Unable to get to the gym? No worries. I got you covered! Try this 3 or 4 day a week full-body routine to ensure you maintain your hard-earned progress!
You may be accustomed to a style of split training – where you train only certain body parts each workout – but that doesn’t mean there may be some benefit to switching to a full-body routine for a little while. In fact, recent research suggests a full-body workout can increase fat loss, help combat some metabolic diseases, and improve testosterone levels, which can bolster muscle size and strength!
What we want to focus on is stimulating the muscle. Sure, if we can’t get to a gym, we can’t overload the muscle the way we have been, but that is OK! I know many of you will be afraid that you’ll lose all your progress if you miss the gym. That’s not the case! In fact, there is research demonstrating that over a 6-month timeframe, periodic breaks (3-week detraining/6-week retraining cycles) resulted in similar muscle hypertrophy that existed in those who continuously worked out for 6 months.
One last thing to cover before we jump into the workouts. Consider just taking some time off. I know for many of us that is harder than training, but time off can do your body a lot of good! It can ease sore muscles, give you back some time in your day, and – most importantly – allow for full muscle recovery and fight off injury. I know the big concern in the fitness community is that gains and progress will be lost! Research suggests that it takes around two months of inactivity to lose all progress – so don’t worry too much!
OK, enough of the rationale. Let’s dive into the full-body routine. A few of the exercises will require resistance bands, dumbbells, or some sort of weight (gallon water jugs, reusable grocery bags filled with items to make it heavy, etc.) However, you’ll notice there are plenty of exercises to select from, so if I suggest something you are unable to perform, just swap it out with another exercise on the list. Lastly, focus on pushing yourself to near failure or failure. We want to ensure you train in this rep range to adequately challenge the muscle and help maintain as much muscle mass as possible. And one last thing, these workouts can be done as a circuit (move from one exercise to the next after each set) or do one exercise (all 3 sets) and then move onto the next exercise. Got it? Good – let’s go!
Day 1:
Prisoner Squat – 3 sets to failure
Calf Raises – 3 sets to failure
Pushups – 3 sets to failure
Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3 sets to failure
Body Row – 3 sets to failure
Dumbbell Curl – 3 sets to failure
Triceps Dips – 3 sets to failure
Ab Roller or crunches – 3 sets to failure
Day 2:
Pistol Squat – 3 sets to failure
Bodyweight Hamstring Curl – 3 sets to failure
Incline Pushups – 3 sets to failure
Resistance Band Lateral Raise – 3 sets to failure
Doorway Body Row – 3 sets to failure
Zottman Curl – 3 sets to failure
Bodyweight Skull Crushers – 3 sets to failure
Day 3:
Sissy Squat – 3 sets to failure
Bulgarian Split Squat – 3 sets to failure
Resistance Band Flies – 3 sets to failure
Isometric pec squeeze – 3 sets to failure
Pull ups (if you have an at-home pull up bar) – alternatively you can do resistance band lat pull downs – 3 sets to failure
Resistance Band Curls – 3 sets to failure
Lying triceps extensions – 3 sets to failure
Optional Day 4:
Straight-leg deadlift – 3 sets to failure
Hip Thrust – 3 sets to failure
Pushups superset with pushups on knees – 3 sets to failure
Dumbbell Row – 3 sets to failure
Cross-body hammer curls – 3 sets to failure
Overhead dumbbell triceps extension – 3 sets to failure
Ab Roller or plank – 3 sets to failure
