Makeshift Home Gym/Workouts

[slowthai]

I've been ballooning over these last several months and I've decided that I can't go out like this. I just can't. I've worked too hard for this (picture a young Arnold). I just bought a power tower (combined pull up/dips station) and I'm excited. Chin ups are the basis of my workouts, so it's very motivating to be able to do those again. Love love love chins. I also bought some bands for everything else. Really wish I could do trap bar deads for my traps/upper back

My quality of life is affected by my ability to workout, and you will not catch me at the gym for the foreseeable future, so this is my way of adapting.

Let's get these gainz!!! Or...let's get them back!! Please share your thoughts and ideas, and what you're doing to make it work. Those of you with home gyms, just leave me alone

Edit: Mods, before you lock this, this thread is very high yield for all medical students. It's about health and wellness, okay?

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[Kardio]

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Drive to a state that has gyms open and get swoll on the weekend. Everyone is in the same boat, just work out and go heavy. You get your gains back in no time.

dont forget to get belly swoll after gym swoll

 

[deleted987519]

I've been ballooning over these last several months and I've decided that I can't go out like this. I just can't. I've worked too hard for this (picture a young Arnold). I just bought a power tower (combined pull up/dips station) and I'm excited. Chin ups are the basis of my workouts, so it's very motivating to be able to do those again. Love love love chins. I also bought some bands for everything else. Really wish I could do trap bar deads for my traps/upper back

My quality of life is affected by my ability to workout, and you will not catch me at the gym for the foreseeable future, so this is my way of adapting.

Let's get these gainz!!! Or...let's get them back!! Please share your thoughts and ideas, and what you're doing to make it work. Those of you with home gyms, just leave me alone

Pushups: as many as you can for 20s, 10s rest. Repeat for 4-minutes.

 

[Fatalis]

There’s a good iPad app: home workout- no equipment needed. Used it when everything was closed here for a month, maintained most of my gains

 

[calivianya]

I just moved to a new place for rotations and instead of bringing in the dining room table, I got some bar stools to eat at the kitchen counter which freed up a bunch of space in the living room for a workout area. I have some dumbbells and a stationary bike. It completely changed the game for me when I bought some foam flooring off Amazon and organized the area to look nice. I’ve been about 100x more productive since my space looked like this, with the exact same equipment as before.

Spoiler: Pic

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[stickgirl390]

I’ve been doing YouTube Fitness Marshall dance videos; good for physical and mental health if you like dancing!

 

[odyssey2]

Gym equipment is much more available now than it was at the beginning of the pandemic, you can probably find yourself a good pair of dumbbells at the very least and even a bench rack with plates if you’re willing to splurge. I got a 300 lb set and a combined bench/squat rack that fits fine in my room.

 

[agiraffe999]

Reddit r/Bodyweight is a great resource for this. No equipment necessary

 

[michaelrack]

Drive to a state that has gyms open and get swoll on the weekend. Everyone is in the same boat, just work out and go heavy. You get your gains back in no time.

dont forget to get belly swoll after gym swoll

That's what I did, except for the month of April when every where was locked down. Living in Memphis at the junction of 3 states made things easier

 

[PugsAndHugs]

I got a 300 lb set and a combined bench/squat rack that fits fine in my room.

Can you give link?

 

[TehTeddy]

It's fairly easy to install rings in your house - then you can do all kinds of bodyweight exercises. First set up a pullup bar in a doorframe, then hang rings off of it. Works great for me.

 

[deleted854547]

An in-home squat rack is a great investment in these uncertain times, tbh.

 

[odyssey2]

Can you give link?

You can search for the cap barbell sets on Amazon—I got the plates and the bar separately since it was cheaper. There are a bunch of bench/squat racks to choose from that aren’t too expensive either

 

[naijacardriodoc]

Can you go running?

 

[Blazers_33]

Got on Facebook marketplace and got a good deal on some spinlock dumbbells, can go up to 60 lbs on each. you can do a bazillion different exercises with dumbbells, I just watched some YouTube videos on full body exercises with em. Hoping to buy a bench press and/or squat rack soon

doorframe pull-up bar is great as well, found a good one for like 15 bucks

running for cardio. have kept In decent shape with the pandemic with this stuff


never know when those gyms are gonna open up again haha

 

[odyssey2]

Honestly, one silver lining to this pandemic is that I have a home gym now and never have to schlep out to workout again. If you've done weight training before and you have space at your place I would highly recommend you get one.

