Intensify your home workouts

If you don’t have access to a gym and heavier weights, don’t stress! Its still possible to make progress with minimal equipment, you just have to change up your workout style.

Here are some effective ways to switch up make your home workouts to make them more challenging:

Pulses/partial reps– doing reps without locking out throughout the entire set/ adding half or quarter reps. Eg, pulse squats is where you perform your reps at the bottom of the squat/ partial squats where you do 1 rep followed by a half rep right away and that equals 1 full rep

Time under tension–how long it takes you to perform 1 rep.  Eg, count 3-6 seconds for each rep on the way down and the way up

Supersets– performing two exercises back to back with no rest.  Eg, bicep curls and skull crushers back to back

Pauses– holding the rep at the shortened position (at the top/bottom of the exercise depending on the movement.  Eg, pause squats are at the bottom of the movement, biceps curls are at the top of the movement

Unilateral- doing exercises one limb at a time versus both. This can help you notice muscles imbalances as we all have them and work towards fixing it.  Eg, do split squats instead of squats, single arm rows versus rows

Negatives– or eccentrics, is the portion of the exercise when your muscle is being stretched under a load.  Eg, downward portion of deadlifts, downward portion of bicep curls

Increase volume– increase how many reps, sets or days you workout

There is always a way around a hurdle, you got to find the right resources and put in that effort. 

Happy home workouts!

Maida, Founder and Owner
Women Who Lift