Last year was crazy, a time in history none of us will forget.
The Covid-19 pandemic through a spanner in the works that no one was ready for.
Every industry was hit, some a lot worse than others.
But as a whole, I think the fitness industry learned to be a little creative and to be honest.
I don’t think we had it too bad.
We could still offer a pretty decent service considering what we had to adapt to.
It wasn’t completely foreign to be working online, a lot of trainers have been working like that for a while.
But it was a lot to get used to for a lot of clients.
Not everyone knows how to exercise outside of a gym.
Not many people know what to do with minimal equipment and space.
But we’re all starting to figure it out.
Every day there is more information and options for people with training at home.
And even though in Australia life has gone almost back to normal.
Except for signing in everywhere now.
The fitness industry has definitely changed here.
A lot of people have seen they can get by without going to the gym now.
And that’s cool to see, people are getting creative, trying new things.
But we still need coaches and trainers, our role is changing though.
So how can we get stronger at home, the same way we get stronger at the gym.
We push our muscles further than the last time we trained them.
We train them under tension and let them recover and grow back stronger.
Progressive overload, every time you train your muscles, you add a little more resistance every time.
This doesn’t have to be more weight.
Do 3 sets of 10 push-ups one day.
The next time, do 3 sets of 12.
That’s progressive overload.
How Can I Gain Muscle At Home?
Well firstly, you can click this link right here and get your free copy of my E-Book. ‘Train Wherever The F*ck You Want!’
And then you can start doing what I do.
You see I train when I want and where I want, all thanks to my little mate’s Resistance bands.
You could try training with just your own body weight, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, planks.
Then move into more advanced movements, pike push-ups, ring dips, handstands.
You can buy some resistance bands or a kettlebell online.
There is so much you can do with minimal equipment.
Even filling a backpack with books will give you some good resistance.
Check out this video I made showing you how you can get a workout in with just a backpack!
One kettlebell can work your whole body, and even as you get stronger and the weight doesn’t feel as heavy, you can slow the movements down.
Spend more time under tension.
Kettlebells are an awesome piece of equipment because of their big point of difference.
The weight distribution in a kettlebell is a lot different from a barbell or dumbbell.
With all the weight being below the handle with a kettlebell you work your stabilizing muscles a lot more.
Giving you the possibility of a much more well-rounded workout.
How Can I Build Muscle faster?
Train harder, recover better, eat cleaner and drink more water.
Treat your body better and it will reward you for it.
Eat more often and eat protein with each meal.
Food will fuel the growth, if you’re not giving your muscles any fuel how are they supposed to grow?
Eat plenty of fruit and veggies but try to limit carbs to after your workout.
If you didn’t know, carbs are your body’s preferred energy source.
But if you eat too much your body is going to store that for later.
So after a workout when your body needs to replace that energy you just burnt, give it more fuel.
You also want to eat plenty of healthy fats.
As far as your training goes, be consistent.
A lot of my problems in the past have come from chopping and changing programs.
Remember it’s going to take 4-6 weeks before you really start to notice anything.
So don’t get disheartened and try a new program after 3 weeks.
Give yourself time, be realistic with your training.
Although you can speed up the progress it still takes time to build lean muscle.
Do You Have To Lift Heavy To Build Muscle?
Lifting heavy will definitely help get stronger and build muscle, but that’s not the only way.
Look at gymnasts or people who train in calisthenics.
They mainly train with their own body weight, so they don’t have to lift weights to build muscle.
Lifting yourself is fine, you do need to give your muscles resistance, and lifting heavy is an easy way to do that.
A big portion of my training now is done mainly with my own body weight, sure it can be tricky to train your legs with just bodyweight but it can be done.
Read my article on resistance bands to see just one way you can build muscle without lifting heavy.
One of my favorite methods to get more out of body weight or even lite weight equipment is tempo training.
Slowing down your reps.
Hop down and do a set of 5 push-ups, but slow them down, 10 seconds down, a 2-second pause at the bottom, and then 10 seconds back up.
Not only is it super effective, but it’s very time efficient as well.
You’re going to feel pretty fatigued and it’s taken less than 3 minutes.
A couple more sets of that and it’ll start to get very difficult to carry on.
How Many Push Ups A Day is Good?
I recently put up a video on youtube speaking about this.
I talk to my clients a lot about strengthening their core.
And I find pushups a much more effective way to train your core than sit-ups.
Don’t get me wrong, sit-ups aren’t a bad movement, for your abs.
Remember that your six-pack is just one set of muscles that make up your core.
If you want to work deeper down you need to change the movement.
Push-Ups keep your whole core stiff and tight, you’re basically holding a plank the whole time, and I see no reason why people can’t do 100 throughout the day.
10 sets of 10 spread out over the day, 5 sets of 20 however you want.
If you can do 100 push-ups a day, after only a few weeks you will see a major improvement in your core stability and even lower back pain.
If you can’t do a full push-up yet that’s fine, put your hands up on a box or chair.
Work to your level but always focus on keeping your core braced, don’t sag through the middle.