Stay Home. Get Strong.
Gyms are closed for now
But you still want to train hard
Here’s what you should do
All this gear is cool, but you can get strong without it.
Every trainer in the world is putting out content on bodyweight workouts right now. That’s a great thing, because with all the gyms closed, lots of people are wondering if they can still make progress training at home with no equipment. The answer is yes, definitely, absolutely, for sure—you can still train hard and make progress while training at home. But you won’t make progress if you just cycle through random “bodyweight blitzes” that you find on Instagram. You need a program.
The difference between a program and a bunch of random workouts is that a program has assessments at the beginning, a reasonable increase in difficulty over the duration, and then a reassessment at the end to determine your progress. That’s exactly what this program does.
It’s crucial that you actually do the program. Don’t change it, don’t just read the article and say you’ll start next week. Start today. Start right when you get done reading this.
This program will work for nearly any level of strength. There are 4 options for each movement, and the hardest ones are…hard. You could probably run this for months and continue to make progress, but let’s hope you only have to use it for a few weeks.
1 Piece of Equipment
This program will run with almost no equipment. But there is one thing you’ll need if you don’t have it already: a pull-up bar. It really makes a lot of sense for a brachiating primate to have a bar to hang from, so now’s the time to make it happen. You can order a pull-up bar that fits in your doorframe for relatively cheap, or you can make one yourself. Here are some ideas from around the internet:
If I remember correctly, The Spot had a freestanding pull-up rig made entirely out of steel plumbing pipes. Create your own design if you like, just make sure it’s strong!
Overview
The program has two sessions—A & B—that you’ll alternate between. Session A focuses on push, pull, squat with some interval sprints at the end. Session B is core and cardio. This is a minimalist program. No distractions. Choose from a small menu of difficult-for-you bodyweight drills, have focus, get stronger.
Read through the whole program first so that you understand the structure. When you’re ready to start, you can jump right in. The first two sessions are testing, where you’ll try different variations until you find one that allows you to work within the prescribed reps/duration.
Day 1
Be sure to warm up first. If you have a particular warmup you like, that’s fine, too. Always warm up!
Now we need to find the exercise variations you’re going to use for the A sessions. Choose a variation from each column: push, pull & squat. You must be able to complete 8-12 good repetitions at a given level in order to use that exercise.
If you get less than 8 reps, use an easier variation.
If you get more than 12 reps, use a harder variation.
If you’re not sure where to start, you’ll find out pretty quickly. Just get started!
Demos and explanations of all the exercises in this program can be found in Stay Home. Get Strong. Part 2.
Notice that Level 4 would be 8-12 reps of One-Arm Pushups, Pistol Squats and Pullups. If you’re too strong to make progress on this program. . .congratulations!
You may find that you need to “fine-tune” the difficulty within a given category. For example, a Pushup with your hands at knee height is harder than a Pushup with your hands at waist height. By the same virtue, you can decrease the depth of your Pistol Squat (by squatting onto a box) to make it easier. The following table provides suggestions on how to micro-adjust each exercise. Don’t overthink this—just try a couple adjustments until you find the sweet spot.
Again, demos & explanations of all these exercises are available in Part 2.
Once you find your variation for each category and make the necessary adjustments, record the details as shown in the table below. You will be using the same variation for all A sessions for the next 4 weeks.
Record your max. Then calculate 50%, 70% and 90% of that number (multiply by .5, .7 and .9, respectively).
Day 2
This is testing for the B session. You’ll need a Core Isometric that you can hold for 30-60 seconds, a Core Flexion that allows you to complete 8-12 good reps, and a Cardio that you can do for 20+ minutes continuously.
Record your test results as shown in the table below.
For the B sessions, you just need to write down the max and calculate 75% of that (multiply by .75).
At this point, you should have a notebook with all this testing info written down. Don’t lose it! You’ll be referring to these tables for the duration of the program. When you retest, you’ll have a written record of your progress. And you will make progress.
Day 3 And Beyond…
In the final tables you’ll find the complete structure of the program. Every session is laid out for you, so once you’ve done Day 1 and Day 2 all the decision-making is over. The only thing that’s left is for you to complete the program.
The A Sessions:
Do the Push, Squat and Pull exercises in a slow circuit until all the sets are completed. Rest as needed between exercises. Anywhere between 1-3 minutes of rest is acceptable. With strength training, more rest is better than less.
Once you’ve completed all sets of Push, Squat, Pull, go outside and do the Sprints.
Note: if you have a kettlebell and you know how to use it, you can sub swings or snatches for the sprints—do 10 reps for the same number of sets listed for Sprints. But even if you have a kettlebell, the sprints are great and might be a nice change of pace.
I know this looks complicated. Just go through it day by day and you’ll be fine!
The B Sessions:
Alternate between the 2 Core exercises until you’ve completed all the sets, then do the Cardio. Complete 2-3 B Sessions per week.
The Schedule
You can schedule this however you like. It will be best to have a rest day in between each session type: A, B, A, B etc. Here are some examples of how the schedule might work out:
Any of these schedules are perfectly fine. Just make sure to get 3 A’s and at least 2 B’s every week.
Conclusion
If you’ve never run a professionally-planned training program before, some of this structure might be new to you. Different aspects of each session vary in difficulty each day. This is intentional! You cannot just “go hard every day” because…it doesn’t work—you won’t be able to get enough training volume to drive progress.
When you complete week 4, start over with Day 1. When you retest to find your new variations, you will find that you can do a harder version than you did before. Maybe you can decrease the elevation of your Pushup, maybe your Bulgarian Split Squat becomes a Pistol Squat, maybe you can run for 20 minutes when you used to have to run/walk to catch your breath. This is the name of the game in training! The work must get harder over time, or you’ll just be spinning your wheels.
The easy way out would be to say “everything is locked down, I’ll just start training again after this is over.” Wrong answer. If you are well, you owe it to yourself to maintain and improve upon that wellness. Go get after it!
Go to Part 2 for demos & explanations of all the exercises.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider visiting longmontclimbingcollective.com to see some ways you can support the gym during the closure.