Men's Fitness Guide Issue 16

Lockdown taught us many things: toilet roll is the most valuable commodity on Earth, fresh air is really quite nice and, for the purposes of this Guide, you don’t need a ton of equipment to get – or stay – in shape. Sure, variety can make working out more interesting, but with a little imagination all you really need to build your best body is… your own body. Chuck a light pair of dumbbells or a kettlebell into the mix and you really don’t have any excuses. In this Guide you will find all the essential information and workout inspiration you need to get fit from your own front room. Read on for exercise instructions, home training protocols and the best-buy kit to help you build gym-free muscle in the months…

One of the best things about working out at home is that it’s accessible. In fact, you could start right now, even if you don’t have any kit. That’s because you can do lots of challenging exercises, such as press-ups and chair dips, just by using your bodyweight. And while you can’t do everything with bodyweight alone, the good news is that you don’t need a gym full of kit to burn fat and build muscle. A gym ball and a set of dumbbells will allow you to perform a wide variety of exercises. Adding a couple of accessories such as a medicine ball, pull-up bar and kettlebell will further increase your options. Finally, if you have enough space, a barbell and bench will let you lift heavy weights for real…

☑ Cost-effective You can do a huge variety of moves with a gym ball, dumbbells and a pull-up bar, the combined cost of which can be under £50. ☑ Time-saving A major benefit of working out at home is that you don’t have to travel if you want to train. ☑ Flexible Your home gym will always be open, so if you suddenly get the urge to do a workout, you can. And if you want to train at antisocial hours, you can do that, too. ☑ Efficient Because you’ll be the only one using your kit, that means no waiting around for someone else to finish their sets, and you can make sure you stick to your rest periods. ☑ No gym villains In your own home you won’t have to contend with posers on mobile phones, people…

Full-body workout Full-body workouts allow you to work a large range of muscle fibres in a relatively short space of time. That prompts your body to release a flood of growth hormones that will make your muscles get bigger and stronger. If you’re new to training, they’re useful because they get your muscles used to lifting weights without putting them under too much stress. The downside of a full-body workout is that it’s hard to exhaust your muscle fibres fully, so you may want to also do some more targeted sessions such as body-focus or post-exhaustion workouts, which we’ll explore later. Designing your workouts Your full-body workouts need to be balanced. So, for every pushing motion you should do a pulling one, and you should spend as much time on your upper body as…

Simple (though far from easy) and adaptable, adding a pull-up bar to your home-workout armoury will open up a whole new world of training possibilities, without either taking over your spare room or using up all of your spare cash. For all-round strength and muscle, forget the bench press: the humble pull-up should be your exercise of choice. By pitting your pulling power against the relentless force of gravity, not only will it build your shoulders and back, but it will also aid your posture and fire up your forearms. Get a bar at home and aim for at least 6 sets of pull-ups each week – once you can hit 10 reps consistently, you know you’re in very good nick. In this section, we will introduce some of the best exercise options…

A medicine ball isn’t only good for a spot of end-of-session core work; used correctly it can provide a full-body workout in its own right. A medicine ball lets you exercise dynamically to improve your coordination and balance. More importantly, it can be thrown and caught without leaving dents in your floor or dislocations in your fingers. Medicine balls can also be used to add resistance to bodyweight moves, to make them sufficiently challenging enough to fatigue your muscles. Also, some bits of kit are more fun to work out with than others. While you probably don’t jump out of bed in the morning to use your foam roller, medicine balls can be much more enjoyable. You can chuck them around, use them for maximal efforts – such as wall throws and…