighter kettlebell for now. Many of the workouts call for rounds. A round is doing all of the exercises once, in order. Two rounds would be doing them all once, then doing them all a second time. For example, if you are doing three exercises, A, B and C; to do a round you would do one set of A, one set of B, and then one set of C. For two rounds you would do one set of A, then B, then C, and then a set of A, then B, then C. Sometimes I will recommend doing multiple sets, rather than rounds. In that case you would do A, then A, then A again (if 3 sets are called for) before starting B.

The repetitions called for in the workouts are approximations. These are not set in stone. We realize that if you have one kettlebell, it will dictate what you need to do in terms of repetitions. For example, if the workout calls for 5 sets of 5 kettlebell presses, but 5 reps is your max with your current kettlebell, you could do 5 sets of 4 instead. Or if you can do 12 reps with your kettlebell, then rather than 5 sets of 5, you might do 4 sets of 8.

Once you figure out the basic pattern of the workouts, you can create your own, using pieces and parts from the 100 workouts, or by adding your own exercises. Make sure you review the 6 principles to ensure that you are still true to the basic framework of the program. Workout at Home No More Gym

Table of Contents Click on link for each specific one.

Stretching and Flexibility

You’ll notice that the workouts do not include stretching. It is not because I don’t believe in stretching, I do! I consider the flexibility portion to be a different session. You can stretch immediately after these workouts if you want to. In fact, that would be a great time to do it if you have the time, because stretching is more effective when the muscles are warm. But it you don’t have the time, do it separately. What should you stretch? It depends on what is tight. Most people should consider stretching their shoulders, hamstrings, thoracic spine, hip flexors, and pecs. You can pick one simple stretch for each of those and hold it for two sets of 30 seconds or simply hold each stretch for 1-2 minutes and call it done. This is the 90% solution for most people. Workout at Home No More Gym

About the Authors

Mike Prevost earned a PhD in exercise physiology from Louisiana State University in 1995. He specialized in muscle physiology and metabolism. Throughout his college years he worked as a personal trainer in various gyms and fitness centers. He has trained athletes for many different sports including triathlon, ultra running, surfing, power lifting, bodybuilding, mixed martial arts, football, basketball and more. After finishing his PhD, he took a commission in the U. S. Navy as an Aerospace / Operational Physiologist in the Navy Medical Service Corps. While serving in the Navy he developed human performance training material for the U. S. Special Operations Command. He developed new fitness standards for Navy rescue swimmers. He served as a consultant to the USMC in evaluating the safety of the USMC Combat Fitness Test. He also served on a Navy committee tasked with proposing alternatives to the Navy physical fitness test. He trained thousands of aviators and aircrew on survival techniques, physiology, and human performance. He also served as the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the U. S. Naval Academy, where he performed physiological testing of athletes to improve performance, developed the Principles of Strength and Conditioning Course for all Midshipmen, and served as the director of remedial fitness training programs. After retiring from the Navy, he served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University, teaching exercise physiology, strength and conditioning and anatomy and physiology laboratory. He has over 25 years of experience in working with athletes.

Suzanne Prevost worked for decades as a Physical Therapist Assistant and also worked as a personal trainer. She has raced several triathlons and Spartan races, as well as open water swims and road races. She can deadlift double body weight for repetitions, perform 16 dead hang pullups and do a Turkish getup with more than ½ of her body weight. She enjoys introducing women to the free weights side of the weight room. She was the initial “test pilot” for these workouts.

Home Workout No More Gym