The gym is a place we go specifically for our fitness and health and it can be hard for those who love that place and find value in it and go there for more then just a workout. But government mandates have closed gyms and many of us around the world fear it will happen again and some places are currently in their second lock down. We all must find ways to adjust and either continue or alter our healthy habits for our sanity.
Where there’s a will, there is a way you just gotta look hard and work around the discomfort of new opportunities and new methodologies. Take this mentality into your fitness life and if you can’t go to the gym and have no equipment and maintaining strength and muscle is all you hope to do there is a way without external load/resistance through bodyweight training.
THE EXERCISES:
Squat
Stiff Leg Hinge
Push-up (Close & Wide)
Scap Push-up
Glute Bridge
Deadbug
McGill BIG 3
Superman
Calf Raise
IF POSSIBLE:
Pull-up
Chin-up
Handstand Press
For MOST trainees who have been training consistently at the gym multiple times a week for months or even years theres a way to use these bodyweight exercises to maintain growth and strength. Now for extreme cases where a person has been specializing in say powerlifting or bodybuilding to a high level it would be far more difficult but for very possible for short periods of time like 6-8 weeks (Greg knuckols has an amazing article on his blog “stronger by science“ about taking time off and how he references studies which show evidence of gains generally not being lost if you go on vacation for as much as 6 weeks even without training! I highly recommend reading his content). With effort making gains with bodyweight and calisthenics is definitely achievable if you’re more untrained however if you’re so experienced then buying weights or even bands or a set of adjustable dumbbells would likely be a priority.
THE METHOD:
Remember your principles of strength training and resort to intuitive progressive overload, volume landmarks, recovery and the good old mind muscle connection to implement a strategic and satisfying workout program. I want you to program for yourself and make your program fit your life, your goals and your previous habits at the gym but it can be overwhelming to learn how to do that properly. I’ll give an example and give some good ideas that may be used but I hope you learn for yourself rather then copy and paste my program or anyone’s for that matter because nobody can make you the perfect program but yourself.
Let’s say we have a basic solid program like Mark Riptoes starting strength and an individual has consistently been doing the ”Big 4” (Squat, Benchpress, Deadlift & Overhead Press) and only slightly altered their frequency and volume (added a couple exercises too) to fit them and simply been adding weight as the typical Linear Progression pursues. Now their Program would have to be completely adapted to be muscle based and specificity essentially thrown out the window but they could still find joy and maintenance in self isolation.
Previous Program (adapted from Starting Strength):
Monday- Squat 5x5 @245lbs, Hip Thrusts 3x10 @135lbs, Ab Roller 3x10
Tuesday- Press 5x5 @135lbs, lateral raises 3x10 @15lbs, Pull-ups 3x10 bw
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Off
Friday- Benchpress 5x5 @225lbs, Pec Deck 3x10, Curls 3x10, Triceps Rope extensions 3x10
Saturday- Deadlift 3x5 @315lbs
Sunday-Active Rest Day (goes for family hikes or similar family activities)
———————————————————
NEW program adapted to bodyweight only:
Monday- bw tempo Squat 5x5-1-0 (tempo means 5-1-0 5 count down, 1 count at bottom and 0 is up FAST), Glute Bridges 3x10 (squeeze at top and hold for 1 count), Deadbug both feet and arms 3x10 second holds
Tuesday- Handstand Press 3x3, mind muscle lateral raises 3x30secs+ (hold until RPE 8+, if have weights or milk or anything then can load it), bw pull-ups 3x10 or scap pushups 3x10 second holds (focus on lower traps, rhomboids and rear delts squeezing at top hard)
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Off
Friday- Push-ups 5x50 (close grip & fast), Wide Push-ups 3x15 (slow or even 1.5 reps with halfway up then down and back up all the way), Chin-ups 3x10
Saturday- Explosive Tempo Glute Bridges 3x3x0-5-2, Bw hinge/goodmorning 3x20
Sunday- Active Rest Day
VARIABLES CONSIDERED:
Where were they in their mesocycle that is how many weeks have they been progressing? And whats their volume landmarks??
Whats the goals in mind
How much time do they put into certain muscles and movements
Screen oneself to see what movements need cleaning up and some prehab work ie if you can’t squat to 90 then maybe squat to comfortable controlled depth and work on hip mobility
Frequency, Volume and Intensity and how to adapt
BODYWEIGHT TRICKS:
Tempo
Pauses
Explosive Reps
1.5 Reps
Super Sets
RPE 8-10 everything if low volume
Now this example doesn’t include progressive overload which I would personally back their volume onto their MEV (minimum effective volume) then ramp up with a set every week for 3-5 weeks or possibly add reps with something like the pushups as the rep count is so high there’s plenty of room for manipulation.
Now the biggest hurdle about altering a program and completely changing the exercises and reality a person had with training is learning about one’s own body and learning how to fire certain muscles and create an irradiation affect as well as how to add progressions. If there’s progress in bodyweight movements it gives a person confidence and creates opportunities for growth even but you have to enter the new system with a motivated and ready to learn mentality because the harder you try and the more mindful you are of the process the better gains you’ll make.
IN CONCLUSION:
Get your sleep, eat right, reduce your volume to base level while ramping up and search for intense mind muscle connections and bodyweight training for maintaining should be fun and completely within your ability.
Remember this is a long game and maintenance is a time to make progress in other forms, be it in mind, in understanding of body functionality or even just in other parts of life.
Stay Strong, Stay Training
-Mr Wolf
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