By In today’s world, it seems like more and more people are working out at home to save time or avoid the crowds of busy gyms. Home workouts to build muscle can be great if you choose the right exercises and push yourself appropriately.
What works best? Is it the weight of the dumbbells you lift or the number of reps and sets you perform? What about your diet and recovery time?
The options are endless, but is it harder?
Well, building muscle at home doesn’t have to be hard, even if you can only make it to the gym a few times per week; there are home workouts that will help you get to your fitness goals faster and safer than going to the gym ever could.
To help you get started, check out these at-home workouts to build muscle. They’re designed by fitness professionals who understand your busy life and the limited equipment you have access to.
Give them all a try, and once you’ve found one that works best for you, follow it every other day to have time to recover between workouts! If you don’t see results at first, keep trying new home workouts to build muscle until you do – consistency is key!
In addition, we’ll provide you with some easy-to-follow home workout ideas that will help you build muscle safely and effectively. When done properly, home workouts can be an effective way to build muscle.
Building Your Muscle With No Weight
These workouts will work the muscle without weights. To increase the difficulty, grab a set of hand weights and add light squats with bicep curls and toe touch with jumping jacks.
The combination will activate multiple muscle groups to ensure full chest activation. In just 30 minutes, your home workout routine can target major muscle groups, like the abs and thighs, while building muscle with this chest workout.
1. Press-Up Routine With Your Arms Wide
Start the routine by lying down on your stomach with your arms in front of you. Lift your arms and torso without moving your lower body until you sit up.
Pause at this position for three seconds before returning down. To increase the intensity, walk your fingers out a few inches, then lower back down before pressing back up again.
Repeat this exercise ten times and aim for three sets on days you want more intensity, or do as many sets as necessary to hit muscle fatigue.
2. Spiderman Press-up
Get into a high plank position. Lower yourself towards the floor, bringing one of your legs to touch both arms while you keep it off the ground at all times.
Hold this pose for 5 seconds before pressing back up and returning your leg to the starting position. Repeat with your other foot touching both arms, alternating between feet every time you go down.
3. The Diamond PressUp
Diamond push-ups are a great way to target the chest, triceps, and core. Get in a diamond shape with your hands on the ground in front of your shoulders and feet.
Lower your elbows until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Push yourself back up to the starting position by contracting your chest muscles. Repeat as many times as you can for 30 seconds.
4. One-arm Press-up
The one-arm press-up is a great move for developing upper-body strength. To do this exercise, place your left hand on the ground and lower yourself so your body is parallel to the floor.
Next, bend your left arm at the elbow and lift yourself by pressing off with your right hand. Be sure not to fully extend at the elbow or let your hips sag toward the ground when pressing off. Lower yourself back down and repeat for reps before switching sides.
5. Stair Press-up
This exercise is simple and can be very challenging for your upper body. You want to start by standing on a stair with your hands on the edge of the step and your feet on the bottom.
As you press up from this position, you need to use your arms as much as possible to press up like you’re doing a push-up.
As soon as you get a full extension, slowly release back down into the original position and repeat.
6. The Clap Press-Up
The Clap Press-Up is a full-body exercise that will challenge your upper body and core. Start in a high plank position with your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders.
Step one foot back, bend both knees and lower your chest towards the ground until it nearly touches it.
Extend one arm in front of you at the bottom of the push-up, clap your hands together by bringing them back above your head, and then quickly return to the starting position.
7. Incline Press-ups
Lie face down on an incline bench, hands at shoulder width and palms facing towards your chest. Keeping your feet flat on the floor, bend your arms while lowering yourself until you’re in a push-up position.
8. Handstand Wall Walk
One of the best ways to build upper body and core strength is through handstands.
A beginner workout for this exercise is walking your hands up a wall and back down. This will help you build not only upper body strength but stability in your core as well.
Start by placing your hands on a wall at shoulder height, then walk them up the wall until they are at the level of your head or higher. Walk them back down and repeat five times.
9. Bodyweight Dips
The bodyweight dip is a great exercise for building chest and triceps muscles.
It works by using your body weight as resistance, which means it’s a perfect exercise for those who live in small spaces or don’t have much equipment. To perform the bodyweight dip, start by sitting on the floor with your hands placed on either side of you.
10. Body-up
Start in the classic plank position with your arms shoulder-width apart. Place your hands firmly on the floor and extend forward, keeping your spine from sagging. Slowly lower yourself back to where you began before repeating this motion.
11. Walking Lunge
The walking lunge is a great way to tone your lower body and build strength. Start standing in an upright position, with your feet together and arms at your sides. Step forward and bend both knees until you are in a lunge position. Pause for a second, then push off the ground with the other foot and step forward into another lunge. Continue alternating between lunging steps for 20-30 seconds.
12. Squat
Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and toes pointing out. Slowly lower your body as if sitting in a chair, stopping once your thighs are parallel to the ground. Push back up by squeezing your glutes and pushing through your heels.
13. Jump Rope
A great cardio workout! Set yourself up so you can make long jumps from side to side while simultaneously jumping over the rope with both feet.
14. Step-up
Start by finding a box, bench, or chair that is sturdy and stable enough for you to use. Stand next to it with your right foot on the ground and your left foot on top of the surface.
Push down through your left leg and stand up on your right leg, balancing yourself with only one leg.
Bring your left knee up until it is at a 90-degree angle from the floor, then lower back down into a standing position before switching sides.
15. Single Leg Bridge
Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Slowly lift your right leg off the ground and balance on your left. As you do this, raise your hips off the floor and switch sides.
Conclusion
Building muscle will not only help you look better, but it can also help improve your health as well.
No matter how much weight or reps you want, home workouts are always for building muscle.
Follow these tips for achieving your goal, and remember: if you don’t push yourself and challenge yourself with new exercises, your body won’t be challenged either.