5 Best At-Home Workouts for When Gyms are Closed

With the Coronavirus pandemic spreading like wildfire across the globe, the Center for Disease Control has issued suggestions that people should avoid going to the gym and fitness centers. This decision has forced many gyms across the globe to close their doors, and even worse-shut down for good.

While fitness is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle and a strong immune system, you must know how to perform your at-home workouts so that you can stay healthy and strong.

The problem is knowing what a home workout consists of. How can you ensure you are doing it properly, and what exercises should you do?

Thankfully, we’ve created this article to teach you everything you need to know about at-home workouts, including full-body exercises, home workout equipment, and how to create space for exercising. Keep on reading to learn more about creating a weekly workout schedule without having to leave the comfort of your own home! 

Prepare Your Space

Before you get started on your at-home workouts, you need to set up a designated space for training. This will help you to keep that feeling of “going to the gym”. Rather than the overly-comfortable and lazy at-home in your pajamas feeling.

Start by clearing a corner of your living room, by re-arranging your furniture, and setting up a space that will fit your workouts. If you are limited on space, even a 4×4 space will suffice.

Get the Equipment

Due to gyms closing from the pandemic, the demand for home workout equipment has skyrocketed over 170%! While this is great for the fitness equipment industry, it also means that you may have a hard time getting equipment due to the increased demand for supplies.

If you cannot get any equipment, we will teach you how you can make your own:

Hand Weights

If you cannot get your hands on some dumbells, don’t worry! You have the perfect equipment in your pantry already. Cans of soup or beans weight up to one pound, and large containers of peanut butter weight about two pounds.  

If you are a frequent Costco shopper, many items there can double as gym equipment. For example, the tubs of Kirkland coconut oil weigh about 5.25 pounds, which is a perfect addition to a great workout.

For heavier items, one-gallon jugs of water weigh about eight pounds, while five-gallon jugs weigh about 44 pounds. These heavier weights are great for leg workouts such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc.

DIY Fitness Equipment

There are endless ideas for making your fitness equipment, including sandbags, medicine balls, squat racks, kettlebells, and more. It all depends on how much space you have and how serious you want your home gym to be. Do some extra research and find some informative articles online that teach you how to DIY workout equipment! 

What Makes a Full-Body Workout?

When creating your at-home workouts, it all comes down to your current fitness level and what your fitness goals are. If you are more advanced, you can split up your workouts to perform all upper-body exercises in one day, followed by all lower-body workouts the next day. This helps you to challenge your body more with multiple different exercises for each muscle group.

If you are a beginner, then full-body exercises are the perfect match for you. The goal is to keep your body consistently moving so that you are burning more calories and challenging yourself.

A full-body workout consists of multiple different segments including:

• A warmup 
• Dynamic movement and mobility
• Weighted or bodyweight exercises in reps and sets
• Cardio exercises
• A cool-down
• Stretching 

Each of these segments is essential components to a full-body workout, and are not only important for achieving your fitness results but are also needed for injury prevention as well.

Workout 1: Full-Body Cardio Blast

This workout requires a timer, so have a stopwatch ready to count the seconds of exercise and breaks. You may need to take an energy supplement to get through this workout! 

If you are a beginner, start with 20-30 seconds of work, with equal time rest. If you are intermediate, have 30-45 seconds of work with 20-30 seconds of rest. If you are advanced, have 45-60 seconds of work with 20 seconds of break or less.

Warmup:

• Skip rope for 2-3 minutes (add in double-unders if possible)
• 30 Jumping jacks
• 30 Mountain climbers
• 20 Jump Squats
• 20 Butt Kicks 
• 20 High Knees
• 5-10 pushups

Mobility:

• Arm circles 10x forwards
• Arm circles 10x backward
• Dynamic hip stretches
• Deep squat (with a thoracic twist if possible)

Workout:

1. Power jacks (jumping jack with a squat)
2. Jump squats
3. Mountain climbers
4. Crab kicks
5. Burpees
6. Pushups
7. Star jumps
8. Wide mountain climbers
9. Front kick hops
10. Toe taps

Perform each exercise with the recommended time for your fitness level, then break. Follow with the next exercise until the workout is finished, repeating if necessary.

Workout 2: Weighted Workout

This workout can be done as a circuit, which means that once you finish it, you need to repeat it two to three more times!

