It seems like life has become so much busier, and life did this without even asking us for permission. Thanks, life! What this means for a lot of people is no gym. It is as simple as that. When your to-do list grows and your days shrink, you have to cut some things and, well, the gym is usually one of the first to go. If you find yourself empathizing with this scenario, we have some epic news: it is totally possible to build strength and muscle without going to a gym, or anywhere near a gym, or spending $48,000 on gym equipment, or even lifting a single weight for that matter. It’s just a matter of knowing how.
Explode Into Action
If you’ve ever visited a gym before, then you may have heard the term plyometric training being thrown about by the trainers. If you want to get a better understanding, then head here https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/what-are-plyometrics-how-the-pros-use-plyos, but to sum it up as quick as possible, this is where you explode into action, putting an immense amount of demand on your muscles with super-powerful movements. Squat jumps, clap push-ups, lunge jumping or jumping onto stacked boxes. All of this falls under the bell-curve of plyometrics, and they all build strength.
Start Pulling Your Weight
One of the most all-encompassing exercises you can do is pull-ups. Why? It uses your entire body weight and you can tailor it to strengthen almost any muscle you want. The obvious ones are chest, back, arms and shoulders. But you can easily tweak this to work your core muscles by bringing your legs up towards your chest while lifting your body towards the bar. Another way to test yourself is to throw a strength band into the mix and then you’ll really feel the burn.
Be Part Of The Resistance
Resistance bands are one of the most effective ways to build strength and muscle because they work with your own weight and requires little money or space for storage. Chest, legs, arms, core, lats, delts, anywhere and everywhere. What’s more, the internet is littered with amazing information on how to get the most out of these exercises. For example, https://www.mobilityguardian.com/resistance-band-chest-exercises/ describes exercises you can easily do at home. Resistance bands are widely celebrated amongst those athletes wanting to improve their recovery rates after injury, which is something worth keeping in mind.
Adapt To Your Surroundings
Every bodyweight you can imagine can be made that much harder by adding weight. We don’t mean adding a weight, just something of weight. Push-ups become that much harder with a dictionary on your back, increasing muscle and core balance. Pull-ups become that much harder when you attach some weight to your feet, like slipping your toes through the hoops on your laundry bag. Getting through a set of dips with your pet dog on your lap is another idea, or your printer or anything you can think of really. These are all examples of things you can do to maximize a certain workout. Besides, it’s wicked fun to get creative too.