Assessment for week seven of my how to build muscle at home with limited equipment. My journey was fascinating. The elephant in the room was the coronavirus. Like most others, Coronavirus has confined me to my house. The gyms are closed, and Covid limited my access to the equipment I need.
I have a bench, dumbbells, barbells, and 150 lbs of weight. I just completed my strength and endurance training phase during week six. If you have been following my blog, then you know I believe you have to get stronger to get bigger.
The key to build muscle at home with limited equipment.
So how do you build muscle at home with limited equipment? The key to building muscle is the diet, sleep, and the glycolytic energy pathway. By eating a calorie surplus focusing on protein and a workout that places pressure on the glycolytic pathway, muscle gains happen. The glycolytic energy pathway is the energy source that’s near muscles.
This energy pathway lasts about one minute and takes about one minute to replenish. Because of the time the glycolytic energy pathway lasts and replenishes, repetitions of 8 – 12, rest time of 30 seconds to 1 minute, and weight load of 70% of one repetition max are best.
Do not worry about the volume of weight while trying to build muscle at home with limited equipment. Just make sure the weight is heavy enough for you to lift only 8 – 12 repetitions; this typically happens around 70% of your one-repetition max. Your sleep continues to be essential for rest and your hormone health. Do not discount the importance of hormones, food, especially testosterone, estrogen, and human growth hormones.
The workout to build muscle at home with limited equipment
Demographics: Age 52, Height 5-5, Weight 181 lbs
Upper Body:
| Lift and Weight | Sets and Reps |
| Pushups Neutral Grip | 20,10,10,10,10 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press 40 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Pushups Narrow Grip | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curl 40 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Pushups Wide Grip | 10,10,10,10,10 |
Lower Body
| Lift and Weight | Sets and Reps |
| Squats 100 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Lunges 100 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Front Squats 100 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Deadlift 100 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
| Back Row 100 | 10,10,10,10,10 |
The key to build muscle at home with limited equipment is to focus on form and range of motion for each lift. Concentric, eccentric, and isometric movements are crucial—the slower and deeper each lift, the better. The perfect pushup allows you to focus on form and gives you the extra depth to perform concentric and eccentric moves. Time under pressure works the muscle just as effectively as weight under pressure.
Typically perform squats parallel to the ground to save your knees, but while you are trying to build muscle at home with limited equipment, you can complete a full range squat. By slowly squatting down, holding for 10 seconds once you are parallel to the floor, continuing downward, slowly pressing up, holding for 10 seconds once you are parallel to the floor again, and continuing up, you can keep stress on the muscles and perform concentric, eccentric, and isometric lifts on each squat.
I will revisit my measurement at the three-fourths mark, which is week twelve.
How to make serious adjustments to your workout
I had to make some serious adjustments to build muscle at home with limited equipment; It is not ideal for me because of my age and experience level. Flexibility helps when you don’t have access to the gym or sustain an injury. A lack of flexibility has sabotaged a lot of diets and workout plans.
I hope to continue to build muscle at home with limited equipment for two weeks or fewer and then to get back to the gym for the rest of my muscle gain journey. Also, I may have to extend my journey for a couple of weeks to account for my time at home.
I don’t know how my body will respond to my new reality. Diet and sleep (hormones) are the primary factors for muscle gains and fat loss. Exercise may not cause muscle gains, but the absence of exercise causes muscle loss.
