An At Home Full Body Workout – Get Strong On A Budget!

An At Home Full Body Workout – Strength Training On A Budget

If you are like me, (pretty much broke!) you know that going to the gym or buying the latest fad in fitness equipment simply isn’t an option!

So what ARE your options, then?

You could do simple workouts using pushups, pull ups, bodyweight squats, and other common bodyweight moves.

(And there is DEFINITELY nothing wrong with this approach. Famous retired NFL great Herschel Walker used bodyweight exercises almost exclusively to build his All Star physique.)

But what if you want a home workout that builds more maximal strength?

Here is an approach I have used:

First, Do Get Yourself Warmed Up

I like to get warmed up by first doing some rotator cuff exercises (do a Google or YouTube search for some good suggestions), and then doing a few easy sets of pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats. Lately I have also been adding a set of partial repetition handstand pushups, stopping several reps before failure. This last move gets us ready for the first exercise in our circuit:

Sandbag Overhead Press

My favorite home strength training tool is a sandbag. These are simple to make.

Some people like to put sand into little baggies, duct tape them, and then put the baggies into an army surplus duffel bag.

I like a more simple approach – Buy some pea gravel, dump it into the duffel bag. Close it with an adjustable cable clamp (check your local hardware store).

To adjust the weight, simply find a container (I use a standard sized yogurt tub) that holds a known weight of pea gravel. In my case, my yogurt cup holds 2.5 pounds of pea gravel. To add 10 pounds of weight, I just add 4 yogurt containers full of pea gravel to my duffel bag, then close it back up. Pretty simple.

As for the exercise, press your sandbag from shoulder height to overhead, again and again.

Use a weight that you can lift for around 5 repetitions, with a rep or two “left in the tank” (don’t go to complete failure when training for strength). Repeat this exercise for 3 sets.

Rest for 60 seconds between each of the 3 sets.

Working Towards the One Arm Pullup

Next, we attach the pullup movement.

Again, the idea is to do an exercise that you can only do for around 5 reps, so that will mean that you might have to make some adjustments.

If standard pullups are a challenge for 5 reps, then do those.

If they are too easy, try a more difficult variation. You can move your hands closer together, or even begin working towards the one arm pull up by doing “uneven” pullups. For this move, grab the bar with one hand while your other hand grabs the wrist of the gripping hand.

Again, do 3 sets of around 5 reps, stopping short of failure on each. Rest 60 seconds, then alternate with the following exercise until you have completed 3 sets of each exercise.

Tricep (Diamond) Pushups With Elevated Feet

With your feet up on a bench around 2 feet off the ground, do some diamond pushups, where your index fingers and thumbs are touching.

Do 3 sets of 10.

To increase difficulty, wear a backpack filled with some weight, such as your sandbag. To make things easier, try doing diamond pushups from your knees.

Working Toward the One Leg Squat

Let’s avoid the typical gym-rat ignorance of lower body strength by including some leg work.

If you haven’t really been working your legs too much, develop your bodyweight or “air” squats over the course of a few months, then try some one legged squats with assistance.

I like to hold on to a post as I descend, then use the post for assistance as necessary as I push back up.

Over time, you will be able to do these squats unassisted. But don’t do too much, too soon! Take it easy and build up slow.

Again, do 3 sets of around 5 reps.

Ab Work

Don’t forget about the abs!

But we won’t be doing thousands of crunches, which are not nearly as useful as the Plank and Side Plank.

Do one set of each move for time, working up to holding each position for 2 minutes.

That’s It!