I, like so many others out there, have been experimenting with at-home bodyweight training. And, like so many, I have little-to-nothing to use regarding real training equipment. I have a pack of bands, but that’s about it. I’ve relied on common household stuff to piecemeal my training.
Now I’m a bit of a meathead. I like getting in a good ole fashioned intense workout at the local gym so shifting to at-home training was and is a bit of a change in mindset. I started out experimenting. A lot. I didn’t want to relegate to a “fitness circuit.” I want to build or at least maintain muscle mass.
Instead I see this as a challenge. How do I put together a lower body workout that can, at the very least, maintain my current physique or maybe even improve it?
So I’ve gone into this with an open mind and new possibilities and I think I’m on to something.
Shifting Into High Rep Gear
Before training exclusively from home I experimented with higher rep volumes in my traditional gym workouts. It forced more time under tension – one of the most powerful tools to achieving muscle tissue growth. Prior to this I was training with loads that had my rep ranges in the 8 to 12 territory. So when I switched (radically) to a 10 to 20 and sometimes 30 rep range it, not surprisingly, shocked my system into new growth.
How could I apply this to home training?
Below is a recent leg workout I performed that had me sore to the touch the next day. I felt like I trained at my gym I was so pumped. Don’t underestimate it.
- Perform every rep slow and controlled
- Rest only a minute between straight sets and supersets
- Shoot for 20 reps per set
- Focus on time under tension instead of just completing reps
At-Home Leg Training Program
Single leg calf raise on block 3 x 10-20
Squat calf raise 3 x 10-20
Superset: Rear foot elevated Bulgarian split squat with walking lunge 3 x 10-20 (3 round trips for lunge)
Superset: Jump lunge with backpack squat 3 x 10-20
Exercise ball leg curl 3 x 10-20
Video demos
Single leg calf raise on block
Squat calf raise
Rear foot elevated Bulgarian split squat
Walking lunge
Jump lunge
Backpack squat
Exercise ball leg curl
Optional puppy
Brad Borland 