Since COVID-19 is cancelling everything, it's looking like more and more of us will be spending a lot of time shut in at home rather than packing into cramped, humid gyms. Well, that's no excuse to let yourself decline physically. Staying fit, whether it's for the mirror or for resilience, is doable with no equipment, and very doable with next to no equipment.
I want to be clear that I don't consider bodyweight-only training to be ideal by any means. In an ideal situation, there would be access to barbells, dumbbells, and machines as well. However, situations are rarely ideal, and sometimes it is necessary to adapt or lose your gains.
The exercises I'll be discussing won't be new to a majority of people. However, I still see these exercises butchered on a regular basis. Before scorning any of these tried-and-true basic exercises, make an honest analysis as to whether you're really performing them properly.
Whether you simply find it easier to work out at home after a long day of work, or are going on a full self-quarantine, here are some tips and exercises to focus on when you have nothing but a pullup bar available.
Push-ups:
The pushup builds the chest, delts, and triceps while also allowing free motion of the scapula and challenging core stability. It is a highly efficient exercise which often gets overlooked by experienced lifters, and all it requires is a floor or the ground. However, even this ubiquitous exercise is often performed with shortened range of motion, flared elbows, and sagging or sky-high hips.
The body should be straight from shoulder to heel with tightened core and glutes. The elbows should be at least somewhat tucked into your sides (how much so will vary by individual), and the chest should touch (or at least come within an inch or two of) the floor on every rep.
Can't do a push-up? There are at least 4 different regressions you can use to build up to the regular pushup, and all have their merit.
1: Elevate your hands on a couch or other surface
2: Perform push-ups on your knees
3: Perform negative push-ups (the lowering portion) with as much control as possible
4: Perform push-up position planks for time
Want to make them harder?
1: Do higher reps. If you're not doing unbroken 100-perfect-rep sets, you can stand to be better at regular ol' pushups. You'd be surprised at how well this can build the chest/shoulders/tris.
2: Pause your reps at the bottom. This builds starting-position strength.
3: Elevate your feet. This will allow you to emphasize the shoulders and upper chest a bit more.
Pullups:
The pullup may be the single greatest upper body exercise that one can do. It will develop nearly every muscle of the back, along with the biceps and delts. The abs will be challenged to stabilize the trunk while hanging. There may even be times that your chest or triceps get sore from a particularly insane pull-up workout. Yet this is probably the most poorly performed exercise I see in gyms, and the main reason is likely just that they are hard, and require a substantial amount of strength to perform properly. The main culprits are typically shortened range of motion (particularly in the bottom portion of the movement) and rolling of the shoulders at the top.
The pullup should be performed from a dead hang, with the arms fully extended, and ends when the chin is over the bar. The shoulder blades should be pulled together at the top, and the shoulders should not be rolled forward, nor should leg momentum be used, to reach the top.
I would also recommend doing pull-ups with a variety of grips. Typically, a wide grip will be most difficult, while close supinated or neutral grips (typically called a chinup) will allow for higher reps. If you have never done a pullup before, your best chance at getting a successful rep will be to use one of those less difficult grips.
Can't do a pull-up? There are various ways to offload pullups, such as with the assisted pull-up machine or with bands. It is also beneficial to do a variety of pulldowns and rows when you have access to equipment, but without equipment here are your options:
1: Leg-assisted pullups: These would be done with the feet elevated on a box or something similar, allowing you to vary the amount of assistance you use throughout the rep.
2: Negative-only pullups: Use a step or jump up to the top of the pullup, and then bring yourself back down as slowly and as controlled as possible.
3: Inverted rows
4: Dead hangs for time
5: Partial pullups: Starting from the full hang, pull yourself as far up as you can.
Too strong for regular pullups? No you're not. But try sternup chinups for some variation.
Walking Lunges:
Lunges are a near-total lower body exercise that will build your glutes, quads, adductors, and even hamstrings. They're straightforward to learn and can be done for hundreds of reps within a workout. Again, the execution is important. You should be lunging out far enough that the front knee is at just about a 90 degree angle.
Can't do a walking lunge? Do stationary lunges, also known as split squats. If those are still too difficult, try bodyweight squats. If those aren't in the cards either, squat down to a chair.
Lunges too easy? Again, do several hundred reps of lunges in one workout and tell me they're too easy. However, Bulgarian split squats (with the back leg elevated) can be done for extra variation.
Interval Sprints:
Most people lose athleticism as they get older, and don't do any kind of fast or explosive movements. Sprinting is a fundamental task that will always be useful, and challenges the entire body. If you haven't sprinted in some time, your first time back at it will leave your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and even your lats, abs, and obliques sore. It also challenges the cardiovascular system in a completely unique way. While I'm calling these sprints, they don't need to be done at 100% (and sure as hell shouldn't be if you haven't been running/sprinting). 60% or so effort would be a good starting point.
Neck work:
Few people train neck, but many people deal with neck pain. Coincidence? I think not. Regardless, a strong neck is a necessary part of any complete physique, and can help support the head in our excessively sedentary desk-bound lives. Training the neck does not require weights, and in fact bodyweight-only neck work can be highly effective. Neck flexion, extension, and rotation (lying on the floor, or even better with your head off the edge of a bench) are often done by fighters for high reps and can develop a neck that looks as good as it performs.
There are many more bodyweight-only exercises that you can add to you repertoire. But making the above exercises the staple of your at-home program will give you excellent results on their own.
