Whether you are working out at home or at the gym, it may be hard to put together the perfect workout routine. Or maybe you are following a program but want to swap exercises out for the same muscle groups. Today’s blog post will help you choose the best exercises for an at home workout or a gym workout with whatever equipment you have available to you — dumbbells, small or large bands or just your bodyweight. Any of these options are enough to get a good sweat on!
First thing’s first…
Determine what equipment you have
If you are at the gym, you have almost every option available to you. If you’re doing an at home workout, you may be constrained to dumbbells, bands, sliders or no equipment at all. Regardless of what you have on hand, I’m going to help you build your own killer workout.
Although bodyweight exercises can be effective, having some form of weight or resistance will make it easier to gain muscle, lose fat, burn calories and tone up! If you are looking to add a few items to your home gym without breaking the bank, I recommend:
- Adjustable dumbbells: I have ones very similar to these and they have been a life saver! I’ve been able to lift heavy for all of my at home workouts without taking up lots of space.
- Small fabric bands: I recently bought these fabric ones to avoid them rolling or riding up my legs during lunges. So far, I love them!
- Long bands: I have similar ones to this and they’re so versatile!
- Speed rope: This one comes with an additional rope in case one gets worn out. I prefer the speed rope because it moves easier and I can go faster with it.
- Full set: This is a good starter set if you have little to no equipment already.
- TRX: The amount of exercises you can do with a TRX is crazy. I highly recommend having one of these in your home gym! I got really lucky and they were giving the old ones away at my gym a few years ago but they are definitely worth the investment IMO.
- Workout towels: To help wipe away the sweat! I think white would be great because you could just bleach them but the colored options are cute, too!
Now that you have all of your gear ready, let’s figure out your workout split
If you are planning to workout numerous days a week, you’ll need to spread out your muscle groups to give each adequate time to recover. For example, if you work your legs on Monday then upper body on Tuesday and core on Wednesday, you gave your legs two full days to recover while still working out. You’ll want to give each muscle group at least two days to recover.
My traditional split looks something like this, but feel free to create your own for what you enjoy and what works best for your schedule!
- Day 1: Legs & glutes
- Day 2: Back & biceps
- Day 3: Chest & triceps
- Day 4: HIIT & Core
- Day 5: Legs & glutes
- Day 6: Optional long run or cardio based workout
- Day 7: Rest
Now let’s choose your exercises
Each of the following graphics were created for specific muscle groups to be easy references for you while you workout! And they are broken up by bands (including both small and long bands), dumbbells or just bodyweight. There’s also a final graphic for full body that incorporates compound movements (working more than one muscle group at a time).
If you are unsure how to build your workouts, start by choosing at least 5 exercises from the muscle group(s) you want to work. Start with 10-15 reps each for 3-4 sets. You could also create supersets or mini circuits with these exercises to build a KILLER at home workout or gym workout.
Now let’s get to work!
If you want to see full workouts and more tips for at home workouts, follow me over on Instagram at @BreatheSweatEat!