Do you have a
minute?
Society in general is seemingly becoming more and more health conscious as
the information age in which we live continues to shine light on the negative health
effects the environment, as well as dietary choices we make, have on health. More
and more people are choosing to ‘make time’ for fitness than in the past, in
which there were apparently less hours in the day (at least they made it seem
that way by using time, or lack thereof, as a reason to not prioritize
health/fitness). This health conscious mindset, which oddly enough, seems to
come with more hours in the day, is even influencing where people choose to
live (is there a gym close by? or does it come with access to a fitness
facility? etc).
What do you need all
that for?
Most commercial gyms these days are well equipped with ‘state of the art’
cardio equipment, and strength training machines, none of which is necessary to
get results, but is just there to help with the sales process. Those who know
what they’re doing (or at least think they do), can tell immediately if a
facility is for them, or not, based on the equipment there is. Those who don’t
know what they’re doing, or even what they’re looking for, can easily become
overwhelmed, and decide that maybe they want to start on a smaller scale than
in front of a large group of people (usually because they fear that everyone is
looking at them, and they don’t want to be judged or seen as someone who doesn’t
know what they’re doing). Others simply ‘don’t have time’, and therefore base
whether they workout or not on convenience.
Fuck it, I’ll do
it myself
Whatever the reason is, home gyms, or condo gyms have become increasingly
popular. After all, why would anyone pay to go to a gym, if they can do it at
home? Well for some it’s cost or convenience, but for most it really comes down
to equipment (quality and quantity, in terms of amount of weight). The fact is,
most home gyms, and especially condo gyms, are ill-equipped (not because they
lack state of the art machines, but because the weights aren’t heavy enough). I
know for me, in a perfect world I would have a home gym that consisted of a
squat rack, an adjustable bench, a rack of dumbells (10-150 lbs.), a barbell,
various machines for the upper and lower body, a twin cable station (cable
crossover station), a smith machine, bands and chains, you get the picture. A ‘good’
home gym is not only EXTREMELY expensive, but also requires a ton of square
footage.
Do you really need
all that?
While some may realize that equipment (especially a lack of weight) really
can be a limiting factor, and understand that progress may not be optimal
without it, others still choose to workout in their home or condo gym (we’ll
let em say it’s cost or convenience, even though those are bullshit reasons).
But are their efforts futile, or can you get results with limited
equipment? The short answer is yes, you can get ‘results’ with anything. But
what really matters is, how much results can you get?
Ummm, let’s hear
the good news first...
Fortunately, muscles don’t know whether or not they are lifting a barbell,
dumbell, super expensive machine, couch, fridge, wheelbarrow, or car (ok, maybe
not a car). They only know, and respond to, tension. That’s it! This means that
the multi-thousand dollar equipment that’s used to persuade people into buying (in
some cases expensive) gym memberships may not have much of a difference on the
end result. As long as you can expose your muscles to progressively greater
levels of tension, you’re in the clear.
So what’s the bad
news?
Unfortunately, there are varying levels of tension, and eventually you’ll
get to a point where a certain amount of weight will not be enough. This is the
major downfall with in-home, or condo gyms. Because most don’t have much weight,
it’s hard to expose the muscles to enough tension (even if you attempt to
counterbalance it with a hefty dose of volume) to provide a positive growth
stimulus. If the heaviest weights are a pair of 25 lb. dumbells (generally
condo gyms go up to 50 lbs. these days, but to me that’s still not enough, even
for a female), or there’s no barbell (and if there is, there’s only a couple of
25 lb. plates), and the bench (if there is a bench) is the shittiest bench of
all time, then you’re going to have one hell of a time exposing your muscles to
progressively greater levels of tension over the long haul, but it can be done.
That’s not so bad
If your only option is relatively limited, but you’re willing to work with
what you have, there are a few ways to provide your muscles with the tension
necessary to illicit a positive growth response.
Train to failure – one of the ways
you can ensure your muscles are taxed is to perform as many reps as you can.
Depending on how much weight you have at your disposal, this may not be all
that challenging, in which case, there are ways in which you can make things
more challenging.
Slow things down – traditionally,
repetitions are performed rather rhythmically by nature. The first time anyone
picks up a weight, they generally lift and lower at a relatively fast tempo (assuming
that the weight is low-moderate relative to their strength levels). By slowing
things down, the time under tension is increased, and remains constant, which
has a host of growth benefits. On top of that, the exercise is dramatically
harder.
Superset/tri-set – depending on
equipment, exercises can be paired together, in which you perform the most
challenging movement first, then switch to a less challenging movement as
fatigue sets in. You can pair as many movements together as possible given the
amount of weight/equipment you have to work with.
Iso-dynamic reps – each and every
movement is more, or less, difficult depending on the range of motion, and one
way you can increase the effectiveness and difficulty of the exercise is to pause
while holding the weight, or your body, in the most challenging part of the
exercise for a set amount of time (ex. 3 seconds).
Rest-pause – after reaching
failure, instead of resting until you’re ready to go again, try performing a
few more reps, only a few seconds after you could no longer mange anymore (ex.
wait 5 seconds and perform a few more reps, rest 10 seconds and perform a few
more reps, rest 15 seconds and perform a few more reps).
Isometrics – if the weights
you have at your disposal are simply too light, and you can seemingly perform
more reps than you can count, you can pre-exhaust the targeted muscle by
holding the weight in place for a set period of time (ex. 45 seconds), and then
performing as many reps as you can. If you are performing a bodyweight
exercise, or for whatever reason there is a giant gap between the amount of
weights you have, and the heaviest pair of dumbells is almost too heavy for
you, but the second heaviest pair is too light, then you can perform an
isometric hold at the end of your set to increase the time under ‘maximal’
tension (the tension is greater as the muscles are already exhausted).
Use your
imagination
While there are more effective ways than others, and more optimal training
environments than other, there is no right and wrong. Any, or all, of the
techniques above can be strung together over the course of a workout, or a set
(if you’re sick in the head), regardless of where you train.
Trainers take note
All trainers are faced with specific challenges that each and every client
comes with. Given that more and more clients are choosing to hire a trainer to
come and train them in the confines of their home, it is in your best interest
to have as many tools at your disposal to provide them with the most effective
workouts as possible, to ensure they get the results they hired you for.
Thankfully, it’s not the end of the world if all you have to work with is a
pair of dumbells, or a barbell. In some cases, all you have is a mat, and one’s
bodyweight, but as long as you understand how to apply as much tension as
possible, you should be able to get the job done.
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