With or without equipment: 8 tips and facts for an effective workout at home!

by Deepika Chowdhury & Rishabh Bhatia

The coronavirus and its global spread are currently keeping the entire world on tenterhooks. Around the globe, cities and even entire countries are experiencing curfews and the closure of public facilities. These measures are absolutely necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19 and thus allow the healthcare system to work as effectively as possible to combat the pandemic. However, it naturally limits our daily lives immensely, and for many, that includes going to the gym. Whether we want to continue building strength or muscle mass, worry about losing the gains we’ve worked hard for over the years, or simply lack the physical and mental balance. The measures hit us to the core. But don’t panic, you don’t have to sit idly by and watch your physical decline. These eight tips and facts for an effective training at-home will help you survive the Corona Crisis.

1. A positive mindset

“Success begins in the mind,” so the saying goes. Although this phrase sounds a bit trite, there is a lot of truth behind it. If we step away from the superficiality of our physical self-image for a moment, numerous studies impressively show that a positive mindset and optimism among patients and caregivers significantly improve recovery from illness, even in disaster situations [1, 2]! Especially in times of Corona crisis, we should always be aware of this point. If one has the inner conviction to be healthy or to become healthy, one automatically behaves in a way that favors healing. Of course, this is not a guarantee, but it is a contributing factor!

Of course, we can also apply this principle to building or maintaining muscle mass. If we firmly believe that we will end up with as much strength and muscle mass as we had before the restrictions, we will automatically work harder for it and not bury our heads in the sand.

2. Don’t be afraid of muscle loss

This point actually goes hand in hand with point 1, because even if conditions do not allow us to provide a sufficient training stimulus to stimulate the muscles to maintain volume and strength, a possible loss of muscle is not dramatic. Our muscles have memory in the form of satellite cells.

When we exercise and our muscles grow, the number of nuclei in the muscle fibers increases because each nucleus can only control a certain area within a fiber. This takes place as so-called satellite cells fuse with the muscle fiber and give up their nucleus to it. If one then temporarily stops exercising, the muscles shrink, but the number of nuclei remains unchanged over a long period of time [3, 4].

This is also the basis for the so-called “muscle memory effect”. After getting back into training, the higher number of nuclei leads to a much stronger response of muscle protein synthesis, allowing the muscle to regain its old volume and strength faster. So don’t panic, after the gyms reopen, the initial state is quickly restored!

3. Training at home without equipment

Now we come to the points that probably most of you expected when reading the headline, namely exercises for effective training at home. Since we cannot assume that every reader has basic equipment at home, we will refer to exercises that we can do completely without weights, resistance bands or other equipment.

Let’s divide them into the respective muscle groups:

Chest

• Push-ups: without weights or with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.
• One-arm push-ups: if they are free too heavy, hold on to a table leg with the other hand
• Butterfly on a towel: place a large towel on a smooth floor. Place your hands as you would for a push-up but wide apart. Bring hands together with arms slightly bent so towel slides across floor.
• Dips with three chairs: The upper body is between two chairs on which the hands are placed. The feet are on a third chair. By bending and extending the elbows, the upper body is moved up and down.

Shoulder

• YWT with water bottles in hands. This involves lying prone on the floor and moving the arms from a Y position to a W position and then to a T position.
• Side laterals, for example with water bottles, beverage boxes or rice bags.
• Front raises, for example, with water bottles, beverage boxes or rice bags.
• Bent over side laterals, for example with water bottles, beverage crates or rice bags.
• Shoulder press in handstand. This involves leaning against a wall into a handstand and pushing the body up and down.
• One-arm shoulder press with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.
• Upright rowing with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.

Back

• Pull-ups if there is an appropriate bar or ledge (for example, on a free stair).
• Bodyweight Rowing on the Edge of a Table: This involves lying on your back on the floor under a table and pulling yourself up on the edge of the table.
• Superman Pull: This involves lying on your stomach on the floor and pulling your legs and shoulders up.

