Written By Joey Casey
Sections
- Introduction
- What equipment do I need?
- How do I train with just body weight?
- How do I learn exercise technique from home?
- What exercises can I do with the resistance bands?
- What about online personal trainers?
- A word on nutrition
- What should I do next?
Introduction
For a multitude of reasons, sometimes we just don’t have access to a gym. The mere thought of such an occurrence would send my heart into a race and a cold sweat might just commence. Ok that’s a slight exaggeration! But if you are a fitness fan you understand my point. Once we have a gym routine going and begin seeing progress, everything from our mental health to our nutrition, complexion, sex lives, muscular growth and general well-being drastically improves. We often wonder ‘why didn’t I start on this road years ago!?’
Generally speaking, if you reside in a large town or city, access to a gym is usually fairly easy and with major competition between rival gyms, the memberships tend to be low. Living in the countryside, traveling long term, having a baby, death in the family, work commitments, unfortunate illnesses can all contribute to your absence from the gym. However, your gym or fitness centre always remained open. At least, that’s what our assumption invariably was until March 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic arrived on our shores. Literally, everything we took for granted in life was turned on its head and we were forced to quickly adapt.
Everything closed down, including gyms. The one place we could let off steam and reduce stress after work or writing a college assignment or escape the family for an hour was abruptly taken away from us. I was working in a language school at the time. Leo Varadkar (the Irish PM at the time) made the announcement. In the midst of the confusion, panic and fear, I walked from work towards the gym on George’s Street, Dublin; about 15 minutes upon arrival, the staff were not letting anyone else in. All I needed was one more workout just to process what the hell was going on in the world. I knew the training session would help. But that was it. I went home frustrated and unable to fully process this immense, life changing event we were entering. Nobody could process it.
In the days ahead, fitness shops became unbelievably busy as people scrambled to grab dumbbells, yoga mats, ropes and anything else they could find. Weights were impossible to locate both in shops and online. Shortly after, the first full lockdown was upon us and online shopping was the only way to go. But what about keeping fit? Mental health? Eating nutritious food at home all day? With a little research, I began to realise that there are numerous form of exercise routines we can complete at home and in the park with limited gear at our disposal. Improvise! Improvise! Improvise!
What equipment do I need?
Your main go to pieces of equipment will be resistance bands. During the lockdowns in Ireland, we bought resistance bands on Amazon for a very affordable price. They can easily be operated at home, attached to a door frame or in the park with the railing, rocks or trees.
Some of the benefits of resistance bands include:
- Easy to transport & affordable
- Incredibly safe & flexible
- Excellent for functional fitness training
- Can be used for hypertrophy
- Assist with form check
- You can achieve progression
- Exercise modification & adapting
- Increase metabolic rate to burn calories
- Improves mobility
Small lightweight dumbbells can also be added to your equipment list. However, be aware of their size if you are traveling. Increased weight in your suitcase or backpack can dramatically push up baggage fees and have a negative impact on your back too. Smaller weights such as 0.5kg and 1kg are ideal for travel and toning but useless for building muscle mass.
A skipping rope is an excellent addition to your fitness list. It’s light, durable and easy to transport. You can use a rope to increase your cardio power for 20-30 minutes in your garden, the park or hotel room. They can build stronger bones and muscles, and improve your balance and coordination. It also burns an impressive amount of calories in a short period of time.
Floor exercises generally require a yoga mat. Easy to transport while traveling or while exercising in the park; yoga mats are extremely beneficial and assist with plank exercises, push-ups, abdominal training, stretching and other soft surface high impact exercises. In addition, you protect the floor, prevent dirt and germs transfering to you in the park and introduce a non-slip area to exercise safely and successfully. Yoga mats help to reduce stress and increase flexibility.
Another fantastic addition to your training plan are push-up handles. Also easy to transport, durable and you can utilize in pretty much any situation. Personally, my wrists are uncomfortable with floor push-ups so these guys really took the strain out of the exercise. Handles give you a much deeper chest stretch and help with overall upper body strength, performance, balance and form.
The Ab roller wheel is a light and durable piece which is straightforward to transport to the park or pack in your suitcase. They are non-slip, quiet and easy to use even for beginners.
Ankle and wrist weights are a convenient way to build strength while doing bodyweight exercises, cardio workouts or everyday chores. Each set usually comes with two thick, adjustable bands that you wear around your ankles or wrists. They weigh in at around 0.5 pounds each.
For added weight, Aqua water bags are great for lunges, stability, core and squats. However, they can be tedious to fill up and transport to the park over longer distances. You could also replace them with two large water bottles which I also used as the park was nearby.
Household items such as books, bags of sugar, a backpack, small boxes filled with items, chairs the stairs and a sweeping brush can all be utilised and adjusted into a piece of fitness equipment.
