How to build strength without stepping into a gym

Want to build strength but can’t get to a gym?

Do you want to get stronger in a more time efficient way?

Or perhaps you prefer to exercise in private and aren’t keen on the communal gym areas.

The good news is, you don’t need a gym, heavy weights or expensive equipment to build strength. With the right exercises, you can get stronger anywhere, whether that’s at home, in a park, or even while traveling.

Here’s my guide to building strength without setting foot in a gym.

Focus on bodyweight exercises to build strength

Bodyweight exercises like squats, push ups, and lunges are incredibly effective for building strength and you don’t need to go to a gym to do them. They engage multiple muscle groups, can be modified for any fitness level and can be done anywhere, not just in a gym

Start with basic movements, perfect the form, and then, once things start to feel comfortable, progress. Increase the number of repetitions you do, change the tempo, add resistance, or progress the exercise. The key is that you continue to feel challenged. This is how your muscles adapt and get stronger.

Add resistance

One way to progress your bodyweight moves and build strength without heading to a gym, is by adding resistance.

Dumbbells and kettlebells are really good pieces of equipment but you don’t need them to add resistance if you don’t have the space or budget for them.

One of my most used bit of kit are resistance bands. These are lightweight, affordable and don’t take up much room. They provide different levels of resistance and you can add them to many exercises to build your strength and muscle endurance.

But you don’t even need them! You can use household items to add resistance. Things like bottles or tins, a rucksack filled with books, or even a bag of rice or flour can serve as weights.

Change the tempo

Another way to progress is by changing the tempo, or speed, of your movements.

This can be done with bodyweight exercises, but also with added resistance, and is a good way to progress if you have limited equipment available.

Slowing down your movements creates a new challenge for your muscles and helps your to get stronger. For example, take 3-4 seconds to lower into a squat, pause at the bottom, then stand back up with control. Or reverse this, and lower into the squat quicker and take 3-4 seconds to stand back up.

Keep progressing, but remember your recovery

To continue building strength, you need to challenge your muscles over time.

However, you also need to give your muscles time to recover so they can adapt and build.

So as well as progressing you also need a little bit of regression. You want to increase the reps, sets, resistance, or intensity, but you also want to plan recovery weeks where you decrease the reps, sets, resistance, or intensity.

Make sure you keep track of your workouts and if you are feeling that you’ve reached a plateau, have a look at your training diary. Have you just been building without adding recovery? If so, it’s time to cut back and allow your body to adapt so you can get stronger.

Join an online class

Online classes, such as my Strong online strength class for women, are fantastic if you want to build strength but can’t get to a gym or prefer to workout at home.

In my classes I have done all the planning for you. The exercises are progressed over the 12 weeks, meaning you are challenged enough to build strength.

All the exercises can be done in a small space, so you can do everything at home.

And the class is programmed to use minimal equipment, with ideas on how to keep progressing without having to invest in a gym set up.

 

You don’t need to go to a gym to build strength, nor do you need a lot of equipment.

If you want to make strength training a consistent part of your routine, without having to head to the gym, then do book a free 20-minute discovery call and we can chat about your next steps.