Can you build muscle with home workouts?

[one5onecc]

I just started my first blast this year & apparently gyms are going to close again with corona so I will be restricted to resistance band workouts again

Can you actually build muscle with these kinds of workouts since the load is so light and the reps are always going to be 20+ to hit failure. Progressive overload becomes difficult to program.

I want to progress physically and put on 10lb during this blast of 450mg primo 150test. Can I accomplish this with high volume light band workouts? Diet will be perfect of course since its a lot easier to eat clean when socialising is limited.

An example home push workout for me is:
Push ups x5
Overhead band press x5
Banded chest flys x5
Banded Lateral Raise x5
Banded Tricep extension x5

Done twice per week. Pull workout has similar format & volume.

The obvious area that is difficult to hit is legs since banded squats don't really stress the legs like actual squats. Going to invest in a pull up bar and maybe some dumbbells.

Has anyone actually progressed in the mirror with home workouts?

 

[MythotiK]

Yes.

 

[Evom1]

You absolutely can pack on muscle working out at home. Get creative.

You have a home depot or Walmart near you I imagine. You can get various buckets and bags of sand or whatever to lift. Calorie surplus and intensity are what matters. When you cannot access enough wait to train effectively with that type of style, add different intensity techniques.

Those techniques could be as simple as slowing down the reps to increase time under tension, super sets, partials etc.

I mean for example, I could certainly grow your delts using different variations of front side and rear delt raises using water jugs or bags of rice. No need to press


I bet if you made a handle out of duct tape on a bag of concrete, you'll be good for dumbbell rows. Also bet you could use a 25 or 50lb bag of rice for "dumbbell" pullovers.

Legs.... Stand on the side of your porch and use 5gal buckets full of water or dirt for RDL, carry bags of tube sand for your walking lunges. All kinds of squat variations with this stuff as well

Chest, again, press/fly some damn jugs/buckets of water or bags of sand. You got this shit. How bad do you want it?

 

[jbil75]

I just started my first blast this year & apparently gyms are going to close again with corona so I will be restricted to resistance band workouts again

Can you actually build muscle with these kinds of workouts since the load is so light and the reps are always going to be 20+ to hit failure. Progressive overload becomes difficult to program.

I want to progress physically and put on 10lb during this blast of 450mg primo 150test. Can I accomplish this with high volume light band workouts? Diet will be perfect of course since its a lot easier to eat clean when socialising is limited.

An example home push workout for me is:
Push ups x5
Overhead band press x5
Banded chest flys x5
Banded Lateral Raise x5
Banded Tricep extension x5

Done twice per week. Pull workout has similar format & volume.

The obvious area that is difficult to hit is legs since banded squats don't really stress the legs like actual squats. Going to invest in a pull up bar and maybe some dumbbells.

Has anyone actually progressed in the mirror with home workouts?

Are they seriously talking about shutting gyms down again in your area? I hope those gyms and every other business just tell them to fuck off and stay open. It’s time to take a stand against this BS. It’s unbelievable that some people just think “oh well since the govt says it’s best for me it must be true”.

 

[MegaDaveMustang]

As stated by others you absolutely can.

I was hospitalized unexpectedly for 3 weeks over the summer and I used a heavy resistance band while admitted, also my gf snuck in my TRT dose twice a week and I was able to administer that as well, luckily. (I don't have a script for TRT currently)

When Covid shut everything down earlier in the year, I was fortunate enough to snag a weight bench with leg and arm extensions before things sold out or were marked up to the moon.

But I also formed some extra weight utilizing concrete cinder blocks, welded some old rebar & steel together with the help of a neighbor to make a squat rack & I've been doing all of my training at home since, with great results.

You may find that you'll enjoy getting creative while being forced out of the gym.

 

[Big_Daddy]

I've NEVER had a gym membership. Working out at home is the best way to go IMO. I can time my preworkout and post-protein perfectly, And take a shower in my own home. No waiting on some jackass hogging your equipment either.

Slow reps will get the most out of your hands, Also getting creative. Lift a log. Sandbags, Bucket of water. Trash bag full of random BS. Ever done a handstand pushup? That'll kill your shoulders for a while.