How do I train with just body weight?
It’s easy to assume that you need to have weights or resistance bands on hand if you want to get stronger and build muscle. That doesn’t have to be the case, though. Don’t forget that you can get a lot done using only your bodyweight. In fact, if you’re used to weight training and haven’t done bodyweight exercises in a long time, you might find that they’re more challenging than some of the exercises you gravitate toward in the gym.
Effective body weight exercises include:
- Squats
- Lunge variations (walking lunges, static lunges, lateral lunges, reverse lunges, etc.)
- Glute bridges
- Single-leg toe touches
- Calf raises
- Plank variations (forearm plank, side plank)
- Sit-ups and crunches
- Reverse crunches
- Push-ups
- Supermans
- Tricep dips (with a chair or stairs)
- Burpees
- Box steps
- Pull ups
- Crab walks
“We were born to move, and mobility and stability are an essential part of the way we move and life in general. Weightlifting can have many positive effects on your body, but it can also limit your mobility. The movements involved in bodyweight exercises can help to increase that mobility, develop technique and challenge the body’s ‘stabilisers’ by using complete movements.”
— Men’s Health, 2021
How do I learn exercise technique from home?
So we have established there is no personal trainer or gym instructor on hand to demonstrate the exercises, as we are accustomed to in the gym. Therefore, as a beginner to exercise and training, where do you even begin? This is a daunting question and one that plagues the mind’s of thousands of people who are terrified to make a mistake or develop a self-made injury.
Exercise videos
For variety, convenience, and more structured home exercise, you can’t beat exercise videos. There are workouts for every age, gender, goal and interest, and you can work out anytime you like in the privacy of your own home. You can pause, rewind, slow down and speed up a video until you fully understand the routine. You can learn at your own pace, speed and time frame without worrying you missed an important detail in a gym class.
As with the gym, some videos of beefy guys can be a little intimidating. Perhaps you are a slim guy wishing to gain muscle and suddenly you are faced with a huge muscular man demonstrating the exercises. This can make people feel inadequate and they give up. Therefore, scroll through videos of various trainers until you find one you feel comfortable with. The benefit? It’s all free and you don’t have to spend a fortune on several personal trainers to find the right one for you.
The best thing about these exercise videos; there are thousands upon thousands to choose from, so almost anyone can find a video they like. The worst thing about exercise videos: There are thousands upon thousands to choose from!!
Practice! Practice! Practice!
You located your ideal fitness routine online, or you already have experience with exercise and you wish to implement a new training plan. Follow the plan and practice several times a week. Don’t worry if it takes several days or even weeks to really get the hang of the movements. The most important condition to remember;
-form and technique are vital principals-
Be patient with yourself and be aware of little triumphs and progress. Exercise is all about baby steps in the right direction. Your body will immensely appreciate attention to form and will grow and develop in turn. There is very little pressure with home / hotel workouts as you create your own practice schedule.
Use family & friends to critique
Who better to help you and be honest than your own family and friends, especially kids! Children seem to have a natural filter when it comes to blunt honesty so if you look terrible doing the exercise then they will gladly tell you. What’s more, reel your family members into training with you and build exercise into a fun family routine.
If lockdown is over, meet your best fitness buddy at your home or theirs. Swap each each to shake things up a little. Both of you can critique each other and drop in some advice. If someone is there with you in the ‘zone’, they are most likely just as committed to reaching their fitness goals, as much as you. Just be careful who you chose to exercise with: believe it or not you could usher in a bundle of negativity as your chosen training buddy dumps all their problems, issues and anxieties into the exercise session.
Remember: your training is for you! It’s 60-90 minutes of the day for you to focus on mental health, improving your body and personal growth. Don’t allow others to impede on that time by deconstructing your work and altering your positive thoughts.
What exercises can I do with the resistance bands?
Lateral walk: Wrap a resistance band around thighs, and slowly sink seat into a half-squat position. Lift right foot and take one step to the right, followed by the left foot. Then, reverse the movement to return to starting position.
Deadlifts: Start standing with feet over the middle of a long resistance band and both ends of the bands in either hand. Push hips back to hinge at waist while lowering torso toward floor and lifting straight back behind body until both are parallel to floor.
Lateral raises: Stand feet at shoulder width apart, the band placed under your foot, back straight and use both ends of the bands to lift your shoulders to until arms are parallel to the floor. Raise fast, hold for 3 seconds and lower slowly.
Bicycle crunches: Lie flat on back with a resistance band wrapped around feet and hands on floor at sides. Curl head, neck, and shoulder blades up to look forward. Keep lower back connected to floor, then pull left knee in towards chest while simultaneously extending right leg a few inches above mat.
