By: Colin Tan
You don't have to join the gym in order to get a muscular body. There
are many reasons that contribute to one's need to stay at home. Stuck
at home with things to look after? Can't be bothered going to the gym
after work? Don't have the money to join the gym? Whatever your reason
is, exercising at home is still viable for bodybuilding. You can choose
when and what you want to do without having the stress of other
peoples' eyes looking at you. Simply put, you can have your own free
gym membership in your own home. Look around your house. You'll see
many things you can use to exercise!
1. Abdominals Training
A. Air Bike - Lie on your back and put your hands behind your head.
Raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor while
your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Curl up and bring your left
elbow toward your right side while drawing your right knee in to meet
it.
B. Crunches - Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground,
or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degrees angle. Place
your hands lightly on either side of your head, keeping your elbows in.
Begin to roll your shoulders off the floor. Your shoulders should come
up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should
remain on the floor. Hold it there for five seconds. Return to starting
position and repeat.
2. Biceps Training
A. Concentration Curl - Sit on the sofa, spread your legs apart into a
V and lean forward slightly. Grasp the dumbbell in one hand with your
palm facing upward. Rest your elbow on the inside of your thigh and let
the dumbbell hang. Slowly curl the weight up while keeping the torso,
upper arm and elbow still. You can substitute the dumbbell using a
kettle filled with water (Vary the amount of liquid within the kettle
for varying weights).
B. Bicep Curl - Hold two dumbbells at arm's length and stand with your
legs shoulder-width apart. Turn your palms up and curl both dumbbells
up toward your shoulder. Keep your upper arms against your side at all
times! When you reach the top, rotate your wrists so that your palm
faces almost straight down. Go back to the starting position and
repeat.
3. Calves Training
A. Calf Raises - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Raise
yourself onto your tip-toe and hold yourself there for ten seconds.
Slowly return to starting position. Repeat for ten to fifteen
repetitions. You can carry a fully loaded backpack if you want to
increase the intensity of the workout.
4. Chest
A. Push Ups - Kneel down on the floor and place your hands flat on the
floor and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Move your feet
back, placing your toes on the floor, so that your knees are off the
floor and your legs are straight. At this point, your body should form
a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Lower yourself to a
position almost touching the floor, but never doing so, stay there for
five seconds, then return to starting position. Throughout the whole
motion, the movement should be well-controlled without any jerks or
sudden movements. Your body should remain straight throughout this
exercise. You can vary the positions of your hands to target different
parts of your chest.
5. Hamstring
A. Leg-Curl - Load your legs with wrap-around ankle weights, then lie
on your belly on your bed, with your legs hanging from the side of the
bed. Then, lift your legs into a 90-degrees position with respect to
the bed and slowly return your legs to starting position in a
controlled manner. Repeat this motion with sets of 10. You can increase
the intensity by increasing the weight of your ankle weights.
B. Dumbbell Lunges - Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your
shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Slowly bend
your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor.
Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and
raise your body back up to a standing position. Perform ten to fifteen
repetitions and increase the intensity by increasing the weight of the
dumbbells. Repeat with the other knee being the rear knee.
6. Quadriceps
A. Weighted Squat - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and
holding dumbbells. Squat down until your thighs are just past parallel
to the floor. Extend your knees and hips until legs are straight.
Return and repeat.
7. Shoulders/ Quadriceps
A. Iron Cross - Stand in a low parallel squat position, feet shoulder
width apart and holding dumbbells parallel to the ground with palms
facing in. Move arms out away from your sides in a giant "T" as you
stand upright.
8. Triceps
A. Bench Dips - Place two chairs facing each other, about three to four
feet apart. Sit on one chair facing the other, with your hands grasping
the side of the chair. Using your hands to support your weight, lift
your feet onto the other chair so that the rest of your body is
suspended between the two chairs. Slowly lower your body toward the
floor by bending your elbows until your upper arms and forearms form a
right angle. Return to starting position.
B. Kickback - Stand to the right of a bed. Bend your left knee and rest
it on the bed, and place your left hand ahead of you on the bed for
balance. Your back should be as straight as possible. Pick up a
dumbbell in your right hand. Bend your arm and raise your elbow up to
shoulder height. Hold it there for five seconds. Slowly lower the
dumbbell back to starting position. Let the dumbbell hang. Repeat for
ten to fifteen repetitions, then perform the same process for the left
arm.
These exercises are good solutions if you demand convenience. Remember
to pay attention to areas such as "start slow, increase gradually" and
be sensitive to the people around you. When you train at home, you
might incur disturbance for your family members. With that said, good
luck in training at home!
Article Source: http://www.articlekingpro.com
Colin Tan is a model and fitness trainer based in Singapore. See more of his articles at www.nutritionpark.com.
