How do you build muscle with a home workout? This week my muscle gain journey was about mental toughness. Let’s see how to build muscle with a home workout. Once I get used to a routine, and there are no surprises, it becomes challenging for me to keep up.
I love the thrill of the unknown and doing strange things. A workout or diet requires compliance and consistency. The gym has a variety of equipment and people to keep me focused, but there is nothing at home. I find it odd that I must use a variety to maintain compliance and consistency, but it is true. I am not wired to do the same thing over and over with absolutely no change.
So how did I handle the boredom of working out at home with the same equipment? Focus on the parts of the workout that grow. I focused on the isometric part of each lift by increasing the pause time at each lift’s bottom. I also focused on keeping the muscle under tension during the pause. The goal of the pause is to work the muscle more, not give it time to rest. For example, at the bottom of the bench press, I held the weight one inch off my chest. It would be pointless if I rested the weight on my chests.
What happens when you break a diet
Okay, I fell off the wagon this week. I ate everything and anything in sight. I reminded myself that one week does not make a diet. The coronavirus has created a lot of stress for me, so I used food to release. I knew what I was doing, but I could not stop myself. The human mind is complex and responds to stress in unpredictable ways. My one saving grace was I ate lots of protein. Protein is essential to building muscle and losing fat.
This week reminded me why a diet should not be a diet in the sense of what a diet is. Obstacles make life complicated, and you cannot be micromanaged or compartmentalized. Good eating habits must be holistic and factor in a person’s lifestyle. I am not making excuses, but I eat and workout better when I am not stressed. It’s best to put a dreadful week behind you and get back on the wagon. I plan to get back on the wagon by intermittent fasting.
How the Coronavirus undermines sleep
Sleep is the one area I got right. I have a great sleep schedule, and I am well rested when I wake up. I am stressed out about the coronavirus, causing my mental fatigue to sabotage my physical rest. The coronavirus makes me feel like I am going through a breakup. It is taking my attention off of my workouts and diet.
How to use mental toughness to build muscle with a home workout
My workout routine remains the same. The biggest problem with my workout is the amount of weight I am lifting and the variety of lifts I can perform. It’s mentally tough to get excited about lifting 150 pounds when lifting 300 pounds or more on some lifts. I have no choice but to focus on form. By focusing on form, each lift is more mental than physical. I really can’t afford to task my mind more because of the stress I am already under.
It is natural to hit physical and mental plateaus. I just reached a point where I am tired of doing the same thing repeatedly. Mental and physical fatigue sabotages the best workout programs. Jimmy Johnson, the Dallas Cowboys former coach, said: “fatigue will make a coward out of you.” Most people know the major lifts: bench press, deadlift, squat, barbell rows, and overhead press.
There are a few varieties to the major lifts but not enough to make the lifts complicated. The problem is keeping the lifts interesting enough to stay compliant and consistent with the workout. I expect consistency and compliance to be an issue until I can get back into the gym.
Workout:
Demographics: Age 52, Height 5-5, Weight 185 Pounds
Legs
| Lifts | Sets x Reps |
| Squats | 6 x 10 |
| Lunges | 6 x 10 |
| Deadlifts | 6 x 10 |
| Treadmill Incline | 5 minutes |
Chest
| Lift | Sets x Reps |
| Fly | 6 x 10 |
| Pushups | 6 x 25 |
| Bench Press | 6 x 10 |
| Shadow Boxing | 5 minutes |
Back
| Lift | Sets x Reps |
| Barbell Row | 6 x 10 |
| Dumbbell Row One Hand | 6 x 10 |
| Dumbbell Fly Rear Delt | 6 x 10 |
| Jump Rope | 5 minutes |
Shoulders
| Lift | Sets x Reps |
| Overhead Press | 6 x 10 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 6 x 10 |
| Dumbbell Front Raise | 6 x 10 |
| Treadmill | 20 minutes |
Arms
| Lift | Sets x Reps |
| Curls | 6 x 10 |
| Dips | 6 x 10 |
| Dumbbell Tricep Extension | 6 x10 |
| Treadmill | 20 minutes |
Traps & Stomach
| Lift | Sets x Reps |
| Barbell Shrug | 6 x 10 |
| Lying Leg Raise | 6 x 20 |
| Side Plank | 6 x 2 minutes |
| Treadmill | 20 minutes |
In conclusion, how to build muscle with a home workout requires consistency and compliance.
For the next couple of weeks, I must fight through the mental fatigue that the coronavirus caused. I intend to focus on my mental health this week and see if that motivates me during my workouts and diet. I plan to mix it up a little with my daily routine.
My state allows walking for exercise. I have a treadmill I was using for walking, but at this point, I need a change-up. Next week I will walk outside to give my mind some needed entertainment and a change of environment. The best way to deal with mental fatigue is fun. Don’t worry; I will practice social distancing.