 

[slowthai]

Can you go running?

I hate running and I don't know how anyone does it on a regular basis lol. If I feel moved to do some steady state cardio, it'll be incline treadmill (walking) for sure

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

kb/recommended_routine - bodyweightfitness

r/bodyweightfitness: Bodyweight Fitness is for redditors who like to use their own body to train, from the simple pullups, pushups, and squats to …

www.reddit.com

Do this and you'll be stronk.

The minimum requirement is a pull-up bar. I use a pull-up bar, gymnastic rings, dip belt + weights. When gyms open up I'll only be going for squats/deadlifts now tbh. The BWF upper body is more fun for me and has given me the exact aesthetic I was aiming for.

I plan to start adding Couch to 5k on my off days. I look like I have more endurance than I actually have lmao.

EDIT: To what you said about chin ups @slowthai I feel you, I'll literally have my mood flip if I can't do chin-ups.

 

[Neopolymath]

I would often improvise workouts in a pinch before I had home gym equipment. It seems silly but shoulder pressing a rolling floor jack, doing burpees holding a big bag of dog food, using a spare wheel and tire to do skull crushers, and doing lunges while holding the heaviest things in your house definitely work fine. Double points if you have an axe and some downed trees or big tires. You can really go ham with anything that is heavy and you can hold.

 

[slowthai]

I would often improvise workouts in a pinch before I had home gym equipment. It seems silly but shoulder pressing a rolling floor jack, doing burpees holding a big bag of dog food, using a spare wheel and tire to do skull crushers, and doing lunges while holding the heaviest things in your house definitely work fine. Double points if you have an axe and some downed trees or big tires. You can really go ham with anything that is heavy and you can hold.

Neo pre-home gym

 

[Scrubs101]

The atrophy is REAL rn (and less importantly definitely affecting my mental state)

got some resistance bands early in covid and it has done me no justice

*****will write admit notes and discharge instructions for a home bench/squat rack*****

 

[slowthai]

The atrophy is REAL rn (and less importantly definitely affecting my mental state)

got some resistance bands early in covid and it has done me no justice

*****will write admit notes and discharge instructions for a home bench/squat rack*****

Serious serious atrophy. That and negative face gains smh. Needless to say, I actively avoid all mirrors to avoid going into a fugue state.

These bands SUCK. It's just not the same as pumping that iron

Edit: And I was trying to get these preclinical gains bro!!! That's like 6 months down the drain already! I've heard M3 will be very difficult to work out multiple times/week on a consistent basis, so progress will slow to a crawl. All that's left is second half of M4

 

[Scrubs101]

Serious serious atrophy. That and negative face gains smh. Needless to say, I actively avoid all mirrors to avoid going into a fugue state.

These bands SUCK. It's just not the same as pumping that iron

Edit: And I was trying to get these preclinical gains bro!!! That's like 6 months down the drain already! I've heard M3 will be very difficult to work out multiple times/week on a consistent basis, so progress will slow to a crawl. All that's left is second half of M4

Amen brotha

M3 is probs school dependent but I think I made some serious gainz on some rotations post step but def had times where gainz were lost (obgyn/gs).

preclinical was def the best because I was able to get into a steady routine with some motivating classmates/workout partners

We need a covid vaccine asap because if I cant make back these losses by intern year all hope will be lost and I’ll have to assign myself the roll of “guy who was probably jacked in his 20s but now rocks a beer gut and hasn’t seen his own johnson in years”

 

[slowthai]

Amen brotha

M3 is probs school dependent but I think I made some serious gainz on some rotations post step but def had times where gainz were lost (obgyn/gs).

preclinical was def the best because I was able to get into a steady routine with some motivating classmates/workout partners

We need a covid vaccine asap because if I cant make back these losses by intern year all hope will be lost and I’ll have to assign myself the roll of “guy who was probably jacked in his 20s but now rocks a beer gut and hasn’t seen his own johnson in years”

100%. That would be such a nightmare

 

[Neopolymath]

Better to have gained and lost than to have never gained at all.

