For those with access to a gym or a complete home gym set, there really is no limit to what you can do, as far as a full body routine goes.
By complete home gym set, I do not mean one of those all in one, “power” sets with stacked weight and pin selector. I think those are terrible, though others may disagree. I have yet to use one that allowed for full range of motion or didn’t have some odd feel to it. Plus, it locks your joints into a rigid plane – great for injuries.
A complete home gym would be like a resistance band system with Bodylastics on the low side to Bowflex on the high side. Or better yet, a power rack stand with adjustable bench - that is, if you got a few (or a lot) bucks to spare, cause its pricey and takes up a lot of room.
BUT, BUT, BUT…
Let me be clear, I linked some of the items that I “suggested” to Amazon not because I want you to buy a $1000 home gym – that’s nuts! It is to give you an idea of the types of options that are out there for you. And please do not run down to your local Sports Authority or Sears and start scoping out a 200 buck this or a $1200 that. Don’t spend anymore than you need to or want to. In fact, your best option is the classifieds. Decide what you want and then go to Craigslist or your local classifieds.
Here in Hawaii, this listing in Craigslist, “includes bench, dumbells, barbell, 2-25 lb wights, 7-10 lb weights, 3-5lb weights, 40 lb dumbells and twisting push-up handles” is for 100 bucks, no doubt you could negotiate that down. There was another listing for weight bench for 35 bucks.
My point – whatever you decide you need, get it cheap, get it used, because if you close eyes – your muscles won’t know the difference between a brand new $300 bench and a $35 bench or a plank of wood (with padding) on a pair of cinder blocks.
That said, I ordered my resistance band set online and had it shipped to me here in Hawaii for 60 bucks and change. Sure I could have gotten a weight set and bench for less, but with space and kids to worry about; I just did not want weights lying around the spare bedroom or lanai. All things considered, Bodylastics seemed like a good move and, thankfully, it turned out that way. You need to make your own assessment, and then, buy the most with the least money possible.
Assumptions
- You have access to squat or power rack
- You have access to pull up bar
- You have bench with uprights
Routine
Warm-up
- Run in place – 5 minutes (sprinkle in 20 seconds of high kicks every now and then)
- Push up – 1 set of 20 to 30 reps
- Deep knee bends – 1 set of 20 to 30 reps
Exercises
- Full squat – THE NUMBER ONE EXERCISE “THE KING!!” Nuff said. This article has great discussion on getting into correct squat position. This article talks about how properly to do the exercise.
- Stiff legged dead lifts – Not the traditional dead lift (which would be a great alternative to squats on occasion) but with your legs frozen in a near straight position throughout the movement. Read it here. Hits everything from the back side of your calves up to your neck.
- Pull ups – Get your chin over the bar anyway you can. If need be, stand on a chair and an use your legs to help build strength initially.
- Bench press – Over the years, I have hear some interesting discussions on how it doesn’t really hit the pecs, or conversely overdevelops the lower pecs, etc. Well, I think the bench press is important because it’s a power movement that involves your whole upper torso. And for a full body routine, this is what we want.
- Standing military press – Just basic stuff
- Lying triceps extension – Movement is similar to “skull crushers” but instead of keeping the upper arms perpendicular to the floor, you lower the bar behind your head until your arms are parallel to the ground. From there, the movement is combination of pullover and triceps extension to the top. You can go heavier because you involve more muscle groups.
- Standing dumbbell curls – Your biceps rotates your wrist and flexes your upper arm up. Dumbbells let you do both. Do both plus the added benefit of not locking in your elbows in an injury prone position.
- Superset ab crunches with reverse crunches – good way to hit your whole abdominal cavity.
Cool-down
- Light stretch – 30 second stretch of all body parts, not hard pull, just an easy stretch and hold to loosen your limbs
Sets/Repetitions/Frequency
- Routine is done Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Pick 2 days, maybe Tuesday and Saturday, to do some cardio – 30 minutes of jogging or brisk walking, nothing too crazy.
- Basic set/repetition scheme is 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 with last set being to maximum effort tapping out around 8 repetitions, except…
- Squats do 4 sets of 20, 12, 10, 8
- Pull ups do 3 sets of max reps
- Superset crunches do 2 supersets of 20 or max reps with no rest between exercises or sets – just go back and forth. But this is hard; you may need to rest a moment or two between supersets. If so, try to keep it under 30 seconds.
- Rest no more than 2 minutes per set, try for 1 minute depending on your conditioning.
- Keep total work out time to under 45 minutes or so.
General Notes
- This is a simple routine but a hard one; by the end, you should be exhausted and ready to crawl into the shower, or you didn’t push yourself hard enough.
- If have no access to a squat or power rack, an alternate leg exercise is the lunge holding dumbbells in both hands.
- For the first couple of work outs, or every one of them, you abs could cramp from the supersets. If they do, just slowly arch your back, elevate your chest, and look up. This should gently ease and stretch your abs out of the cramp.
- Everything is a guideline and nothing is written in stone. If you miss a workout, make it up.
- If you are sick – I use the old standby that says that if you are sick above the neck (cold, congestion, etc.), it is okay to work out. But if you are sick below the neck (body aches, fever, etc.), do not work out. Always get a doctor’s advice.
- Keep track of what you do each workout. It doesn’t matter whether its a “training log,” a short diary, or mental notes. Always know what you did and how you felt. Later as you progress, this information will help you make adjustments to improve your workouts. Plus, it is great motivation to seek how much stronger you’ve gotten in the last 3 months!
- In all things, use commonsense.
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