Bodybuilding And Training At Home

You don’t have to join the gym in order to get a muscular body. There are many reasons that contribute to one’s need to stay at home. Stuck at home with things to look after? Can't be bothered going to the gym after work? Don't have the money to join the gym? Whatever your reason is, exercising at home is still viable for bodybuilding. You can choose when and what you want to do without having the stress of other peoples’ eyes looking at you. Simply put, you can have your own free gym membership in your own home. Look around your house. You'll see many things you can use to exercise!

1. Abdominals Training

A. Air Bike - Lie on your back and put your hands behind your head. Raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor while your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Curl up and bring your left elbow toward your right side while drawing your right knee in to meet it.

B. Crunches - Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degrees angle. Place your hands lightly on either side of your head, keeping your elbows in. Begin to roll your shoulders off the floor. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the floor. Hold it there for five seconds. Return to starting position and repeat.

2. Biceps Training

A. Concentration Curl - Sit on the sofa, spread your legs apart into a V and lean forward slightly. Grasp the dumbbell in one hand with your palm facing upward. Rest your elbow on the inside of your thigh and let the dumbbell hang. Slowly curl the weight up while keeping the torso, upper arm and elbow still. You can substitute the dumbbell using a kettle filled with water (Vary the amount of liquid within the kettle for varying weights).

B. Bicep Curl - Hold two dumbbells at arm's length and stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Turn your palms up and curl both dumbbells up toward your shoulder. Keep your upper arms against your side at all times! When you reach the top, rotate your wrists so that your palm faces almost straight down. Go back to the starting position and repeat.

3. Calves Training

A. Calf Raises - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Raise yourself onto your tip-toe and hold yourself there for ten seconds. Slowly return to starting position. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions. You can carry a fully loaded backpack if you want to increase the intensity of the workout.

4. Chest

A. Push Ups - Kneel down on the floor and place your hands flat on the floor and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Move your feet back, placing your toes on the floor, so that your knees are off the floor and your legs are straight. At this point, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Lower yourself to a position almost touching the floor, but never doing so, stay there for five seconds, then return to starting position. Throughout the whole motion, the movement should be well-controlled without any jerks or sudden movements. Your body should remain straight throughout this exercise. You can vary the positions of your hands to target different parts of your chest.

5. Hamstring

A. Leg-Curl – Load your legs with wrap-around ankle weights, then lie on your belly on your bed, with your legs hanging from the side of the bed. Then, lift your legs into a 90-degrees position with respect to the bed and slowly return your legs to starting position in a controlled manner. Repeat this motion with sets of 10. You can increase the intensity by increasing the weight of your ankle weights.

B. Dumbbell Lunges - Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Slowly bend your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor. Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and raise your body back up to a standing position. Perform ten to fifteen repetitions and increase the intensity by increasing the weight of the dumbbells. Repeat with the other knee being the rear knee.

6. Quadriceps

A. Weighted Squat - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and holding dumbbells. Squat down until your thighs are just past parallel to the floor. Extend your knees and hips until legs are straight. Return and repeat.

7. Shoulders/ Quadriceps

A. Iron Cross - Stand in a low parallel squat position, feet shoulder width apart and holding dumbbells parallel to the ground with palms facing in. Move arms out away from your sides in a giant "T" as you stand upright.

8. Triceps

A. Bench Dips - Place two chairs facing each other, about three to four feet apart. Sit on one chair facing the other, with your hands grasping the side of the chair. Using your hands to support your weight, lift your feet onto the other chair so that the rest of your body is suspended between the two chairs. Slowly lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows until your upper arms and forearms form a right angle. Return to starting position.

B. Kickback - Stand to the right of a bed. Bend your left knee and rest it on the bed, and place your left hand ahead of you on the bed for balance. Your back should be as straight as possible. Pick up a dumbbell in your right hand. Bend your arm and raise your elbow up to shoulder height. Hold it there for five seconds. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to starting position. Let the dumbbell hang. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions, then perform the same process for the left arm.

These exercises are good solutions if you demand convenience. Remember to pay attention to areas such as “start slow, increase gradually” and be sensitive to the people around you. When you train at home, you might incur disturbance for your family members. With that said, good luck in training at home!