-Shakespeare, 3rd year medical student

 

[raiderette]

I adjusted by buying bands and increasing pull-ups, yoga and cardio. I am choosing not to bulk up right now, but my hubby has added tree climbing for strength and agility for his MMA training. I consider it George of the Jungle fun, but he is happy.

 

[deleted1068453]

Cant forget how important dietary modification is right now. We don't need 4000 calories just to do anki unfortunately.

Home depot and bag of cement. Quick google search will show you how to make some dumbells.
Or if its calisthenics, PR on your pullups. Band work is another good option. Start working on the hip mobility you've been neglecting.

 

[esob]

I've been toying w/ the idea of the AthleanX Xero program, which is his version of a bodyweight-only regimen.

 

[slowthai]

So we're back in business bros and broettes. Power tower just arrived. Hit the chins for the first time in 6 months. Man, that was hard. Looking forward to getting these wings back so I can go back to elbowing these admins out of my way

 

[deleted987519]

So we're back in business bros and broettes. Power tower just arrived. Hit the chins for the first time in 6 months. Man, that was hard. Looking forward to getting these wings back so I can go back to elbowing these admins out of my way

don’t stop until we can see your back from the front

 

[deleted804295]

I've been ballooning over these last several months and I've decided that I can't go out like this. I just can't. I've worked too hard for this (picture a young Arnold). I just bought a power tower (combined pull up/dips station) and I'm excited. Chin ups are the basis of my workouts, so it's very motivating to be able to do those again. Love love love chins. I also bought some bands for everything else. Really wish I could do trap bar deads for my traps/upper back

My quality of life is affected by my ability to workout, and you will not catch me at the gym for the foreseeable future, so this is my way of adapting.

Let's get these gainz!!! Or...let's get them back!! Please share your thoughts and ideas, and what you're doing to make it work. Those of you with home gyms, just leave me alone

Edit: Mods, before you lock this, this thread is very high yield for all medical students. It's about health and wellness, okay?

I have a bike, yoga mat, and dumb bells.

I usually study while exercising.

 

[deleted804295]

Neo pre-home gym

View attachment 316259

Yeah, why don't you do some yard work for your parents? I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

Weeding builds a lot of muscles and is taxing.

 

[slowthai]

Yeah, why don't you do some yard work for your parents? I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

Weeding builds a lot of muscles and is taxing.

So two questions I have to ask myself before I do any physical activity:

1. Do I actually want to do this?

2. Do I not want to do this?

After an intense period spent in this position:

I have come to a final decision. Yes, I will not do this

 

[Fazal47]

I've been ballooning over these last several months and I've decided that I can't go out like this. I just can't. I've worked too hard for this (picture a young Arnold). I just bought a power tower (combined pull up/dips station) and I'm excited. Chin ups are the basis of my workouts, so it's very motivating to be able to do those again. Love love love chins. I also bought some bands for everything else. Really wish I could do trap bar deads for my traps/upper back

My quality of life is affected by my ability to workout, and you will not catch me at the gym for the foreseeable future, so this is my way of adapting.

Let's get these gainz!!! Or...let's get them back!! Please share your thoughts and ideas, and what you're doing to make it work. Those of you with home gyms, just leave me alone

Edit: Mods, before you lock this, this thread is very high yield for all medical students. It's about health and wellness, okay?

Aahaha glad to have come across this thread! I feel like we neglect our physical being a little too much while being fully aware of what its doing to us. I used to weightlift before getting into medicine and this post has reminded me of the good days. I had a home gym inspired by this reddit post I can't find, but you can just visit reddit and you'll find a ton of fitness posts that are actually useful. I also used to read up on this (Vitamin Shop: Buy Vitamins and Supplements at VitaminExpress) website to figure out how I wanted to supplement alongside exercising.
Great going mate!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I've been ballooning over these last several months and I've decided that I can't go out like this. I just can't. I've worked too hard for this (picture a young Arnold). I just bought a power tower (combined pull up/dips station) and I'm excited. Chin ups are the basis of my workouts, so it's very motivating to be able to do those again. Love love love chins. I also bought some bands for everything else. Really wish I could do trap bar deads for my traps/upper back

My quality of life is affected by my ability to workout, and you will not catch me at the gym for the foreseeable future, so this is my way of adapting.

