No gym, no problem! This article will help you master an at-home workout routine. With home workouts, you likely don’t have much exercise equipment. There are a plethora of exercises that you can perform to keep your body in shape. With all the at-home routines I have seen performed, there is one piece many often don’t fully understand. That is properly super-setting or pairing exercises. This is achieved by super-setting muscles that perform opposing movements. An example of a superset is to perform a bicep curl paired with a tricep extension, NOT to perform two different bicep exercises after each other. This article will give you a better idea of how to be efficient with your home workouts, we will provide some examples that you can perform at home today to master home workouts!

 

How Do I Master Home Workouts?

This article will categorize exercises into 1 of 4 different movements:

1. Upper body push
2. Upper body pull
3. Anterior chain dominant lower body exercise
4. Posterior chain dominant lower body exercise

This is an extremely simplified breakdown of all movements to help understand how to pair exercises to master home workouts. The key here is to illustrate when super-setting you don’t perform exercises that are intended to target the same category two times in a row. You don’t have to particularly pair exercises in the same manner that is demonstrated in the video above, it is perfectly fine to perform a goblet squat with a push-up. However, performing push-ups with a military press is defeating the purpose of a superset, at least in my opinion. The idea here is that you are providing one muscle group with a break as you are working on another group, oftentimes it’s the antagonist.

When pairing exercises correctly you can superset with minimal to no break allowing your home exercises to be much more efficient!

 

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Upper Body Horizontal

Here is the first superset showcasing a horizontal push and a horizontal pull movement. Keep in mind, that these are simply examples of exercises to fit this bucket. There are numerous exercises that you can choose from within our massive [P]rehab Exercise Library including progressions and regressions to all exercises shown in this article.

Incline Push Up With Band Around Back

Sample [P]rehab Fitness Home Edition Exercise Video

Start with your hands supported on an elevated surface with a band wrapped around your back at your shoulder blades. To begin the exercise, assume a high plank position while keeping your body straight lower your chest down towards the surface as far as you can, push up to the starting position, and repeat. The lower the surface, the more challenging this exercise will be!

No worries if you don’t have a band at home, you can perform this without the band. If you are looking to challenge yourself further – try these push-up variations.

 

Long Sitting Row

Sample [P]rehab Fitness Home Edition Exercise Video

Minimal equipment but still want to strengthen your back? No problem, all you need is a strong band and the long sitting row will absolutely thrash your back and biceps!

READ: 10 KILLER BODYWEIGHT CHAIR EXERCISE

 

Upper Body Vertical

In the video above we showcase a superset between a pull-up and an upside-down press. However, if you only have a resistance band you can easily begin the upper body vertical push/pull superset with the exercises shown below. If you are looking for strong resistance, we would recommend the crossover symmetry shoulder package.

Lat pull down

Get a band set-up anchored above your head. Holding onto the ends of the band while facing the anchor, perform a small hip hinge followed by driving your elbows towards your back pockets. Think about squeezing your shoulders blade together and back while letting your elbows bend and your hands come towards you. Hold the end position for a moment, slowly return to starting position, and repeat. You should feel the muscles behind your shoulders and in between as well as below your shoulder blades working. You may also feel your biceps working as you begin to fatigue. Really think about squeezing your shoulder blades together and down.

 

Overhead Press

Sample [P]rehab Fitness Home Edition Exercise Video

Start in a standing position with a band anchored under your feet, and hold the band in each hand with the band positioned behind your head and neck. While keeping the rest of your body still and in a good position, begin the exercise by performing an overhead shoulder press. Hold the end position for a moment (arms should be in line with your ears), slowly lower down, and repeat.

 

The Secrets To Unlocking Your Home Workout Potential

 

Lower Body Superset #1

Similar to the upper body, we will be showcasing 2 examples of how you can superset exercises to master home workouts. If you don’t have kettlebells, as shown in these videos, you can easily challenge yourself with our bodyweight program included in [P]rehab At Home.

