How to Get Strong at Home - The Barbell Home Gym
He won’t be there…unless you want him to.
Benefits of a Barbell Home Gym
Let’s start with the obvious one, a home gym is a huge time saver, because you don’t have to drive to the gym and back. In the time someone travels to the gym, you already did your training.
There is no bad music, only your music or none. No unnecessary equipment, just the most useful tool for strength training, a barbell. No distractions, just you, the weight on your back and chalk in the air.
Are You a Home Gym Person ?
You don’t like to train or shower alone ? You go to the gym to talk to people and look at sweaty bodies ? Then you’re not a home gym person !
You have never lifted a weight in your life ? You’re not a home gym person ! Go to a gym for a few months and see if you like barbell training. Then decide if a home gym is right for you.
You like to lift alone in your basement ? Then you’re a home gym person !
What Equipment ?
In a home gym you have limited space and money, so buying ten machines for ten body parts is not a smart idea. Instead your home gym should be built around barbell training. This way you can train your whole body with one piece of equipment.
To barbell train at home you need a flat bench, an olympic barbell, a power rack, olympic weight plates (2x20kg 2x10kg 2x5kg 2x2,5kg 2x1,25kg), micro plates (2x1kg 2x0,5kg 2x0,25kg) three mats and collars.
This will cost you 1000-1500€, a low price for independent training for life. Just as a reminder, if you bought ten machines this would be about 10x the price. No joke, I did the math.
Before you buy anything, measure if you have enough space at home. I recommend the basement or the attic as a training area, but a spare room, the garage or a shed will work as well.
For a barbell home gym you need a FLAT BENCH, an OLYMPIC BARBELL, a POWER RACK and OLYMPIC PLATES.
How To Train
If you want to get strong with a barbell, you need to do the big five lifts. The squat, the bench press, the deadlift, the overhead press and the chin up. If you don’t know how to execute the lifts, hire a coach to teach them to you, it’s worth it.
To learn good form you can also read the book “Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training” by Mark Rippetoe. Start by training 3x/week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, using these two A and B days back and forth:
A)
Back Squat 3x5 (+2,5 kg)
Bench Press 3x5 (+1kg)
Deadlift 1x5 (+2,5 kg)
B)
Back Squat 3x5 (+2,5 kg)
Overhead Press 3x5 (+1kg)
Chin Up 3x5 (+1kg)
If you can’t do a chin up yet, train negative chin ups. This means that you lower yourself slowly, instead of pulling up. Start at 3x5 negative chin ups and add a rep each week, until you get to 3x10 negatives. Now you should be able to do a normal chin up.
Rest 3 minutes between sets on the upper body lifts and 5 minutes on the lower body lifts.
Eat in a small caloric surplus (+500cal) to gain muscle and get stronger. Aim to consume 1,5x body weight(kg) in grams of protein per day. Your body weight should be going up about 0,5kg/week.
You can train this way for 2-6 months, then you’re not a beginner anymore and need to change your programming.
Deadlifting in Apartments
If you live in an apartment, you should not deadlift from the floor. Instead do deficit rack pulls. This means that the bar rests on the safeties of the power rack and you are standing on mats.
That way you get the same range of motion as in deadlifts from the floor. Also the plates won’t damage the apartment and your neighbors won’t think there is an earthquake every time you train.
If the safeties on your power rack are just a steel bar, cover them with a soft pvc pipe to reduce damage to the barbell and noise. In addition, lower your deadlifts with control so they land on the safeties quietly.
Summary
To get strong at home, a barbell home gym is all you’ll ever need. Make sure to learn good form and focus on progress in the main lifts.
Coach Georg