Warm-up:

• 3 Minute skipping or pretend to skip
• 20 Jumping jacks
• 20 High knees
• 20 Butt kicks

Mobility:

• 10x arm circles, forward and back
• 5 Hip openers
• 5 Deep squats with a twist
• Pec stretch

Workout:

1. 15-20 Squats with a weight
2. 15-20 Lunges with a weight
3. 12 Deadlifts
4. Biceps Curls
5. Pushups
6. Bent over rows with weight
7. Shoulder presses with weight
8. Triceps overhead extensions with weight
9. Crunches with weight
10. Deadbug with weight
11. Plank for 30-60 seconds

Repeat two to three times for maximum benefits

Workout 3: Core Blaster

This workout is all about gaining those 6-pack abs. Used in combination with the cardio workout and optimal supplementation, you are guaranteed to see some results! 

Workout:

1. Hollow Holds
2. V-ups
3. Double crunches
4. Leg lifts
5. Scissor kicks
6. Flutter kicks
7. Plank with hip twists
8. Bird-Dog
9. Dead bug
10. Plank holds (maximum time effort)

Begin with a simple warmup and some dynamic movement. Perform each exercise for 20 reps, or 30 seconds each. Repeat the circuit two to three times, depending on your fitness level. 

Workout 4: Advanced Exercises

This workout is perfect for those who want a bit more of a challenge, as it includes some balancing exercises and more difficult movements. If you are a beginner, give it a try, yet be patient with yourself if you cannot get it right the first time!

Warm-Up:

• Run around the block, or 5 minutes of skipping
• 30 High knees
• 30 Butt Kicks
• 30 Jumping jacks
• 30 Mountain climbers

Mobility:

• Arm circles, 10x forward and backward
• Hip mobility
• Deep squat with thoracic twist
• Pec stretch

Workout: 

1. Weighted squats
2. Weighted Lunge walks
3. Single leg deadlifts
   Perform each workout, rest 30 seconds, then repeat 2x
4. Single legged squats
5. Step-ups
6. Tuck jumps
   Perform each workout, rest 30 seconds, then repeat 2x
7. Coffee table dips
8. Pull-ups in doorway  
9. Pushups (chest to ground)
   Perform each workout, rest 30 seconds, then repeat 2x

Perform each circuit two to three times before proceeding to the next circuit, once you have finished all circuits, you are finished! We suggest using a BCAA post-workout supplement to help your body to refuel and rebuild properly after the workout. 

Workout 5: The Countdown Circuit

This workout is perfect for when you are in a time pinch, and it is fun to finish because there is a finish line. All you have to do is perform 10-1 going through each exercise.

1. 10 of each exercise
2. 9 of each exercise
3. 8 of each exercise
4. 7 of each exercise…
5. Down to 1 of each exercise

You get the point! This workout is super easy to follow, and fun to complete.

The workout:

• Burpees
• Pushups
• Jump Squats
• Situps
• Skater jumps

Go ahead and time yourself, so that you can aim to beat your time score at a later date!

Cool Down and Stretch 

Studies have shown that a proper stretching routine after a workout can promote better performance, improve flexibility, and reduce the chances of injury.

After each workout, perform each of the following stretches:

1. Shoulder stretches, across the front body
2. Triceps stretches, overhead
3. Upper back stretch
4. Side standing lat stretch
5. Standing wide-leg hamstring stretches
6. Standing quadriceps stretch
7. Calve stretches against the wall
8. Pigeon or figure-4 stretches (glutes)
9. Seated twist stretches
10. Laying down abdominal Stretches

Spend between 30 seconds to one minute on each stretch, to ensure you activate the muscle’s ability to relax and deepen into the stretch. Never force a stretch or bounce while you are stretching, just stay still, and focus on your breathing instead.

Nutritional Support

During this time, it can be hard to get the proper nutrition you need as most grocery stores are short on supplies. This makes it essential that you find the right supplementation so that you ensure you are getting the nutrients that your body needs. Taking a multivitamin will help you to do that properly.

It is also important to complement your workout with the right sports supplementation to properly nourish your muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments. 

Learn More Fun At-Home Workouts Like These

There you have it! Five easy-to-follow, and productive at-home workouts to get your body moving, sweating, and keeping those pounds off. If you have taken some time off from exercise due to the quarantine, make sure you ease back into your workout gently to reduce the chances of injury.

To learn more about how to supplement your workouts with optimal nutrition and supplementation, check out our online store!