4 Exercises Skinny Men Must Do To Build Muscle From Home
4 Exercises Skinny Men MUST do to build muscle from home
If you don't have a gym membership, don't know what to do at the gym, or prefer to workout at home, you may be wondering how you can maximize your muscle building from home. The good news is you can still get a great workout with minimal equipment from home. All you'll need is a pullup bar and a couch. These are the 4 exercises you NEED to be doing during your home workouts:
#1-Pullups
Form: Grab on to the pullup bar with your hands evenly spaced. Visualize lifting your chest up as high as possible, then bring your elbows down and into the sides of your ribcage. When you pull yourself up, think about squeezing your lats instead of thinking about getting your chin over the bar. This will make your muscles work more and lead to more development. Lower your body down under control until your arms are almost straight and then repeat.
You will need a pullup bar that you attach to a doorway or a separate pullup bar that you can set up as a sole piece of equipment.
Pullups work the lats, biceps, and rear delts. Program this for 3-6 sets of RPE 9 level reps. This means that you should stop doing the set when you have, at most, 1 rep left in the tank. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being muscle failure, you will stop the set just short of that every set, or 9/10 intensity.
Each week change to a different hand grip so that you don't overwork your joints the same way all the time. Alternate from an underhand grip, neutral grip (palms facing each other), and pronated (overhand grip).
You can use a chair or a step stool if you need to create assisted pullups.
Take 60-90 seconds rest between sets.
#2-Pushups
Form: Place your hands directly under your shoulders, with your arms straight, and have your feet together and your legs straight. This planking position will be your start and end points. Lower your upper body down to the ground until your chest is close to the ground. Your elbows will be at a 45 degree angle, not flared out to the side, during your descent. Keep your stomach squeezed tight to ensure you don't overarch your lower back. Press yourself back up to the start position to complete the rep.
Pushups work the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Program this for 3-6 sets of RPE 9 reps. Do the pushups from your knees if you aren't strong enough to do full range of motion reps from your toes.
Take 60-90 seconds rest between sets.
#3-Bulgarian Split Squats
Form: Set up in front of a couch with one foot resting on the couch and the other foot out in a lunging position. You want to be far enough away from the couch so that you can get deep into a lunge (while keeping your front heel on the ground), but not so far out that your foot comes off the couch or your range of motion is limited.
Bulgarian split squats work the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Program this for 3-5 sets of RPE 9 reps. If you can't balance yourself, lightly hold on to a chair.
Rest for 45 seconds between each leg. You can make this tougher by holding on to a dumbbell on the inside of the leg you are working. For example, if you are working your right leg, your right leg would be out in front and your left foot will be elevated behind your body. In your left hand you would hold the dumbbell.
#4-Leg Raises
Form: Lie on your back with your legs and feet together. Start the movement by rotating your pelvis backwards so that your lower back is being pushed into the ground. Next, lift your legs up towards your chest until your hips slightly come off the ground. Slowly lower your legs back down until your feet are about 6-12 inches from the ground. Keep your hands out to the side, away from your lower back and butt. Repeat as needed.
Leg raises work your lower abs. You can get slight upper core activation as well by lifting your shoulders off the ground the entire time you are doing leg lifts (this is an advanced move).
Program this for 3-5 sets of reps going until you can't tolerate the stomach burn, or until you feel your lower back straining. If this exercise is too hard, bend your knees to have better quality reps.
Full Workout Routine
Monday:
1) Pullups (pronated grip): 3 sets-maximum reps
2) Pushups: 5 sets-maximum reps
3) Bulgarian split squats: 3 sets-maximum reps
4) Leg raises: 5 sets-maximum reps
Wednesday:
1) Pullups (underhand grip): 5 sets-maximum reps
2) Pushups: 3 sets-maximum reps
3) Bulgarian split squats: 5 sets-maximum reps
4) Leg raises: 3 sets-maximum reps
Friday:
1) Pullups (neutral grip): 4 sets-maximum reps
2) Pushups: 4 sets-maximum reps
3) Bulgarian split squats: 4 sets-maximum reps
4) Leg raises: 4 sets-maximum reps
These 4 exercises target most of the major muscle groups in the body, and can be done at home with minimal equipment. When you push yourself with these exercises (and eat in a way that supports your goal), you'll make great progress.
If you are looking for more guidance on how to maximize your muscle growth as a skinny guy, including what to do with nutrition and recovery, I am doing a free training on June 26th, 2021 at 1pm (EST) showing you what mistakes you are making and how to fix them. The link to register for that FREE training is below:
If you need help with the nutrition side of building more muscle, including how to meal prep QUICKLY, while being on a budget, download my FREE pdf where I will show you tips of how to make meal prepping easier and how to eat based on specific calorie goals. Click the link below to get the PDF.
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