Yes, I know. Things are bad with this Virus going around right now. 

Everybody is in quarantine and it doesn’t much matter in which country you live. You should be!

It’s the best thing you can do for your health and for the health of others. 

But a big question here is – how can you keep your workout routine somewhat similarly efficient? 

Look, I have read through some of the training plans for Home Gym out there and most of them are not fit for the current quarantine situation. 

What you are looking at is a situation with very low personal movement, so your training plan should focus a bit more on cardio training.

Movement is important and especially so in these times (and yes, writing this probably made me sound like your parents). 

With most of the day probably spent sitting in front of your computer and doing home office, whilst having more time available to spend in less scenarios, you need to have a cardio style workout at least three times a week.

Also, since my workouts use quite heavy weights, and also me not having any of this equipment at home (damn these preppers that do!), the main goal of the workout is to maintain my current level of fitness. 

Equipment

What I have at home is a training mat, some free weights and enough space to work out. That’s about it. For cardio, I also have a bike. 

If you belong to the quarantine nobility, you can also alternate the free weights with toilet paper rolls. That way you are going to use them up until the turn of this century. 

But seriously, everything more will help you, that’s granted for sure.

The Workout Programme

The programme is designed for 7 days, and the sequence is the following: 

• Day 1: Chest Workout
• Day 2: Cardio (Biking)
• Day 3: Back Workout 
• Day 4: Cardio (Jogging)
• Day 5: Leg Workout
• Day 6: Cardio (Walking)
• Day 7: Rest

So without any further ado, here is the workout programme for the quarantine time that I have come up with.

BTW – I’ll be applying this one myself (of course :-))

Day #1: Chest and Triceps

Get in some Push-Ups. Honestly. 

If you have a bank or something similar, you can also do bench press with the free weights. 

And for Triceps it probably makes sense to push together to (stable!) chairs and perform dips on them. 

This is todays programme: 

• Warm up (10 min) – Stretching, maybe some “Air Sparring” to warm up the chest and the arms
• Classical Push Ups (Alternative: Bench Press) – do 4 sets with 70% of your max Push-Ups each
• Push Up Alternative → Hands touching each other – do 4 sets with 70% of your max Push-Ups each, make sure to keep your arms stretched of in a 45° angle from your body
• Push Up Alternative → Hands spread far to the sides (Alternative: Spread in front of your head) – do 4 sets with 70% of your max Push-Ups each
• Dips – get 2 stable objects with enough height and go for it – do 3 sets max each
• Elbow Press – Lay down and bow your elbows in a 90° angle off behind your head and then move the weights above your head
• Stretching 

Day #2: Cardio (Biking)

I am looking forward to this day. I will check out a bike route that I haven’t gone yet (not a regular biker) and will do a nice smooth 1 hour 20 km bike ride. 

Make sure to follow your national protocol on maintaining social distance. 

Day #3: Back and Biceps

For the back day I had to be a little innovative, since it really is the hardest to train without any major equipment. 

However, if you combine some factors that are prevalent in many households, you should be well enough to put together an entire back workout, too! 

This is todays programme: 

• Warm up (10 min): Stretching, you can add some deadlifting if you have any heavy duty in your home
• Deadlift – get the heaviest yet still usable equipment in your home to use for deadlifting, and honestly make sure you are safe! Don’t want anybody injured. So if you are not sure, double down and take something lighter, that is easier to grab. Make 4 sets with max reps each
• Pull-Ups – here many have to get creative. I am doing these on the garden sheds roof – literally the only place in the home that allows me to do pull-ups. Again, make 4 sets with max reps each
• Lat-Pulls – Get on a bench and use the free weights to pull them with your latissimus dorsi. Go for 4 sets each per side with max reps
• Curls – Classical Biceps exercise, do 3 sets with 10 repetitions each using the free weights
• Heavy Object Curls – Get a heavy object and lift it in a curl like motion, do 3 sets and adjust repetitions on the object’s weight
• Stretching

Day #4: Cardio (Jogging)

One of my more common neighborhood exercises. 

I’ll head down my common jogging route and will be going around 1 hour for 11km. 

Day #5: Legs and Shoulders

This day was somewhat easier to develop. 

Do the classic three, squats, lunges and calf raises with the optimal combination of weight and repetitions and you’ll have a good workout in. 

This is todays programme: 

• Squats – get a good weight and then make 4 sets with max reps
• Lunges – get a good weight and then make 4 sets with max reps
• Calf raises – get a good weight and then make 4 sets with max reps
• Military Press – Use the free weights, make 3 sets with 10 reps each
• Side Shoulder Press – Use the free weights, make 3 sets with 10 reps each
• Front Shoulder Press – Use the free weights, make 3 sets with 10 reps each
• Stretching

Day #6: Cardio (Walking)

On this day, you’ll probably be well exhausted, and you can take a careful walk through the neighborhood. 

Get your movement in, keep a good distance of other people and regenerate. 

Alternative to this is a slow pace bike ride. 

And to spice things up, get your groceries along your walk and then carry them home. It really helps. 

Day #7: Rest

Since you have made it here – well, congratulations! You deserved this day.

Rest yourself, and get your body fit for the next week, where (of course 🙂 ) you start over again from the start. 

Sounds good right? 

Summary 

Well, this is my personal workout plan for the quarantine period. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope that you like it even more to try it out and get it going.

Honestly, it’s going to be hard on you, but in the end you’ll feel well. 

Until then, keep on grinding

Philipp