If you are a weightlifter, then right now you are likely out of a gym to train in, unless you are one of the lucky who has a home gym set up, or were able to borrow equipment.

If you don’t have any equipment to do Snatches, Cleans, Jerks, Squats, Pulls, or Presses, then you have a fantastic opportunity to actually do all those accessories you were supposed to do over the past several months or years of training, but either skipped or half ass-ed.

Here’s what we prioritize for lifters without a barbell

Trunk Exercises

• Hollow Body Holds

• L-Sit Holds

• Plank Holds

Lower Body Exercises

• Bulgarian Split Squats

• Split Squats

• Lunges

• Step-Ups

Upper Body Exercises

• Push-Ups

• Pull-Ups

• Inverted Rows

If you’ve got dumbbells then you can add these movements to the list

• Goblet Squat

• Dumbbell Row

• Dumbbell Floor Press

• Dumbbell Overhead Press

• Dumbbell Pullovers

Now that you know WHAT you can do, here’s HOW to implement. Pick 5 Movements to focus on. 2 Lower Body, 2 Upper Body, and 1 Core Exercise. For the lower body, pick one exercise you hate, and one that you love, and same for the upper body. For the Core exercise, I recommend the L-Sit as this is often the weakest one.

For each exercise start with a moderately challenging amount of sets and reps. This means that the last rep of the last set should be a struggle to complete. Then run a 4 week cycle where you either

• Slow the movement down by 2 seconds each week

• Add a pause in the movement and add 2 seconds each week

• Add a few reps or sets. Think minimal progress here, NOT BIg Jumps.

• Add 5lbs to the exercise each week.

For the Core exercise, simply add a few seconds to the total time in a hold each week.

I recommend that most people start by slowing the exercise down for their first 4 week progression, then do a 4 week progression of pauses, then a 4 week progression adding reps, then a 4 week progression adding weight. I say this because the stress your body is most likely used to from weightlifting is adding weight each week. Starting with slowing the movement down helps build muscle mass quickly, and improves tendon strength, then moving to the pauses is a nod to the great work of Cal Dietz and Triphasic training, which you can read about from his books, or Youtube channel. Then moving to adding reps but keeping the weight the same is a great way to build muscle endurance, and give the body time to adapt to the stress of weight, and also mentally give you time to learn what that weight feels like as you progressively do more and more reps with it. Its also a great way to make progress with limited amount of weights you have access to. Adding weight as the final progression is going to feel great by the time you get there due to all the work you’ve done leading up to it.

This can all seem to be a lot all at once, so if you need someone to take the guesswork out of it, then reach out to us about our online services including Online Coaching, Online Group Calls, and Online Personal Training. Click here to learn more!