You will save money on a membership, Gas and Time. Invest in real equipment. Or build it. I built a pull up bar, Dip bar, And a weight bench with scrap wood and steel pipe.

I also have 500 lbs of weights. Do not buy regular dumbells. Invest in plates and spin lock threaded dumbells and a standard barbell. Half my plates I got for free on Craigslist.

Good luck.

 

[one5onecc]

Live in an apartment so im pretty much limited to resistance bands.

So blasting gear while training with bands isn't crazy? Been lead to believe heavy weights were always needed to build size.

 

[Big_Daddy]

Live in an apartment so im pretty much limited to resistance bands.

So blasting gear while training with bands isn't crazy? Been lead to believe heavy weights were always needed to build size.

It's all about the muscle damage and repair that happens after that creates hypertrophy. Volume training cycles with rep ranges of 10-20 can create the most amazing mass when done correctly. Have you ever done push-ups for an hour? Were you sore?

Heavy is relative. You will have to find what rep range works for you. If you're going below 5, you're powerlifting, Not Bodybuilding. So, Sure you need some kind of weight or resistance that's heavy enough to overload the muscles and create growth. This doesn't always have to mean a 315lb barbell.

After a period of time, Your muscles will adapt to whatever your training is and you will need to progressively overload them. For you, This may mean resistance bands with a heavier load. I know there's bands out there that go up to 100+ Lbs.

 

[Logan44551]

Are they seriously talking about shutting gyms down again in your area? I hope those gyms and every other business just tell them to fuck off and stay open. It’s time to take a stand against this BS. It’s unbelievable that some people just think “oh well since the govt says it’s best for me it must be true”.

Still shutdown were I live. Have to travel out of the county to hit a gym

 

[rfan2020]

Lets be real, if your a newbie or first cycle you can build some. With good genetics you can retain most. Your not gonna get huge with bands lol, that takes weights unless your genetics are elite meaning you are already jacked if you don't lift, period.

Shame the commies are shutting down the gym, id invest in some adjustable dumbbells or something, these use these shutdowns for power they wont be going away anytime soon.

Chinups, weighted dips and pushups are your best bet, but bands? ill pass

 

[Youngrobert1]

Most people who exercise in state prison pack on muscle, albeit over the course of years, and thats with with zero added adrogens ( except for some boys in work release centers) and zero weights. Everything is a push up pull up dip handstand push up and filling up pillow cases with sand. Me and my buddies would get on eachothers shoulders for squats ( very uncomfortable especially since its a disfusting sweaty man in the blazing sun)
A couple ppl above mentioned great ideas for crafting some home shit. With home depot at your disposal it should be cake

 

[Millard]

I've NEVER had a gym membership. Working out at home is the best way to go IMO. I can time my preworkout and post-protein perfectly, And take a shower in my own home. No waiting on some jackass hogging your equipment either.

Slow reps will get the most out of your hands, Also getting creative. Lift a log. Sandbags, Bucket of water. Trash bag full of random BS. Ever done a handstand pushup? That'll kill your shoulders for a while.

You will save money on a membership, Gas and Time. Invest in real equipment. Or build it. I built a pull up bar, Dip bar, And a weight bench with scrap wood and steel pipe.

I also have 500 lbs of weights. Do not buy regular dumbells. Invest in plates and spin lock threaded dumbells and a standard barbell. Half my plates I got for free on Craigslist.

Good luck.

I invested in a home gym earlier this and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner. It IS the way to go! Although I disagree on the dumbbells. I invested in a full set up to 100lbs and I don't regret it even though it costs more than everything else put together. It depends on the individual as well - I make heavy use of dumbbells due to should er issues and related injuries.

 

[BiggD]

Yes you can. I started my home gym with just bands and using multiple door anchors so I didn’t have to constantly change them. You can double up the bands and do chest presses to failure in under 8 reps easy.

Now I built out my home gym with way more prior to the pandemic. Mainly stuff even my gym didn’t have like belt squat and reverse hyper.

