Training at home with Covid 19 the Coronavirus
It seems everyone is coming out of the wood-works to tell us all how to workout from home and train on Zoom. Although you may have a bit of anxiety using zoom at first, those in corporate America can attest to Zoom’s simplicity once you’ve used it a couple times.
The biggest problem these days isn’t what to do, but what to do it with or maybe who to do it with. Almost every piece of fitness equipment on Amazon and every other online retailer is SOLD OUT! To be honest, it’s not really a problem. I became a pretty darn fit, world champion, without 1 weight or piece of fitness equipment! Of course there are those fitness tools you can add to your workouts to make them more interesting if you are easily bored, but TRUST ME, you do not “need” them! Not to mention, for FREE or very little money you can join online Zoom training classes like ours at American Boxing and get exactly what you want out of a workout, be challenged, burn calories, get stronger, learn something and friggin have some fun! Did I mention using nothing but body weight exercises and every day household goods?
Want a FREE trial of our live online interactive classes? At the bottom of this article I’ll post a link and hook you up!
Personally, I’m not sure what to think about everyone’s “home workouts”, just like you, I’ve seen 1001 “fitness pros” pop-up out of nowhere…but I can say this, as a former World Champion who absolutely hates running and “working-out”, I literally found hundreds of ways to train around the house, in the car, in the store and of course for a couple hours a day here and there, in a gym.
Now keep in mind, I am going to point everyone towards some very good and affordable home equipment that is NOT SOLD OUT in this article, that you can and should buy for long term goals, that will ensure you will never need a gym membership again, however, like most of us know, having it and using it is the trick…and that is where online coaching can really help.
Dips and Pull-Ups
Dips and pull-ups were my religion in college and it showed in my physique, that I still have 20 years later…for the most part; ha. Here is the exact model I recommend I do not suggest you get one with the ab station as other design elements are changed that effect how i will show you to use it in this Power Tower Video. And for those of you ladies and gentlemen that are thinking, no way you can do 1 pull up and you don’t even know what a dip is, I have one other simple and amazing tool that you will need. These bands are religion…trust me and again, check out my video how to use them.
I am a huge fan of dips and pushups but not all of us can do them. No worries, I have just the thing for everyone. If you really want to step up to the fitness/physique big leagues, you will need to use my only real body weight tool of choice….a power tower.
If you do not have too much weight on you, forget running and skip rope! These are the best and weighted ropes like this helped me become a world champion without running!
An essential tool to get with the power tower are this LEEKEY Resistance Band Set. Great for Pull Up Assistance, Stretch Resistance, Power-lifting, general Resistance Training, Physical Therapy and home workouts in general. These will allow almost anyone, no matter how unfit or weak, to perform exercises by decreasing your body weight with band assistance or increase your resistance load for a real challenge!
Therabands are great for stretching, toning & conditioning all muscle groups and perfect for those with latex allergies or sensitivities. Thera-bands are simple and easy to use for upper and lower body exercises that can be performed at-home or on the road and are ideal for conditioning & rehabbing muscle and joint injuries. If you are older or have a maybe have something like a rotater cuff injury, the lower tension therabands in the link here are great for beginners.
If you are recovering from a lumbar injury or you are looking for a bit more of a challenge, you probably want to follow the link below and get a bit more tension and length in your theraband.
In my opinion, for lower body use, the blue theraband is great for an average strength female. If you are on the weaker side, you may want to go green. I would say go with a Black thera band if you are a guy. I am 6’4″ 190 ish, not glute strong and the challenge was excellent while doing rehab on an L-5 S-1 bulging disk playing a little game on my nerve root…super fun, not. Blue if you have had a serious lower extremity injury or maybe not strong glutes. These bands REALLY helped me in my rehab and it was a bonus to fill out the ass of my jeans a bit better like back in my athletic prime.ha. These are GREAT for a butt workout if you want a firmer booty people!
Here is a sample band workout I did for rehab that is a KILLER Butt workout!
(I will place a link to a video here VERY SOON, in the mean time, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel for instructional videos!)
Perform 3 Sets of each Exercise.
Exercise 1: Clam Shells
- Tie a theraband in a knot making a loop.
- Lay on your side with your back against a wall (so you wont cheat) and your knees bent half way up to your chest.
- Wrap the band around your knees.
- Lift your top knee as high as you can while keeping your leg on the floor, flat…put the knee down.
- Repeat 20-30 times in a controlled manner.
Make your technique PERFECT! Cheating makes this too easy.
Exercise 2: Foot Banded Squat Side Step
- Find 20-30 feet or so of space (hallway works great if you are in a small apartement like I once was.)
- Wraps that same band around your feet (so you are stepping on the band)
- Make your feet shoulder width.(so there is light tension on the band)
- Squat down into a deep squat position.
- Slow, steady and controlled, side step one way about 10-15 BIG slow controlled side steps. (do not let the band go slack, do not let your feet come closer that shoulder width apart, stay in that squat and suck it up!)
- NO BREAK, side step back down to the starting point, facing the same direction.
- Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute between sets, depending on your fitness.Remember, you are not actually on fire, it just feels that way.lol
Recovery
If you are working out at home, you will absolutely need a foam roller. I consider the foam roller to be the single biggest sport and fitness invention in the last 30 years, EAASILY! Perfect for myofascial release, a religion for anyone who does CrossFit, Yoga, Pilates, Weight Training, Bodybuilding, MMA or a professional sport. Every person that participates in exercise activities, needs to use a foam roller!
With just one use, this can relieve pain in your back, legs, neck, IT-Band, shoulders, traps and lats by triggering blood circulation to sore and tight muscles and releasing tension from muscualar adhesions (aka knots). This is a core workout, a warmup, an injury recovery tool, a cool down and literally my favorite piece of equipment to keep my body pain free. I will post a video for everyone VERY SOON!
Nutrition is a big deal with any fitness or fight program.
Here are a few of my favorites that I suggest.
Meal replacement for a focus on Weight Loss or mintaining a healthy weight:
Plant based Pea Protein, i have used Orgain for years since I stopped competing and training hard. The flavor, ingredients and price can not be beat in my opinion.
A great addition to the chocolate orgain is PEANUT BUTTER!!! However, peanut butter is great for me because I want the extra calories. For someone who wants the flavor but a third of the calories, NorCal Organic peanut butter powder is a great option. Pay attention to the servings here…2 scoops is 100 calories and almost 4 tbsp while most other brands is 50 calories per serving at 2tbsp. Playing with the numbers can mess with your head, but no need to worry, it is the same thing…well almost. Norcal Organic adds no sugar, while other brands add a small amount. If you are diabetic or really watching your calories, this matters.
We will add add to this list as people ask us questions in our online training.
We hope you will join us online training, below is a link. Be safe and remember, we are not medical physicians and you should consult a Doctor before taking any supplements or beginning an exercise program. The above is based on our experience in the fitness industry and results may vary.
CLICK HERE TO TRY OUR ONLINE CLASSES!