It’s 100% possible to get a fantastic workout at home with a bit of planning and creativity.
Here’s how you can create an effective home workout program that will save you money without sacrificing results.
Determine your method of cardio training
If your main goal is to build muscle, you might think you won’t need to do a great deal of cardio training in the first place. However, including some cardio in your workout program does tend to help with nutrient partitioning, driving nutrients toward the muscle cells rather than the fat cells.
You can either choose to perform bouts of cardio between your strengthening movements, making it more like a calorie-burning circuit training program, or perform cardio all at once, after your strength training. You can also do cardio training in a separate session.
Do note that if your focus is on developing strength, you’re better off resting completely between sets to allow your body to recover, and performing cardio at another time.
At-home cardio options
Some good options for at-home cardio include:
Running up and down a set of stairs
Jumping rope
Step-ups on an oversize box or step (the higher the box, the better the cardiovascular benefits you’ll get
Burpies
These options are best used as an interval training excercise (going for 30 to 60 seconds hard, coupled with one minute of rest), which is ideal for at-home workouts since they are quick to complete and help burn fat more effectively.
Factoring in strength training
The next thing to do is plan out the strength training portion of your home workout. Ideally you should purchase a set of dumbbells and a barbell with weighted plates, that would allow you to perform many of the free-weight exercises you would do in the gym (bicep curls, triceps movements, deadlifts, rows, shoulder presses, lunges, etc). If you do not have these available to you, then it’s time to get creative.