We’ve all been there. No matter how much we make an attempt sometimes the day doesn’t allow us to make it to the gym. What do we do? Do we quit going altogether? Seriously, we missed one day, our life is doomed.
It’s easy to fall into that trap. Our unconscious mind starts talking to us and makes excuses for our fat butts the next day telling us it’s okay and that we’ll right the ship next week. I know it’s true because you’re hearing from the biggest excuse-maker there ever was.
The Solution
Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a quick and easy solution. You must have a backup plan for when things go south. The backup plan I’m talking about is a quick (notice I didn’t say easy) workout you can complete while you’re at home using just your body weight.
The exercises below are nothing new. But they do work. If you’re not sweating and losing your breath after completing this work, you did it wrong.
And the great thing about home workouts is you feel great afterward. It can be real tempting to not do anything at all but when you exercise regardless of what life throws at you, it becomes real easy to do the work on the normal days.
Top 5 Home Exercises
Air Squat – The air squat has to be the most simple, yet effective, movement there is. Your legs take the brunt of this movement lifting your body weight up and down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8BVPBPpwJ4
Jumping Lunge – Don’t underestimate this movement. This can be very difficult for beginners as you’re driving yourself into the air using your legs. Just a few of these and your booty will be feeling it for days.
So, you ladies who want to work that butt, add this to your routine. It will pay off. Just remember, to get the full effect of this movement, keep your hands to your side and off your knees.
You want to use your legs and no leverage from your upper body.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTb2p3wqB3Y
Mountain Climbers – Mountain Climbers are great for your core and upper body. You’re holding yourself in the upper portion of the pushup position using your arms and driving your legs forward using your core. High reps seem to do the trick here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-XbAXiXTLs
Pushups – You can’t do a home body workout without doing pushups. If you struggle with pushups, then it’s even more reason to be doing them.
Can’t do more than a couple? Scale the movement by keeping your knees on the ground and lift using your upper body. This will proportion some of the weight on your legs allowing for an easier pushup.
Need a tougher challenge? Use pushup handles or do hand release pushups as shown below. Hand release pushups remove any momentum you may have from one rep to the next. You can check out the video below to get a better idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kk2sO6gcxY
Pullups – The ultimate bodyweight movement. Pullups are a great upper body workout. Can’t do a pullup? Do negatives. What’s a negative? The lowering-portion of the pullup.
Raise your chin over the top of a pullup bar by using a chair to stand on. Lower yourself to the ground slowly. Start by attempting to lower yourself taking 3 seconds to lower yourself to the ground. Work your way up to a 10 count.
Can’t do a 3 count negative? We all have to start somewhere. Just get started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0zv7qFBjDM
Now that you have an idea on what movements you can incorporate into a home bodyweight workout, we’ll take a look a bit later on how to set these up in a workout. Until next time…Stay Jacked, Stay Strong!