Strength training at home

[ContraryToPopularBelief]

I'd like to do strength training at home rather than go to a gym.

If I buy a bar and a range of weights (maybe 2 x 2.5kgs and 4x5kgs) can I do strength work at home? How will I know what to do?

Are there any good exercise plans or dvds you can recommend?

Those weights won't last you very long, and will be light for back/leg exercises, even for a newbie.

But strength training at home is perfectly achievable. The big disadvantage is not feeling confident to push the weight because you don't have anyone spotting you (important if you're training hard) or calling you a pussy (not necessarily and depends on what kind of motivation you respond to ).

If you're new to weights and looking to build up overall strength, as well as tone ass/thighs/hips, then don't look further than deadlifts (which have the advantage of not requiring anyone to spot you - if you can't manage the weight, you just drop it). They are the King Of Weight exercises! Check out YouTube for good form, as well as variants that will help you achieve that form. I am 5'4'', started at weight around 50kg with reasonable fitness, and initial weight at 32kg (if it helps you decide how to begin). If you bar will weigh maybe 20kg, try sets with just the bar to work out what you're doing.

For clarity: 50kg was my body weight when I started weights, and 32kg was the first test weight we put on the bar for deadlifts!

Hey thanks for your replies. If I dropped the weights on a deadlift wouldn't they smash my garage floor? ;-)

Get a mat :)

I do the Les Mills on demand home workouts, it's a tenner a month and has body pump/hiit as well as a few cardio workouts. I think you can do it for free for 10 days to see what you think but they're good workouts, nice variety and fairly good on the technique instruction!

That's a great idea Killer. I LOVE Body Pump and love how I feel when I do it.

Body pump 100 is really hard in comparison to the earlier releases, long tracks and lots of reps but you definitely feel the burn afterwards (and probably a couple of days after as well!) cx works is a good 30 min workout too, especially for shoulders, you only need a resistance band and the weights you've already got. I haven't dared try Grit yet, I've only just started getting back into it!!