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Strength training involves using resistance to build muscle mass, strength, and endurance. It can help you improve your health, fitness, and appearance, but it is not accessible to everyone.
And if you are that "someone", who does not have access to gyms, don’t worry. You can still do efficient strength training at home with minimal to no equipment. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and resistance bands.
Beginner Workout
People who are new to strength training or have not done it for a long time are categorised as beginners. Beginners are recommended to start with bodyweight exercises that target all the major muscle groups of the body. Whether it's a lifestyle change or a weight loss resolution, the start of the journey begins with bodyweight workouts and resistance bands.
(Day 1) Lower Body: The first day is for legs with Air Squats (increase difficulty with resistance bands), Lunges, and Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 2) Upper Body: Start the second day of the week with an upper body workout. Begin with (using resistance bands) incline push-ups, Triceps extensions, seated rows and shoulder press.
(Day 3) Cardio/Mobility: The focus for the day is to do active rest, i.e., engage in a little activity, 2 minutes of jog, 1 minute of walking for five rounds. Follow this with mobility stretches for 1 minute each for two rounds. Follow these: Childs pose, Puppy dog, downward dog, cobra pose, and then finish off with butterfly stretches.
Check out our session for mobility and movement here.
(Day 4) Lower body: The second leg day, you start with resistance band Split Squats, Lunges, hip abductions, & Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 5) Upper body: For the second upper body day is resistance band assisted pull ups, seated rows, seated triceps kickbacks, and finish off with biceps curls. Cardio (Optional): Four sets of 400m run with 1-minute walks in between.
Remember: there are progressions to an exercise too, where if it’s difficult to do any movement, you can do an easier version of the movement (wall push ups, knee push ups and then traditional push ups).
Although pull ups are the most difficult movement to do, ideally, you want to build your strength to do pull ups. Start with assisted pull ups, then negative pull ups and slowly build strength for pull ups. Your workout here will be 3 days a week of full body workouts for about 30 minutes.
Intermediate Workout
After four to six weeks of training, since your bodies have grown accustomed to pushing your body, you can increase the variety and intensity of the training. From 3 days a week to 4 days a week, your routine should last for about 45 minutes. The workouts are based on a combination of bodyweight and weighted exercises that target different muscle groups and movements.
Note: For intermediate workouts, use dumbbells 5 kg - 10 kg, resistance bands and body weight.
(Day 1) Lower Body: The first day is for legs with body weight Squats (increase difficulty with resistance bands or dumbbells), Lunges, Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 2) Upper Body: Start the second day of the week with an upper body workout. Begin with incline push-up, Triceps extensions, seated rows and shoulder press.
(Day 3) Cardio/Mobility: The focus for the day is to do active rest, i.e., engage in a little activity, 2 minutes of jog, 1 minute of walking for five rounds. Follow this with mobility stretches for 1 minute each for two rounds. Follow these: Childs pose Puppy dog, downward dog, cobra pose, and then finish off with butterfly stretches.
(Day 4) Lower body: The second leg day, you start with dumbbell Split Squats, Lunges, hip abductions, & Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 5) Upper body: For the second upper body day is pull ups, seated rows, seated triceps kickbacks, and finish off with biceps curls.
Cardio (Optional): Six sets of 400m run with 1-minute walks in between.
You can do these workouts on any four days of the week with three rest days. You can also do some light cardio and stretching exercises on your rest days or before and after each workout.
If you don't want to program your workouts, check out our 24.1 Lite plan.
Advanced plan
Strength training with advanced level challenges and aims to maximise results. It consists of five to six workouts per week, each lasting about 50-60 minutes. The workouts also include some advanced techniques, such as supersets, drop sets, and pyramids, to increase the intensity and difficulty. Ideally, you need to follow a workout routine for eight to twelve weeks, and then change it to avoid plateaus and overtraining.
Note: For advanced workouts, use barbells, dumbbells (7.5 kg - 10 kg), resistance bands and body weight. Aim for 3 sets and 8-12 reps for each exercise.
(Day 1) Lower Body: The first day is for legs with back Squats (use barbells or dumbbells), Lunges, Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 2) Upper Body: Start the second day of the week with an upper body workout. Begin with decline push-up, Triceps kickbacks, seated rows and resistance band lateral raises.
(Day 3) Cardio/Mobility: The focus for the day is to do active rest, i.e., engage in a little activity, 2 minutes of jog, 1 minute of walking for five rounds. Follow this with mobility stretches for 1 minute each for two rounds. Follow these: Child’s pose Puppy dog, downward dog, cobra pose, and then finish off with butterfly stretches.
(Day 4) Lower body: The second leg day, you start with dumbbells Split Squats, Lunges, hip abductions, & Romanian deadlifts.
(Day 5) Upper body: For the second upper body day, do 3 sets of 8-12 pull ups, seated rows, seated Triceps kickbacks, and finish off with biceps curls.
Cardio (Optional): Eight sets of 400m run with 1-minute walks in between.
Conclusion
Remember, home workouts are not only effective but also fun and convenient. You can do them anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. The most important thing is to be consistent, motivated, and positive. With home workouts, you can achieve your fitness dreams and have fun along the way.
Looking for online coaching?
Feel free to check out our Back2Basics program for a transformative experience.
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