Let's get these gainz!!! Or...let's get them back!! Please share your thoughts and ideas, and what you're doing to make it work. Those of you with home gyms, just leave me alone

Edit: Mods, before you lock this, this thread is very high yield for all medical students. It's about health and wellness, okay?

Chin ups?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Am seriously considering investing in some Rogue equipment. I want to do my squats at my house lol

 

[slowthai]

Chin ups?

Yep. Tryna get that barn door back. Plus there's no feeling like launching yourself into the sky with minimal effort. It just feels so good. Throw some weight on there and you feel god-like

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yep. Tryna get that barn door back. Plus there's no feeling like launching yourself into the sky with minimal effort. It just feels so good. Throw some weight on there and you feel god-like

So...pull-ups? Chin-ups and pull-ups are different.

 

[slowthai]

So...pull-ups? Chin-ups and pull-ups are different.

No, I'm still talking about chins. Supinated.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

No, I'm still talking about chins. Supinated.

Why chins over pulls?

 

[slowthai]

Why chins over pulls?

A few reasons:

1. Pull ups cause pain in my left shoulder. One of the cardinal rules of lifting is to stop immediately if it hurts (meaning tendon/ligament/bone pain)

2. They're easier. This means you can load em up more and go crazier with volume.

I also like neutral grip too. They're the most ergonomic but they're still a little harder than chins. Probably due to less assistance from the bis.

 

[Lem0nz]

Question.

I used to be fat. Like, 5'10 220. Got my lard butt onto the elliptical and over the last three years worked it down to 165. My goal is not to be Arnold so much as it is to be Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Right now I'm 164 and still squishy on my belly and chest. Arms and back respectable enough after aggressive pushups and simple weights at Planet Fitness.

How do I get to not squishy? Do I just have to keep dieting forever and put in my hour on the elliptical every day? I haven't been as consistent these last couple months but I'm getting back into it. I was 159 at my lowest and felt like I was getting close. Should I just stop this crazy cardio and switch to weights?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Question.

I used to be fat. Like, 5'10 220. Got my lard butt onto the elliptical and over the last three years worked it down to 165. My goal is not to be Arnold so much as it is to be Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Right now I'm 164 and still squishy on my belly and chest. Arms and back respectable enough after aggressive pushups and simple weights at Planet Fitness.

How do I get to not squishy? Do I just have to keep dieting forever and put in my hour on the elliptical every day? I haven't been as consistent these last couple months but I'm getting back into it. I was 159 at my lowest and felt like I was getting close. Should I just stop this crazy cardio and switch to weights?

I would switch to weight training. Even adding just 5-10 pounds of muscle can do wonders for not being squishy.

I am a big believer in the 5x5 workout. Or if you’re feeling a bit more ambitious a true Madcow, although the weight increases are a bit more dramatic on that schedule. And you only really lift 3 days a week so you could do some light cardio on your off days too.

 

[slowthai]

Question.

I used to be fat. Like, 5'10 220. Got my lard butt onto the elliptical and over the last three years worked it down to 165. My goal is not to be Arnold so much as it is to be Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Right now I'm 164 and still squishy on my belly and chest. Arms and back respectable enough after aggressive pushups and simple weights at Planet Fitness.

How do I get to not squishy? Do I just have to keep dieting forever and put in my hour on the elliptical every day? I haven't been as consistent these last couple months but I'm getting back into it. I was 159 at my lowest and felt like I was getting close. Should I just stop this crazy cardio and switch to weights?

