Home Gym Workouts: Tips for Your Training RegimeHave you hit plateaus in your home gym workouts? Since weight training is the best weight-bearing exercise you can do to improve strength and burn calories, your home gym workout routines should be done regularly, but they don’t have to be a chore. If you are burning out on your “two days on, one day off” regime, here are a few ideas to add variety to your training at home: Make ChangesStrength training will work best (and avoid plateaus and boredom) if you change your home gym workouts every 2 to 4 weeks and give your muscles new challenges. The body constantly adapts to whatever you throw at it so mix things up to get past those pesky roadblocks. You have a full arsenal of workouts -- squats, rows, curls, rows, and presses -- but you need to try new routines if you tend to do the same lifts all the time. Switch to a Quickie 45-Minute Lift Program
More work in less time is another way to create muscle confusion and change up your monthly workout routines. Increase the load, cut rest time down to 15 to 30 seconds between sets, do four sets per muscle group, and don’t stop. Shock your body and spend less time in the home gym with this temporary, 45-minute, non-stop workout.
Move the Bench Aside and Have a Ball
Try something different in your home gym routine to target the core muscles: use an exercise ball for your ab crunches and to increase stability and balance. You can also use a workout ball for dumbbell flyes, reverse flyes, back and hip extensions, butt lifts and so on. Small women under 5'4" should use a 55cm ball, people up to 6'0" can go with a 65cm ball, and large guys will need a 75cm ball.
Working One Side at a TimeMost home gym workouts can be done with one arm or one leg at a time. You’re already doing reverse shoulder flyes and bicep curls, now try some one-armed dead hangs or one-armed seated lat row. And while you’ve already dabbled in the one-legged hip flexions and kickouts, how about some one-legged squats! (Are you feeling the burn already?) These types of workout routines hit the stabilizer muscles and call on more from your trunk and core in order to maintain balance. It will also help you to pay closer attention to proper lifting form. Gym Posters for Your Workout Space Curls Are For Girls
Here’s another option to spice up your home gym workouts: try incorporating an EZ curl bar in your routines to fast track your arm exercises. If a straight bar kills your wrists during curls, try the EZ for a more comfortable, natural position in your wrists, and to keep your elbows in. The biceps, those two-headed (“bi”) muscles at the front of the upper arm that flex the forearm, respond to most any pulling or curling exercise, but your wrists won’t strain as much using an EZ. Ladies love nice arms on a man, hence the old saying: “Curls are for [getting] girls.”
Women Must Train Too
All women at any age should lift weights to trim their bodies, gain muscle mass, fight osteoporosis, and enjoy dozens of other health benefits. Women should not fret about growing bulky muscles -- it won’t happen because women lack the hormones required for muscle hypertrophy. Female bodybuilders are an exception -- for them, competition bodybuilding is a sport, not a form of home gym workout, and they work for years to achieve that look. All the resistance exercise routines performed by men can be done by women.
Get Off That PlateauThere are over 600 muscles in the body, and literally hundreds of workout routines to work the major muscle groups. You probably don’t even realize that you’ve been doing the same lifts, squats, crunches, and lunges forever. If you have hit a plateau, or if you are bored with training, try a couple of these tips to change up your home gym workouts, and see if you don’t see and feel a difference within weeks. Home Gym Workout TipsCardio Exercises to Lose Weight - 5 Workouts That Burn Fat - The five best fat burning cardio workout machines for quick weight loss. Abdominal Exercises for Women: Flat Tummy, Flattering Results - Strengthen the abs, decrease the size of your waist. Five easy-to-do abdominal workouts for leaner, tighter and stronger abs. Abdominal Exercises for Men: Building a Strong Core - Strengthen the rectus abdominis and obliques doing ab crunches, the mainstay of abdominal workouts; how to do the crunch, bench and cable crunch. Ab Workouts for 6 Pack: It’s Crunch Time! - Strong abs are necessary for a variety of reasons and you should be hitting them daily, or at least 3 to 5 times a week; 4 abdominal exercises that really work! Weight Training For Women: Five Compound Exercises for Basic Fitness - A look at 5 highly effective weight training compound exercises to prevent problems such as unshapely legs, flabby arms, stomach pouch, lumpy hips and butt. Weight Training For Men: 5 Classic Exercises to Help You Get Strong - Improve your physique and appearance with these five workouts: squats, push-ups, pull-ups, bench press and crunches. Resistance Exercises: Make Them a Habit - Resistance exercises can be done on circuit machines, cable machines, or by using free weights, kettle balls, medicine balls, exercise bands, or anything that causes the muscle to contract. Smith Machine Exercises: More Workouts Than You Realize - 7 Smith machine workouts to build strength and endurance: Squat, Pull-Ups, Push-Ups, Triceps-Dips, Press, Bent-Over Row, Reverse Lunge. Keep Fit for the Real Rock by Installing a Home Climbing Gym - How to build an indoor climbing wall or cave from scratch; train at home for real rock outdoor climbing. Develop Dynamic Strength with a Home Boxing Gym - A smart purchase for boxers, martial artists, and bodyweight training purists. Should You Exercise at Home or the Gym? - Can you afford to exercise at home or should you workout at the public gym? Home Gym Safety Tips - How to Avoid Injuries - 13 tips to keep in mind to avoid injury and strain; how to keep the workout area safe. Exercise Related Sites Exercise and Workouts - Also check out their At Home Exercises and Workouts. Learn the Best Leg Exercises - Learn exercises for the legs, thighs, butt, glutes, calfs and inner thigh. See pictures of ankle, knee, and hip exercises. Return from Home Gym Workouts to the Best Home Gyms Index Page
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