Back row: Insert the hook on the closed side of the door, approx halfway down the door. Pull both handles , elbows moving fully behind you and squeeze the back muscles. Stand with legs slightly bent and shoulder width apart. Ensure you are not pulling the side of the door which opens towards you!
Standing chest fly: Same position as above, turn and face forward. Complete a stand chest fly with the bands.
Alternative cable machine flies: Insert the hook at the top of the door frame. Stand upright and slightly forward. Full forward and down fast, squeeze and contract slowly.
Triceps pulldowns: Keep the hook in the same position as above. Keep elbows in tight, pull both bands down in a straight line, hold for 3 seconds and raise to 90 degrees only.
Bicep curls & angles: Standard bicep curls, and turning towards the chest. Both exercises target different heads of the bicep. Stand with slightly bent knees and place the bands under your feet. Hands will be at a different location, depending on your height. Start the exercise with arms by the sides and lift.
Lying glute bridge: Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, a few inches away from your butt. Place the resistance band just below knees. Press into a bridge by raising your hips and butt off the floor pushing them as high as possible towards ceiling.
The exercises mentioned above are but a few of the variations possible when you train without a gym. Do your research! There are honestly thousands of fitness websites and videos out there which demonstrate exercise techniques. Find one that makes you feel comfortable and just go with it. Of course, you can pay for a personal trainer who can really bring focus and concentration to your sessions, either at home, the hotel or in the park. A good trainer won’t allow you to fail or become lazy.
What about online personal trainers?
During the lockdowns, I had several clients commit to online classes. These sessions tended to be a short demonstration of the exercise followed by a discussion on their weekly progress and nutritional habits. As expected, many people were feeling pretty unmotivated while stuck at home. The connection wasn’t the same between trainer and client as you would have at in-person sessions, but all of us tried our best. It was certainly a learning curve!
Naturally, as some people travel, they can’t be with you face to face so online sessions are necessary. For a one hour video call, I believe a split class of exercise practice and discussion meets the right balance. Clients will have an immense amount of freedom to exercise alone and take responsibility for their progress. Whatsapp works well for quick check-ins with the client during the week and they can send you a video of them exercising which you can critique. Voice messages are a great way to keep communication going strong and prove your dedication to him / her.
A word on nutrition
It might surprise you the numbers of people who simply don’t understand the basics of nutrition and its vital connection with exercise, mental health, muscle mass, bone density and fatigue. A couple of words that instill fear among individuals include ‘carbs’ and ‘calories’. This fear is completely unwarranted and quite frankly dangerous. Carbs are a vital part of our nutritional daily requirements and imperative for gaining mass, getting toned and even losing weight. Understanding how calories work in our body will ultimately allow us to own our food intake and fully comprehend what we are consuming too.
-carbs-
During a workout, carbohydrates fuel your brain and muscles. Carbs for the average workout: If you are in good shape and want to fuel a daily, light-intensity workout, eat about 3 to 5 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of body weight. For someone who weighs 150 pounds (68 kilograms) that’s between 200 and 340 grams a day.
Eat healthy carbs like brown rice, quinoa, whole-grain bread and pasta, sweet potatoes, fruits, and vegetables, oatmeal, lima beans and peas.
-protein-
Protein is important because it provides the amino acids your body needs to build and repair muscle. Most research suggests very active people should eat 1.2 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That means a 150-pound person should eat 82 to 136 grams each day. People who aren’t active should eat less protein. Aim for .8 grams per kilogram of body weight each day.
High sources of protein include chicken breast, salmon, tuna, steak, eggs, avocado, milk, cottage cheese, pork and other lean meats. To a lesser extend (but equally important), broccoli, kale, sprouts and spinach.
-fat-
Fat is a confusing and downright intimidating topic for many people. But it’s essential to a healthy diet. Fat provides energy and helps your body absorb vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. People must understand the different types of fats on a food label: Poly / mono fats are excellent and required by the body, especially if you are into fitness. Avoid or dramatically reduce any trans or saturated fats.
The best food with good fats include: avocado, cheese, whole eggs, nuts, olive oil, chia seeds, dark chocolate, fatty fish and soybeans.
What should I do next?
Consider your options and plan your fitness journey! Yes, it can be daunting if you are brand new. Just remember we all started fresh somewhere with all our skills. The information is available to you online through social media, forums and college courses which are an excellent method to fully immerse yourself in the field of fitness and nutrition. You can also click here for my Instagram fitness page and contact me with any questions or concerns.
Remember: Exercise and healthy eating are not overwhelming challenges. Do not separate them in your mind from the rest of life. Combine them as one entity. You must eat 3-4 times a day anyway! So why not transform nutrition into something fun and enjoyable, especially as you travel around the world feasting on new and delicious cuisine!
Thanks for Reading!
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