Home Workout Series 4 – Intermediate Home Workouts

If you are here, you’ve made it through weeks one through three of our Beginner’s Guide to Working Out At Home and should feel pretty good about yourself! Sticking with a home routine after the few first weeks is an adjustment, maybe a little difficult, so give yourself a lot of credit. Now it’s time to move into the intermediate home workouts for men over 50.

Before we begin, and you may have already caught on to this by now, we’re promoting the full-body as opposed to split-body training in this series. Split-body (think upper body one workout, lower body the next) may work for you if you have the schedule to dedicate and the necessary equipment, but we’re looking for time and results in one. Most “boot camp” and specialty classes train the entire body and incorporate cardio into their programs, which is why we utilize these whole-body exercises.

Incorporate equipment but keep your focus on your form

As with the beginner piece, our primary concern and goal when working out at home is achieving the fitness results and doing our best to avoid injury. As we progress, we’ll need to challenge ourselves that much more which is why we are starting to incorporate dumbbells. But, with increased challenge comes risk, so use these tools wisely to enhance your workouts while keeping the best form possible.

Some of the exercises give you a choice of dumbbells or a resistance band. This is your choice, and each has its perks. The resistance band takes up a lot less room, and so if you live or workout in a smaller area, this might be for you. Another benefit of bands is that you can work muscles to exhaustion with very slow reps, so is a great way to get comfortable with weights.

On the other hand, a set of dumbbells may take more room; but they allow you to use heavier weights. These often work well for those who are a little larger or naturally strong. If space is an issue, you can limit your inventory with only one or two pairs of the desired weight or purchase adjustable weight dumbbells.

Note: while the weights may seem light for a man, muscles can quickly become fatigued when you do more than one set, and doing too much can lead to injury so err on the side of caution.

Don’t forget your stretches

I’m sure we’re sounding like a broken record at this point but keep up with your stretches. At least 10 to 20 minutes of total body stretches, before and after your sets, will keep you limber and relaxed. Check out our blog on The Benefits of Stretching for ideas and examples. (I include stretches with my warm-up to keep things varied.)

Warm Up

Jump Rope (or a similar motion) for 30 seconds, then rest for 60 while walking or slowly performing knee lifts in place; repeat up to five times.

If you can’t jump rope due to space (or in my circumstance, just a lack of coordination) 2 to 4 sets of 25 jumping jacks should suffice, the goal here is to raise your heartbeat and get your circulation moving.

Burpees

A tried and true basic for our home workouts for men over 50, we’ve kept these in the intermediate level for their whole-body influence and cardio benefits.

• Week 1: 3 sets of 10
• Week 2: 3 sets of 12
• Week 3: 3 sets of 15

Bench press with Dumbbells OR Resistance Band Push up

you have a bench and dumbbells, it’s the same press with a barbell. Resistance bands take getting a little used to but wrap a band around your shoulders and hold in place with your hands. Press and release both push up patterns as normal but feel the resistance through the band.

• Week 1: One set of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 15% of your body weight)
• Week 2: Two sets of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 20% of your body weight)
• Week 3: Three sets of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 25% of your body weight)

Shoulder press with Dumbbells or Resistance Band

As a standard shoulder (military) press these can be done seated or standing with a barbell or the resistance band. If using the band be careful to secure the handle to your foot or ground!

• Week 1: One set of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 15-20 pounds)
• Week 2: Two sets of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 15-20 pounds)
• Week 3: Three sets of 10 (dumbbells use no more than 20-25 pounds)

Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Switching to legs after working your upper body for a bit, the kettlebell squat is a very effective way to overall legs, glutes and core. Remember to keep the weight held squarely by the sides, keep you legs shoulder-width apart and back straight. Here is a link to preview before you try this to make sure your form is good.

• Week 1: Three sets of 10 squats with 10-pound kettle ball
• Week 2: Three sets of 12 squats with 10-pound kettle ball
• Week 3: Three sets of 15 squats with 10-pound kettle ball

Ab Wheel Roll

The Wheel Roll (one of our equipment recommendations) is in its essence a Plank but with more benefits. It strengthens not only your abs, but back, arms and core. At the intermediate level this is one you want to integrate into your ab/core exercises. But be forewarned, there are incorrect ways to do the wheel roll, so we found a quick example video for you to watch that covers the major points.

• Week 1: Ab Roll: Roll forward and back 8 to 10 times
• Week 2: Ab Roll: Roll forward and back 12 to 15 times
• Week 3: Ab Roll: Roll forward and back 20 times

Plank

Another continuation from the beginner’s course, this exercise is a must for ab/core strength and should be done anytime you work out.

• Week 1: Plank: Hold for 30 seconds, rest for 45 then plank for 30 seconds, repeat once more depending on your back and shoulders.
• Week 2: Plank: Hold for 30 seconds, rest for 45 then plank for 40 seconds, repeat once more depending on your back and shoulders.
• Week 3: Plank: Hold for 40 seconds, rest for 45 then plank for 50 seconds, repeat once more depending on your back and shoulders.

Cool Down

• When you’ve completed each session remember to cool down by doing a light walk combined with a full body stretch for at least 12 minutes.

Once you’re past the three-week mark, congratulations! You’re well on your way to making your goal and progressing onto the next phase, the advanced home workouts for men over 50. We hope that you’re able to use the at-home workout series in your exercise routines and as always, if you don’t see something here you want, reach out to us directly through our Contact page or leave a comment below. All the best ~ Glen.