Ok, I get it. You’re tired after a long day of working, and you don’t want to go to the gym. Fine, that’s cool. Fortunately, you can get a workout in without ever having to lift a weight (aside from your own body).
The exercises are simple, and you’ve definitely done them before, but exercising incorrectly will only lead to pain with no gain.
Let’s start with some push ups.
I know everybody knows how to do push ups but what we really want to focus on is where you concentrate your effort. We do this by adjusting your hands and arm distance.
Lie prone and hold your torso up at arm’s length. Lower yourself until your chest nearly touches the floor, breathe out, and press your upper body up while squeezing your chest. Pinch your chest at the top, then lower yourself again. Widen or narrow your hand distance to effect different parts of your chest. Some people limit themselves to a number of reps, but here you should go until you are tired and can’t go anymore.
THEN you just adjust your arm positions and do more. Repeat as much as you want, in as many positions as you want.
Next is pull ups.
Grab a bar with an overhand grip. If you don’t own a bar, then I guess you can’t do this, but they are like $20… so at least consider buying one.
Anyway, create a slight curve in your back, and pull your upper chest to the bar. Keep your legs crossed and slightly bent. Squeeze your back muscles at the top of the movement, then slowly lower yourself. If you’re doing this right then you should feel it in your biceps, back, and traps. Changing your pull up grip to an underhand grip will focus more on your biceps. Like the pushups, you shouldn’t set a limit for yourself. Muhammed Ali once said that he didn’t start counting his reps until he was sore.
Time for some squats.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Begin the movement by flexing your knees and hips and sitting back. Keep your head and chest up, and push your knees out. Go as deep as you can, then quickly reverse the motion until you return to the starting position.
If you want to see some results I recommend doing sets of 25-50 reps, but don’t be afraid to build up to higher reps either. Your focus should be on keeping your form. If you really want to push yourself, try doing super sets and build on that every chance you get.
As I said previously, these are exercises you’ve done before. There’s nothing new here. However, making sure you have proper technique is key. Don’t allow yourself to take reps off during these routine workouts. You get out of them what you put into them.
You keep at it and you’ll be in tip top shape before you know it.