NOT TRUE!
It's easy to get hung up on x amount of sets and reps for hypertrophy or y amount of sets and reps for strength, power, endurance etc. For you and I the principle of overload is all we need to acknowledge. Challenge muscles properly and they WILL get stronger! With body weight exercises, this usually means higher reps/higher sets. The threshold will be different for everyone, especially if you are coming into this brand new or even just new to this type of exercise. So put that detective hat on for the first couple of weeks until you have a good understanding of what is enough and what is too much for your body.
Tuesday's I will be uploading one exercise (with easier modification and harder version) for upper body strength.
Wednesday's I will be uploading one exercise for lower body strength.
Thursday's I will be uploading one exercise for core strength.
Friday's I will write up a program using the three exercises from the week to make sure you are overloading those muscles properly. As with any strength program, it takes time to figure out just how many reps you need to challenge yourself appropriately. You should be working hard to complete the full range of motion by the end of the rep range. You can rest anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes before starting the next set depending on how intense you want your workout to be.
Today, I'm going to share with you the things you have around the house to help you get stronger. I even have a few easy steps to creating your own home made weights! Additionally, I've listed a few items on amazon I will list here which are fairly cheap and very portable in case you want to push yourself farther (or have super nice furniture that you don't want to step on/lift/move around.)
Item's you'll need in the upcoming weeks of home fitness:
- 2 stable chairs
- 1 sturdy table
- 2 1 gallon water bottles (well sealed/possible contained lined with plastic bags)
- heck, why not some wine bottles in case you need something a little lighter for those smaller upper body muscles.
- old college text books/camping water bladder/landscaping rocks (anything heavy)
- back pack
- 2 plastic children's plates (for carpet) OR 2 dish towels or wash clothes (for wood/tile floor)
Make Your Own Weights:
- Find a sandbox (home/playground/where ever -- landscaping rocks work too)
- Fill a couple gallon zip lock bags 1/2 way to 3/4 way up and seal shut.
- Fold the empty top part of the ziplocks down and wrap closed with duct tape. I ended up wrapping the whole thing just in case!
- Use a bathroom scale to check that the weight between the two is the same.
Mine have straps so that I can tie them on to me if an exercise requires it. You don't really need to do this but go for it if it tickles your fancy.
Home Fitness Amazon List:
^ If you're not sure how to attach these inside your house please contact me.
I always travel with these two items! If you're suuuuuper into building your portable home gym let me know, I have even more amazon products I can recommend!
The last key to puzzle (I'll talk more about this another day) is PROTEIN. Meet your protein quota and back fill with fat and carb depending on what your body is calling for that day. Again, you're your own detective. The sooner YOU figure out how YOUR body works, the quicker you'll get results.
Please post any comments and questions to Facebook so I can help you out more quickly!