Goblet Squat With Kettlebell

Hold a kettlebell by the bell or the handles and keep it close to your chest as best as you can. Keep your shoulders lined up over your knees and ankles. Perform a squat while maintaining good form throughout your upper and lower body. This should primarily be a leg workout as well as an upper-body workout as the KB gets heavier. If you don’t have a kettlebell you can load up a backpack or hold onto any heavy object while you go through this motion.

 

Single Leg RDL With Contralateral Weight Hold

Get a weight set up in one hand and pick your foot up off the ground that is on the same side as the weight. Keeping your shoulder packed while gripping the weight tight, slowly lower the weight straight down to the ground by hinging at your hip while keeping your back straight. Return to the standing position and repeat. You should feel your hamstrings and glutes working very hard to control the lowering phase and initiate the return to the standing phase. You should also feel your core working hard to keep your low back in a good position and not arching or rounding.

 

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Lower Body Superset #2

Wall squat

Begin in a standing position with your feet about hip-width apart, no more than a foot away from the wall, and your back supported on the wall. Next focus on lowering yourself down as far as you feel comfortable, then pull yourself up by using your thigh muscles. Make sure to keep your back on the wall for the entirety of this exercise. The further you bring your feet away from the wall, the more challenging this exercise will be.

If this is too easy for you, kick one leg out so that all of your bodyweight is placed on just one leg. The single leg wall squat is very challenging, you have been warned!

 

Single Leg Bridge

Sample [P]rehab Fitness Home Edition Exercise Video

Start on your back with one knee bent on the floor, with the opposite leg perform a straight leg raise. Next, drive your heel into the ground and lift your hip up towards the ceiling with the bent knee. At the end position your knee, hip, and shoulder should be in one straight line. Hold the end position and squeeze the glutes, then slowly return to the starting position and lower the straight leg back down.  You should feel your glutes work to control this motion. At no point should you feel your low back muscles doing the lifting movement. If you feel it only in your hamstrings, try bending your knees a bit more and repeat. The straight leg will be working the front of the hip and thigh muscles.

LISTEN: HOW TO STAY FIT AND EXERCISE WHILE TRAVELING

 

Closing Thoughts

This article demonstrated 4 basic supersets that you can perform at home today to masteries home workouts:

• Incline Pushup With Band – Long Sitting Row

 

• Overhead Press – Lat Pull Down

 

• Goblet Squat – Single-Leg RDL

 

• Wall Squat – Single Leg Bridge

 

This article demonstrates a very basic example of an at-home resistance training routine. Understanding this one trick in pairing exercises can help make your workouts much more efficient in your quest to master home workouts!

Exercise From The Comforts of Your Own Home

Fitness is not about using such a high intensity that you are unable to get off the floor afterward. We are all about hard work, however, we want to make sure you are able to work out across the lifespan both safely and effectively. The number one reason why people no longer participate in an exercise program is due to injury, let’s prove that statistic incorrect by using a fitness program with the intended goals of getting you in shape while avoiding injury! To do so, the first 4 weeks is meant to load your tissues to create a movement base this ready to take on the next 8 weeks. Let’s also make sure that we are not just addressing the physical you but are helping you become healthier by giving you methods to decrease your internal load via positive self-talk and gratitude practices.

 

About The Author

Arash Maghsoodi, PT, DPT, CSCS

[P]rehab Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer

Arash Maghsoodi received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California. For his undergraduate studies, he attended San Diego State University and studied Kinesiology. After sustaining a career-ending ankle sprain while playing collegiate soccer, he realized how disabling and life-altering injuries can be. Arash currently resides in beautiful Santa Monica, California. His clinical experience is primarily in the orthopedic and sports setting. He has treated a wide variety of conditions ranging from the post-operative individual to the professional athlete. Arash is keeping the family legacy of becoming a physical therapist, as his mother is a practicing clinician of 30 years in the Orange County area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer – The content here is designed for information & education purposes only and is not intended for medical advice.