 

[jJjburton]

Disagree with being able to build muscle with bands. I think you can maintain muscle temporarily, but if your an intermediate or advanced bodybuilder or powrlifter, its not happening. A beginner who never lifted can see progress but not much else.

Yes you can. I started my home gym with just bands and using multiple door anchors so I didn’t have to constantly change them. You can double up the bands and do chest presses to failure in under 8 reps easy.

Now I built out my home gym with way more prior to the pandemic. Mainly stuff even my gym didn’t have like belt squat and reverse hyper.

 

[BiggD]

Well... if you are a powerlifter you would be pretty dumb to only use bands. I haven’t heard of a resistance band powerlifting event.

As far as gains goes... your body doesn’t know the difference between weights, sand, dumbbells, kettlebells, concrete or bands for resistance. Put it under load, rest and grow. [emoji123]

 

[jJjburton]

Well... if you are a powerlifter you would be pretty dumb to only use bands. I haven’t heard of a resistance band powerlifting event.

As far as gains goes... your body doesn’t know the difference between weights, sand, dumbbells, kettlebells, concrete or bands for resistance. Put it under load, rest and grow. [emoji123]

Yes but bands are different then anything else you mentioned. Concrete, kettle, dumbells are not the same as bands.

Bands the highest resistance is at the ppint of contraction that is weakest. So it is not the same as weights where the resistance is hitting the muscle where contraction is the most strong. Which the weights/heavy stuff are going to hit, thus in turn having a better turnover for exercise and weight lifting.

 

[BiggD]

Yes but bands are different then anything else you mentioned. Concrete, kettle, dumbells are not the same as bands.

Bands the highest resistance is at the ppint of contraction that is weakest. So it is not the same as weights where the resistance is hitting the muscle where contraction is the most strong. Which the weights/heavy stuff are going to hit, thus in turn having a better turnover for exercise and weight lifting.

This reminds me of old arguments people would say like... if you don’t do full range of motion you won’t build muscle fully. Like you would build a deformed muscle or something... haha

Didn’t say only using bands are ideal. But again your muscle will not know the difference. You can place bands in all kinds of anchors and have multiple force angles. Things you can’t do with regular dumbbells or resistance that require gravity.

I was using and training clients with bands and stability balls before you could buy them in stores. I would sell them from the back of my truck because people in the gym would always ask me where could they get them too. Bands are awesome when used right and you get creative with them.

 

[Demondosage]

Do the deck of cards pushup routine and when you can easily get through that with bodyweight, start wearing a backpack with weight in it. I wad up a towel or two and stuff them in the backpack first to keep the plate I put in there more on the middle of my back/shoulder blades.

You can do the deck of cards for bodyweight squats and/or goblet squats holding a dumbbell between your legs, and I experimented with it for inverted bodyweight rows as well (most ppl ain't doing 400+ reps on pullups)

With a deck of cards and minimal equipment I got better during the shutdown actually. Try it , not saying it's the most exciting workout, but it's effective

 

[rthor4573]

Do the deck of cards pushup routine and when you can easily get through that with bodyweight, start wearing a backpack with weight in it. I wad up a towel or two and stuff them in the backpack first to keep the plate I put in there more on the middle of my back/shoulder blades.

You can do the deck of cards for bodyweight squats and/or goblet squats holding a dumbbell between your legs, and I experimented with it for inverted bodyweight rows as well (most ppl ain't doing 400+ reps on pullups)

With a deck of cards and minimal equipment I got better during the shutdown actually. Try it , not saying it's the most exciting workout, but it's effective

How exactly does the deck of cards workout go?

 

[Demondosage]

How exactly does the deck of cards workout go?

You flip through a deck of cards and each number represent how many reps you do that set, face cards = 10 reps, aces=25 reps.

It's well over 400 reps all done in different schemes. You may get a face card and then a few numbered cards, you may get 5 face cards in a row, or a cpl aces in a row and it'll be a downright bitch!

I dare any of you guys to try this for an entire deck for inverted rows. You can alternate between wide and narrow grip on sets.