Why Training At Home Doesn't Work
My advice to anybody training at home is simple: Don’t.
If you want to ignore that advice and do it anyway, I wrote this article for you so you can actually get effective training accomplished.
You can scrape together a decent minimalist home gym setup for cheap between amazon and shopping around facebook marketplace. I’ve personally seen a substantial uptick in recent years of clients with home gym equipment. I don’t necessarily believe this is a good thing though.
Training at home is appealing, I get it.
The gym can get crowded, people stare at you, and there are creepy old dudes in the locker room. However, a minimalist home gym setup (some dumbbells and a 10 lb kettlebell) also may not provide you with the tools you need to build the strength and physique you’re actually looking for.
The photo below isn’t a home gym. This is what most of you have when you tell me you have “workout equipment at home”. It’s an after thought, it’s a corner of your unfinished basement with the cheapest weights you could find.
Could it work? Yes.
Will it work? For most of you, no.
Below is another photo of an actually good home gym setup. The investment is greater but the results also will be. If you’re not willing to put a few $1000 into it, just get a membership. Trust me on this, i’ve trained many clients who “workout” from home. It’s hardly a workout and the rusty dumbbells in their basement they got for $10 on craigslist don’t get used often.
Downsides
Most people just don’t understand training. Having a gym membership usually doesn’t solve this issue, but training from home won’t help either. Fundamental principles of training progression are ignored or coped with the belief that just lifting some light dumbbells at home is “better than nothing.” (It quite literally is “nothing” most of the time with how some people train).
Training at home I commonly see several mistakes.
Poor Workout Structure
Underloading (Going too light, too low volume, or both)
Anterior to Posterior Imbalance
Workout Structure
Training should move from big to small. Start with your big movers first. Presses, Rows, Squats, and hinging movement patterns should be done first. Rather than starting your workouts with a bicep curl, it makes more sense to start with multi joint movements like a bench press or row.
Sequencing of exercises matters as well. When performing a superset I recommend antagonist muscle pairing. For example, combine back exercises with chest exercises to work opposing muscle groups and minimize interference.
Perform a push and a pull pattern in a superset, but not a pull and a pull or a push and a push.
❌A1 Bench Press
❌A2 Shoulder Press
You’re working the same muscle group back to back here. Not ideal.
✅A1 Bench Press
✅A2 Dumbbell Row
You’re working opposing muscle groups in this example above and you minimize interference. Your bench press wil not affect your rows and vice versa.
Loading
Most of you are criminally underloading your at home training.
Criminally.
If you do 3 sets of 10 but after the 10th rep you could’ve still done 5+ reps, it’s too light. You need to find a way to make the training challenging. If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
I also love isometrics for at home training. Preferably as a finisher.
Imbalanced Training
It’s really easy to load anterior patterns. For instance, people will hit shoulders, chest, and quads but hit only a fractional of the volume for their hamstrings, glutes, and back. You’re also limited on planes of motion.
You can’t do almost any vertical pulling at home unless you can do chin ups or have a pulldown machine.
When designing your training plan, at the very least aim to have some semblance of balance. You don’t necessarily need a 50/50 split of pulling to pressing exercises (although i’d recommend it) but if your ratio is 80/20 pressing to pulling, you’re setting yourself up for tendinopathy or injuries.
Recommended Gear
This is for a minimalist setup. Ideally, I’d recommend a squat rack / squat stand and a barbell if you have the space.
What do I do then?
Get a gym membership. It’s more effective for most people.
Still don’t want to? Fine. At the very least consider more equipment like a rack and boxes instead of just buying a pair of dumbbells and pretending like you’ll use them consistently (you won’t).
Reference the article below to apply what you should do. I' still firmly believe minimalist training works best for more advanced trainees. If you’re over weight and can’t bust out 30+ pushups with ease and not skilled at basic compound movements, you’re going to get less out of training at home.
Great read this is not talked about enough. I personally feel like I work out harder at a gym. It’s the energy in that space!