Biceps

• Curls with one or both arms, for example with water bottles, crates, rice bags or a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.
• Pull-ups in an underhand grip (= Chin-ups) if there is an appropriate bar or ledge (for example, on a clear stairway).
• Bodyweight rowing in an underhand grip on the edge of a table: lie on your back on the floor under a table and pull yourself upwards on the edge of the table.

Triceps

• Skull crushers on the wall: This involves placing your hands shoulder-width apart on a wall and leaning your body weight against the wall. Then bend the arms and push away from the wall again. The farther your feet are from the wall, the more difficult the exercise.
• French Press on the edge of a table: Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the edge of a table and lean your body weight against the table. Then bend the arms until the head is under the table and press away from the table again. The farther your feet are from the wall, the more difficult the exercise.
• Diamond Push Ups: In push-up, both hands are placed below the chest so that the thumb and index finger touch. The elbows remain close to the body while performing a push-up.
• Dips with two chairs: The feet rest on one chair while the hands rest behind the back on the edge of a second chair. Flexing and extending the elbows moves the upper body up and down.

Quadriceps

• Wall sit: The back is pressed against a wall while the legs are at a 90° angle, as if sitting on a chair. The position is held for time.
• Squats with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.
• One-legged squats
• Lunges on the spot with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example.
• Bulgarian split squats with a backpack filled with, for example, books or rice bags. One leg is stretched backwards and the foot is placed on an elevation, for example a sofa edge, The other leg is bent and stretched.
• Zercher squats with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example. This involves keeping the weight in front of the body during the squat.

Hamstrings / Glutes

• Glute bridge: This involves lying on your back on the floor and putting one leg up. The other leg is lifted. With the leg remaining on the floor, the buttocks are lifted until the hips are straight.
• Stretched deadlift with a backpack filled with books or rice bags, for example. In this exercise, the weight is kept in front of the body during the exercise.

Abdomen / Core

• Planks
• Side planks
• Crunches
• Sit-Ups
• Prone leg raises

If the explanations are not enough, you can also find these exercises explained on numerous YouTube platforms. For this, you can use the search function or Google. Additionally, it may be worthwhile to purchase a door rack to perform pull-ups.

4. Workout at home with resistance bands

If you are lucky enough to already own resistance bands for supplemental resistance during strength training at the gym, you can also use them for your workouts at home. Thus, resistance can be added to most of the exercises under point 3, for example by placing a band over your back during push-ups and tightening the ends around both hands.

When training with your own body weight and, if necessary, additional loads from heavy household utensils, the tension can only be applied according to the force of gravity from top to bottom. However, resistance bands also allow us to apply loads in all other directions, as long as you have a way to attach them. For example, there are possibilities for flying movements or a vertical lat-pull.

However, resistance bands have a serious difference compared to static weights, because the mechanical tension is not the same over the entire range of motion. The further the band is stretched, the higher its resistance and thus the load that acts on the muscle. In classical strength training, one takes advantage of this to add supplemental resistance to the barbell to smooth out the strength curve. Without static weights, however, the tension in the stretched position of the target muscle is low, which means that the entire length-tension relationship is not fully utilized, but work is done especially in the maximum contraction. However, this is quite sufficient to activate the motor units with a high stimulus threshold.

5. The weights don’t have to be heavy

“Only heavy makes heavy” is a well-known saying and from classical training theory we often hear that for muscle building we should train with a weight that we can just about move for eight to twelve repetitions. Of course, this causes great anxiety among ambitious athletes for the hard-earned gains, because it is certainly difficult when working out at home to find loads so heavy that you come close to muscle failure in this repetition range.

But take it easy and don’t panic. We know from recent research that muscle building with light weights works just as well as with heavy weights up to a certain limit; as long as muscle failure is reached in the process and no further clean repetition can be performed with proper technique [5]. This addressed limit seems to be around 40 percent of your maximum strength, which corresponds to about 30 repetitions until muscle failure is reached [6].

