by Game Changer Strength and Nutrition Coach Rob Riccobono
You want to add in exercise outside the gym, but you think you don’t have the time. You have a long commute to work or school, you’re busy with a job or as a student, and you want time to spend with family and friends. You can’t add a 25th hour to the day, but there are a few creative ways to fit more exercise into your schedule.
Bed-side Pushups– Right before you hop into bed at night, do a set of push-ups. Every morning when you wake up and get out of bed, do a set of push-ups. If you wake up during the middle of the night to use the bathroom, do a set of push-ups as you exit and then re-enter your bed. Whenever you hop into or out of your bed, crank out a set. These will add up, getting you stronger along the way.
Push-ups are a great exercise option away from the gym because they require no equipment; only your own body.
Pay-The-Toll Pull-ups- Install a pull-up bar in a doorway of your home that you frequently walk through. To pass through this door way, you’ll have to “pay the toll”. And what is your toll? A set of pull-ups. This will help you get in great back and bicep work every day. If you aren’t strong enough for pull-ups yet, perform a flexed-arm hang. With this exercise you jump to the top of a pull-up position and hold at the top for as long as you can, keeping your body in a tight, straight line. As you get better at these, your pull-up strength will improve. If these are too difficult, use a resistance band for assisted pull-ups.
Pull-up bars are easy to install in your home and there are pull-up variations that anyone can perform.
Commercial Squats– At the end of the day when you’re watching your favorite TV program, use that down-time during commercials to get in some exercise. During each set of commercials, bang out a set of body weight squats. You can increase the difficulty by holding a weight, doing multiple sets during a single commercial break, or even holding the bottom position of a squat for as long as possible during the commercial break. Squats are an important and functional movement for EVERYONE. The more you can practice them, the better.
Getting in this additional work outside the gym will improve your form as well as get you stronger as the extra repetitions add up over time. You’ll be hard pressed to sculpt an impressive physique without consistently visiting the gym, but protocols like this will supplement that routine and give you an extra edge.
