Back again with more information on full body workouts that you can do from home. I started doing these full body routines at home, in the driveway, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and quite honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to anything else. I’m in the best shape of my life.
Never mind the fact that I’m WAY over 40 and I was probably in pretty good shape when I was 25… by default. Still, I work out every other day and do 2 sets each of 2 exercises per body part/muscle group and a vary the routine every session. So I modify the moves. I tinker with the tempo. I experiment with different ways to perform each exercise. I find all kinds of exercise videos on YouTube and try to implement those routines into my own.
Ok so I’ll just keep sharing routines as often as I can and, if you choose to follow along, try to work these into your week and make a commitment to getting a 30-45 minute workout in every other day. Variation is Vital. Commitment is key.
WEEK 1 + WORKOUT 2 (EQUIPMENT- One towel, One dumbbell or Kettlebell, moderate weight. I use 25 lbs.)
- Warm up- 2 minutes of Jumping Jacks or 100 Jumping Jacks.
- Warm up- 40 side squats (20 to each side. Fluid movement. Legs spread wide. No steps. Arms extended out to the side)
- Legs 1- Two sets of 20-25 Jump squats (Do a pump or half rep in-between each rep. Be explosive. The half rep helps you gain momentum so you can focus on jumping as high as you can.)
- Legs 2- Two sets of 40 Alternating lunges (20 each leg. Find a comfortable but productive move for you arms while doing these lunges. I tend to press my hands together as if I’m praying and twist across my body at the bottom of each rep)
- Legs 3- Two sets of 20 Glute Bridges (This works your butt and your hamstrings. Lie on your back. Lift your hips to the ceiling. Hold the rep at the top for a count of ten. Do 20 reps with the hold then 10-15 full reps with no hold. If your flexibility is limited try to work up to a full range of motion but do partial reps for the time being)
- Back 1- Single arm dumbbell rows (2 sets of 30 reps per side. Use a chair or bench to place your hand and knee to hold a position that allows for a good range of motion. Pull the dumbbell up and hold the move at the top for 3-5 seconds then lower. You look like you are starting a lawn mower)
- Back 2- Two sets of 10 Superman moves with a breast stroke move at the top. Start face down, hands extended out in front, lift your chest and feet about 2-3 inches off of the ground and pull the Hands and elbows back in a wide rowing motion, looking like you are doing a breast stroke (2 sets of 15 reps)
- Chest 1- Two sets of standard push ups. As many as you can do. (Slow on the low! Start with negative reps and lower yourself for 6 seconds then push up. Once you reach muscle failure, keep going by dropping the knees and push out 10 more reps from this assisted position.
- Chest 2- Lateral Plank Walk. (Hold a straight push up position, keep your arms straight and walk yourself side to side for 4 feet each way. Try to do 20 or more reps.)
- Shoulders- Two sets of 20-30 squat thrust shoulder presses. Let’s break out that dumbbell. (hold the dumbbell with one arm at your shoulder. Do a short or abbreviated squat move and use that momentum to push the dumbbell up to the sky. Bring it down and do it again. You can use the thrust move to really push yourself past what you can normally do. Cheat reps can be really productive sometimes.
- Biceps- More dumbbell! Do two sets + 25 reps each arm of seated isolation curls. Sit down on a chair or bench, hold the dumbbell on the ground and place that hand’s elbow against the front of your thigh. Raise the dumbbell until it reaches your shoulder’s height, hold the rep for 5 seconds and lower it back down.
- Triceps- Two sets of 25 Lying one arm triceps extension (2 sets 25 reps). Use the towel. Pull up on the towel with your right hand extended over your head your back. For resistance pull down on the towel, behind your back with the left hand. Then repeat using the other arm. You will get some good tricep work from doing close-grip pushups BUT if you want to isolate the tri’s and spend a little extra time on working the arms do these. Again these are good if you don’t have access to weights.of each exercise af
- ABS- Triple set of your favorite ab exercises. Triple set meaning you do one set of each exercise one after the other and repeat that cycle twice. Do 20 reps each set. Here’s one series that I do regularly….
- ABS- 1) 25 Half rep leg raises. Lie down in a pike position, bottoms of your feet facing the sky. Extend or lower the legs 1/3 of the way down, moving your feet about 12 inches and back. If you want get to crazy extend your arms out above your head and raise your arms to touch your toes or ankles at the top of the rep, adding a little crunch to the movement. 2) 40 Ankle touches. Do 20 on each side. Stay down on your back and assume a semi-crunch position with feet on the ground. Reach up to the side and touch each ankle with the same side hand. 3) Turn over and hold a plank position for 60 seconds. Repeat that series 1-2 times.
Thats it for Workout 2. Honestly you could do this same workout for multiple days and make a switch to a new routine after 1 week or 2 weeks of the same routine. Make modifications to suit your needs… just be consistent… show up. Half the battle is just being there… and please make sure you are 1- giving yourself an opportunity to complete the exercise as intended. Do half or assisted reps if necessary (ie. if you can’t do a full push up then do half reps or do half reps with your knees on the ground) and 2- Make the most out of that 2nd set. REALLY push yourself past exhaustion or muscle failure. Also remember to stretch. Sometimes I throw in a dynamic stretching exercise or two throughout my workouts to stay loose but definitely Spend 15 minutes stretching after every workout and please stretch for a few minutes before bed. Drink lots of water throughout the day and if you are really sore the day after a workout, give yourself some time to recover before you do a new session.
Ok thanks for stopping by. I wish you the best. Stay tuned a new workout tomorrow.
and TOMORROW… its Tabata Time.
Jcliffyhuf & The Healthy Stuff 