Home Workouts Series 3 – Beginning Routines For Working Out From Home

The decision to begin working out from home can be made for a variety of reasons; maybe you’ve been out for a while and want to ease back into your routine. Perhaps an injury requires a different approach, you’re tired of paying to be in a crowded gym or ready to use one of the many new home devices on the market. Whatever your motivation, home-based training can be just as productive and beneficial as any session in a gym or class.

For men 50 and over, (myself included) working out from home may prove convenient and adding equipment with the goal of making this a sole source of exercising doesn’t have to be costly. However, anytime you start a new physical routine, it represents a different stress on your muscles and needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Focus on good form

The beginning stages of working out are crucial to gaining strength and overall fitness while avoiding injuries and even if you are new to fitness or took time off, your focus now should be on form and mobility. For example, if you trained with weights in the past, we know you don’t resume training at the same weight as it’s easier to injure yourself than when you were younger and more able to adapt. So, begin working out from home like a beginner, with light weights and a focus on good form.

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Be sure to include stretching

We know as we get older we can easily lose flexibility. Stretching is crucial to prevent a latent injury (or re-injure an existing condition) that may have prompted your inactivity to begin with. It’s common knowledge that muscles can atrophy without exercise, but the good news is that even if you stopped working out for two or three years, muscle memory will kick back in. This can work in your favor but don’t let it fool you, either. Feeling good and then jumping straight to more rigorous routines can cause more injuries and set you right back to the beginning. We know it’s time consuming, but it’s better to incorporate stretching now than pay for the lack of it later.

Beginner Routine

This home routine will get your muscles in shape and ready to take on more, while avoiding injury if you use good form. And just as important, it will help you incorporate a little bit of cardio exercise to improve overall health. And with that, here is a basic routine for a beginner’s home workout for the mature man. Try to do this three times each week.

*Note* – we assume you already know how to do the exercises, but if you need additional information on proper form you can refer to our Home Fitness blog that explains form and has links to instructional videos.

Warm Up

Do about six minutes of cardio like gentle running in place, stationary bike or walking. (I include stretching into my warm-ups.) This gets blood circulating and warms the muscles so your body is ready for the heavier schedules.

Strength Training

Walking-Forward Lunges

Lunges work quadriceps (front of your leg), hamstrings (back of your leg) glutes and calves. They can be done in varying patterns, such as a walking or side/lateral lunges.

• Week 1: Taking long strides, (a minimum of three feet apart) slowly walk/lunge forward 8 steps (4 each alternate leg) and 8 steps back
• Week 2: Same routine doubled
• Week 3: Same routine tripled.

Push-Ups

The staple of every military exercise that I can remember! The upper body focus of the push up targets your chest, shoulders and triceps and portions of your back.

• Week 1: Begin with one set of 10 pushups
• Week 2: Two sets of 10 pushups
• Week 3: Three sets of 10 pushups
• If these feel too easy, increase to 15 or 20, but go slow and focus on good form to protect your shoulders.

Body Weight Squat

Excellent practice for more legs, glutes, lower back and your core in general. Keep your back straight, chest up, feet shoulder-width and arms out.

• Week 1: One set of 20 squats
• Week 2: Two sets of 20 squats
• Week 3: Three sets of 20 squats
• As we get older, we each have different issues with knees, back, etc. Only squat as low as is comfortable. If this is too easy, then simply increase the number, but not the sets.

Plank

If you haven’t planked yet, you’ll understand why we included it for your abs and core.

• Week 1: Hold the plank for 10 seconds, rest for 30 then do another plank for 10 seconds
• Week 2: Hold the plank for 20 seconds, rest for 30 then do another plank for 20 seconds
• Week 3: Hold the plank for 30 seconds, rest for 30 then do another plant for 30 seconds
• Be sure to tighten stomach muscles to hold the plank and proper form.
• Don’t hold it longer than is comfortable; if you begin shaking, shorten the time and keep track of how long you were able to hold it and build up from there.

Burpees

Anyone who went through basic training or an organized sports program will know about burpees. An all-around cardio, strength training, flexibility and core development exercise that will challenge you on all levels.

• Week 1: One set of 10
• Week 2: Two sets of 10
• Week 3: Three sets of 10
• This exercise does not have to be performed as a “jump” as some videos show, instead use slow, intentional movements and pay attention to your knees, shoulders and back, if anything hurts, go slower and correct your form and do less.

Bench Dips

A great addition to the push up is the bench dip or regular dip. This exercise can be done off a bench, with a pair of chairs, or if you have access to a dip stand, done upright.

• Week 1: One set of 15
• Week 2 Two sets of 15
• Week 3 Three sets of 15
• Pay attention to your shoulders, if they hurt then you will have to substitute another exercise for shoulders.

Crunches

If you have the strength after your planks, (of course you will), add the ab and core strengthening crunch for an overall mid-section finish.

• Week 1: One set of 25
• Week 2: Two sets of 25
• Week 3: Three sets of 25

Cool Down/Second Stretch

• Use this time to again stretch your entire body from head to toe. Spend about 12 to 20 minutes with basic stretches, and only stretch until you feel a pull, not pain. And most importantly, don’t skip this part because the less flexible you are, the more susceptible you are to injury.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve made it to Week 3, congratulations! And now you can move on to the next series: An Intermediate Guide to Working Out From Home. You can also look back and review our nutritional and cardio blogs to incorporate your working out from home routine. As always, if you don’t see something here that you want, feel free to reach out to us directly through our Contact page or leave a comment below. All the best ~ Glen.