6. Training to muscle failure

As addressed in point 5, when training with light weights, it is imperative to train to muscle failure or close to it. There are several definitions of this term, but for our purposes, muscle failure means that we cannot complete another repetition with a given weight while considering a proper exercise execution. However, the fewer repetitions you can perform in a set because the weight is high enough, the less important this factor becomes.

The reason for this is that at low weights, initially only motor units with low and moderate stimulus thresholds are recruited. Only when we get closer to the point of muscle failure, motor units with high stimulus threshold are added due to increasing exhaustion, controlling muscle fibers with the greatest potential for growth [7]. In other words, high stimulus threshold motor units recruit the muscle fibers that grow the most, but are only switched on when the muscle has to work hard, for example because all other fibers are already exhausted by many repetitions.

7. Pay attention to your recovery

If you spend a lot of time indoors because of the measures taken to contain corona spread and can therefore train for hours at a time with our tips for effective training at home, be warned. Too high a training volume, or too much increase in this parameter, can affect your recovery and even the immune system. Especially the latter we cannot use at all in times of COVID-19.

The strong physical exertion during training reduces the metabolism of immune cells in the phase of recovery from training-induced stress. However, the number of most immune cells in the blood returns to its initial level within the first five to six hours. Despite this fact, people who exercise regularly seem to get sick slightly less often than the average inactive population. Athletes, then, generally seem to be healthier because of sports, which should hardly sound surprising. However, for athletes who exercise particularly often, a lot, and hard, this positive trend is again regressed compared to amateur athletes and ordinary people [8]. The intensity, frequency, and training volume, as well as other factors that apply to elite athletes, therefore seem to influence the risk.

8. The right diet

Of course, in order to protect muscle mass as much as possible from degradation, your nutrition should remain aligned with your goals. In addition to a balanced calorie intake, the intake of an adequate amount of protein will of course help. This amount should be in the upper range of the general recommendation of 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight, since an increased intake also has a positive effect on muscle maintenance during a break in training [9].

Conclusion and summary

Even though the temporary closure of gyms is very upsetting to many people, it is not a reason to watch our own physical decline. To maintain our gains in the best possible way while training at home, it is not only important to know about effective exercises, but also to have a positive mindset, enough recovery and the right diet. Keep in mind that the measures are important and still try to make the best of the situation.

You need proper guidance for your training comeback?

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LET’S GET YOUR GAINS BACK. TOGETHER.

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References

1. Schiavon, Cecilia C., et al. “Optimism and hope in chronic disease: a systematic review.” Frontiers in psychology 7 (2017): 2022.
2. Boldor, Noga, et al. “Optimism of health care workers during a disaster: a review of the literature.” Emerging health threats journal 5.1 (2012): 7270.
3. Kubo, Keitaro, et al. “Time course of changes in muscle and tendon properties during strength training and detraining.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 24.2 (2010): 322-331.
4. Schwartz, Lawrence M. “Skeletal Muscles Do Not Undergo Apoptosis During Either Atrophy or Programmed Cell Death-Revisiting the Myonuclear Domain Hypothesis.” Frontiers in Physiology 9 (2019): 1887.
5. Schoenfeld, B.J., et al., Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- versus high-load resistance training: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res, 2017.
6. Lasevicius, Thiago, et al. “Effects of different intensities of resistance training with equated volume load on muscle strength and hypertrophy.” European journal of sport science 18.6 (2018): 772-780.
7. Burd, N.A., et al., Bigger weights may not beget bigger muscles: evidence from acute muscle protein synthetic responses after resistance exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2012. 37(3): p. 551-4.
8. Spence L, et al., Incidence, etiology, and symptomatology of upper respiratory illness in elite athletes. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2007 Apr;39(4):577-86.
9. Wall, Benjamin T., et al. “Disuse impairs the muscle protein synthetic response to protein ingestion in healthy men.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 98.12 (2013): 4872-4881.