Personal experience: how I trained at home for 100 days and what came of it

Already on March 30, it was forbidden to leave the rural settlement in my region. So I started counting down the days without a gym. At the end of June, I understood that I would only return to the hall by September (in St. Petersburg there are no rumors about the opening, and in a month I am leaving for the sea). During this time, I reconsidered my attitude to home workouts and am more optimistic about the future without sports clubs (God forbid, of course). I'll tell you what conclusions I came to from personal experience.

1. About inventory and equipment

Safety first

In the first weeks of quarantine, social media was fun: people trained with water bottles instead of dumbbells, kicked sofas instead of platform presses, squatted with children on their shoulders and dogs in their hands. I also tried to pull myself up on the door, placing a book under it, and the bench from the piano still replaces the bench press for me.

The main conclusion after using the materials at hand is this: it is better "in any way" instead of "somehow", because it is unsafe and not designed for training.

Progress will inevitably slow down

When switching to home training, you need to make a fundamental decision about what kind of equipment you will use:

the minimum level is “I have a gender”;
intermediate level - “I have a floor, an expander and a towel”;
advanced level - "I managed to buy weights, dumbbells and even a barbell."

The principle of progressive load Progression of volume load and muscular adaptation during resistance exercise, which I follow in strength training, involves a constant increase in the weight of the equipment or the resistance of the machine. It is clear that with two 20 kg dumbbells, I very quickly reached the ceiling, even starting with light weights. For example, by March I was doing 28 kg goblet squats with dumbbells, but at home I managed to attach an extra disc (against any safety precautions) and stop at 22 kg.

Exercise at home effectively and with a kettlebell

You can train at home with a minimum of equipment

In May, an unpleasant story happened to me: I saw a tempting advertisement for the sale of an Olympic barbell with a full set of pancakes with a total weight of 130 kg at an attractive price - and fell into a phishing scam. Of course, it is easier to find used inventory on ad sites, but it is safer to order a new one on marketplaces. So, in the end, two weights came to me (I still feel sorry for the courier).

Many exercises can be replaced with sports elastic bands with different levels of resistance or an expander with handles. I had no idea about such exercises, but by subscribing to 5-6 accounts of American fitness bloggers, I quickly gained this experience.

What I learned after using home equipment: make the most of what you have, but don't rely on the same progress.

It is very useful to record your workouts on video

Of course, this is not at all like training in the gym, when a coach is watching you and correcting your technique. Wrong movement and you will be injured by a heavy projectile. It's easier with rubber bands: none of them broke or flew in my face in three months.

But the question remained with the correct technique. I solved it by posting videos from my workouts on Instagram every day. My sports friends were always kind, did not express enthusiasm and regularly wrote: "Squat lower!" Reviewing yourself on the records and comparing it with the videos of experienced bloggers, you begin to see the difference and achieve similarities with the picture.

I had to film myself earlier in order to review the video, paying attention to the technique, and think about adjusting it, but in the gym you rely too much on the coach and turn off your brain.

2. About nutrition

The main concern with non-resistance training is that it is impossible to build muscle in this way. Yes, of course, working with hypertrophy, as in the gym, will not work, but at least it is definitely possible to preserve the muscles. Nutrition is the key factor here. If you build a competent diet in conditions of reduced activity, then excess fat will definitely not stick.

Most people are isolated in apartments, but I'm lucky - I live outside the city. And if before quarantine I moved mainly by car and did not walk more than 6,000 steps a day, then in isolation I began to walk at the time when I usually went to work, and now I walk 12-18 thousand steps a day.

The change in motor activity should be compensated for by nutrition: if a person only walks around the apartment, then it is better to go into a calorie deficit. And if he can walk on the street, then it is not scary to stay on support calories (when the incoming energy is equal to the outgoing one).

I decided to stop mass gain (calorie surplus), because without a gym it was scary to gain extra fat instead of muscle. But with weight and appearance everything was in order, so after a month I decided to add a little calories, while increasing activity. According to the plan, I should not get better, but simply spend more energy and, accordingly, consume more. So far it turns out.

Can You Build Muscle on a Calorie Deficit? that muscle grows even with a calorie deficit, just very little. And you can achieve a relief body just due to a deficiency: muscles are made up of protein and water, therefore, if you get rid of excess water (for example, eat less carbohydrates and salt, and also be less stressed and get better sleep), then the muscles will be better visible.

You can fill the refrigerator with fresh vegetables and low-fat cottage cheese so that fewer calories fly in between times. Try to shove a chocolate bar into yourself after a bowl of cabbage and carrot salad - it will be difficult.

3. About the training regimen

Before self-isolation, I went to the gym five times a week: four strength training sessions and one day of swimming in the pool. There was almost no cardio workout in my regimen. And although the power load also actively uses the heart muscle, the volume of the lungs developed only due to swimming. That is, a minute of jumping rope brought me into a pre-infarction state.

Out of fear of losing my form in self-isolation, I decided to practice every day, but I quickly realized that it was better to have a rest on Sunday: I devoted it to bathing procedures. So I came up with a regimen of three strength workouts (with dumbbells and weights) and three high-intensity workouts (more reps, less rest, without much weights). At first, classes with elastic bands acted as intensive workouts, and now I have switched to classic crossfit programs. This decision came after the installation of a simple sports complex on a suburban area, which has a horizontal bar, a ladder, a rakkhod and bars.

The introduction of crossfit training improved not only my endurance, but also my breathing technique: now oxygen enters the muscles faster at the right time, and the rope almost does not lose my breath even after 500 jumps in a row.

As a result, I began to look different: from the athlete slightly inflated due to the water in the muscles, I became drier and toned. It made me wonder what I like better: to be strong, but not very prominent, or to look fit, but lose in my achievements with a barbell. I don't know how to check them, but I definitely understand that there are losses. For example, before I could pull up with a reverse grip eight times, but now only five. One thing reassures: there are no former athletes, and after a break, you can restore the indicators to their previous values and move on. An important condition is that when returning to the gym, it is imperative to reduce the load and start with at least 40% of the previous values, so as not to be injured.

4. About vain experiences

I remember myself at the end of March, and now it's even funny how many unnecessary worries there were. I almost burst into tears after the final workout before the quarantine, rushed headlong for dumbbells across the city, frantically searched for inventory on classified sites, planned to exercise every day. And all this from the fear that something irreparable will happen to my strength and appearance.

After 100 days, I not only feel still in good shape and admire the reflection in the mirror, but I also stopped waiting for news about the opening of sports clubs.

Now I have more confidence that a small amount of household equipment and desire is enough to keep myself in shape. Something, but just motivation is always enough for me.

Of course, I will return to the sports club, but I will not pounce on all the simulators at once, but I will prepare myself for the fact that the first 2-3 months I will need to adapt to the new rhythm. Moreover, I decided to save money on the road and visit the gym less often (no more than 2-3 times a week), doing extra workouts at home.

I also gave up the crazy idea of building a personal gym on the site, because a club is also an atmosphere and communication with people. And much cheaper than bringing home all the simulators in the world.