Switch to weights. Once you begin to see the changes, you'll never go back. Of course, cardio is still good for heart health. More importantly (haha), it improves your conditioning, allowing you to lift more weights without gassing. But you don't need to do any crazy cardio. Just steady state cardio for 20-30 mins. No need to diet either. I'd recommend lean bulking. This means you add ~100-250 calories to your maintenance (2000/day for example) depending on how fast you want to gain muscle while still eating clean. Or you could just dirty bulk (eat whatever you want with a 500 cal surplus) and cut later. Honestly, you could even do a recomp because you're a beginner. You could eat the same or a little more than usual and still gain a good amount of muscle. With any of these approaches, you'd have to consistently do a solid workout program. I'd recommend starting with the ones on /r/fitness. I'd avoid starting strength, unless you want to look like a T-Rex lol

You'll become Brad Pitt in no time. Well, the face gains, idk about that one. Might have to see a plastic surgeon about that

 

[Lem0nz]

I've been on r/fitness before and was a little overwhelmed. Too much information and I get self conscious about the entire thing very easily. Is there a more streamlined place to start with a basic program for someone who is fit enough but needs to start somewhere? I can do ~60-80 pushups in a row in a single set (do them before I hop in the shower in the morning), ~10-15 pull ups and ~15-20 chin ups at max in a first set (do that before bed and alternate) for a point of reference.

 

[slowthai]

I've been on r/fitness before and was a little overwhelmed. Too much information and I get self conscious about the entire thing very easily. Is there a more streamlined place to start with a basic program for someone who is fit enough but needs to start somewhere? I can do ~60-80 pushups in a row in a single set (do them before I hop in the shower in the morning), ~10-15 pull ups and ~15-20 chin ups at max in a first set (do that before bed and alternate) for a point of reference.

The only other place I can think of is the recommended routine on /r/bodyweightfitness. It's all bodyweight stuff, but it's solid.

Maybe someone else more familiar with individual programs can chime in.

 

[Tenk]

When I was in China for a month I just used my hotel furniture to do stuff. Arnold shared this during the pandemic:

Arnold Schwarzenegger Just Shared His Iconic No-Gym Workout Plan

"There are a lot of things we can’t control during this crisis, so we need to focus on what we can control."

www.google.com

Might give you more motivation. Sucks that gyms are closed. I’d let you work out in my home gym but it’s probably too far :/

 

[Vivid_Quail]

Kettlebells with Simple and Sinister program. Do that 5-6 times a week and you will feel great. Takes 20-30 minutes. If you have the time, I have found cycling to be the best for cardio since it is much easier on the joints and just in general easier to do a one hour ride (indoor or outdoor) and burn 600+ calories than running for an hour. The best way to burn more calories of course it to eat less...low calorie density foods are your friend: popcorn, huge salads, vegetables, high protein shakes and bars, HIGH FIBER. Fiber fills you up like nothing else. Soaks up water and expands in your stomach. Just work your way up otherwise you will be *****ing your scrubs. Lost like 15 pounds just eating a ridiculously large salad before dinner and not snacking after dinner, no exceptions. And by ridiculously large I mean like an entire 3 quart mixing bowl stuffed with spinach and mixed greens. Measure your dressing so you don't eat 500 calories of ranch lol. You don't even need to count calories if you do this because you will be so full. This works best of course if you don't eat like crap your other meals but that is pretty easy to do if you're in the hospital and just have time for a protein bar here and some trail mix there.

 

[Redpancreas]

I know it seems like a lot but early on I knew this was going to be an issue so I bought the standard power rack with pull-up/dip extensions for bench/squat/DL/SSP rotations. It is a bit of a $$$ investment so only do it if lifting is really one of your passions. The rack itself is ($250), but you have to account for the olympic barbell ($70), 4-6 45#, a couple 25#, and 10#($300), and weight holders/clips/etc ($100). Overall, you're looking at $700-$800 and a weekend of assembly.

Pros:
1.) More portable than you think.
2.) Not as loud as you'd think unless you're one of those sumo-deadlifters who drops weights. Your roommate or whoever is under you may have issues with that.
3.) You don't have to leave your room and can work out everyday in the AM.

Cons:
1.) You've committed yourself to UHaul services each time you move.
2.) $$ described above.
3.) You miss out on accessory work like hamstring work, flies, etc.

Also, don't assume gyms are closed. Most are starting to open in full capacity with low traffic which is music to any lifters ears. Just be careful though. Apparently masking has become a bit of a political issue and lifters aren't the most mask-friendly people. My gym hardly has people wearing masks, temperature checks are for namesake (employees only check you if they're up front), and not to mention blue-lives matter flags plastered around the gym.