Here’s a body weight exercise that only requires a table, a chair, and a pull-up bar. To progress, add reps until you reach the top of your target repetition range (20 repetitions for most exercises), and once you can do this for all three sets, advance by adding the sets.
A big shout out to Michael Matthews for this workout. He’s a fitness and nutrition expert and author of the upcoming book Muscles for Life: Get fit, strong and healthy at any age. Make sure to check it out!
To start your muscle building home workout program, be sure to focus on muscle contraction and rest periods. Rest for one to two minutes between each exercise, and finish all sets for one exercise before moving on to the next.
Pulling or lifting the chin
Groups and actors:
3 sets of as many repetitions as possible
how:
To do the pull up, get into the starting position shown above, palms facing away from you and about shoulder width apart and arms straight. Without swinging your feet or knees, pull your body up so that your chin is raised above your hands, then lower yourself and return to the starting position.
To do the chin-up exercise, perform the exercise in the same way, except with your palms facing you.
take up
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Get into the starting position shown above. Keeping your back straight, lower your chest to the floor, then push your body up and return to the starting position.
This is known as regular pushup, and if you can’t get at least 10 reps with this technique, try the knee pushup. It works just like a regular pushup, except instead of resting your weight on your toes and hands, you’re on your knees and hands. If you can do more than 20 repetitions of all three sets of regular pushups, make the exercise more challenging by doing pushups with the feet up.
It’s the same as regular push-ups, except that instead of resting your feet on the floor, you place them on a surface that’s about knee-high off the floor (like a chair).
body weight squat
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out about 20 to 25 degrees (about 1:00pm). Take a deep breath into your stomach, strengthening your abdominal muscles, and sit up straight by pushing your hips back and bending your knees at the same time.
As you lower your butt toward the floor, keep your spine straight, torso taut, and chest up (imagine trying to show someone a logo on your shirt). It should feel like you’re dropping your torso between your heels, and if you’re having trouble keeping your balance as you go down, keep your arms straight in front of you.
Once your thighs are parallel to the floor (or a little lower, but not higher), stand up and return to the starting position.
body weight class
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Find a surface to lie on that is more than an arm’s length off the ground (such as a table, bench, or diving station). Get into the starting position shown above, keeping your back and legs straight and your butt up, and pull your body up until your nose is touching the surface, if you’re using a table, bench, etc., or until your chest touches the bar, if you’re using one. Then lower yourself and return to the starting position.
To increase or decrease the difficulty of this exercise, lower or raise whatever you are holding onto (get your body lower or more straight).
body weight rush
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Stand straight with both feet shoulder width apart. Take a long step forward with your right foot—about two to three feet—and, with most of your weight on your front foot, lower your body until your left knee touches the ground.
Then reverse the movement by pushing the floor with your front foot and leaning slightly back, allowing your legs to straighten. Once you are standing, bring your right foot back to the starting position, then repeat the pattern with your other foot (to complete one full rep).
Home workout program to build muscle with dumbbells
If you have a set of dumbbells, try this challenging, fun, and effective full-body workout. To progress, add reps until you reach the top of your target repetition range (20 repetitions for most exercises), and once you can do this for all three sets, advance by adding the sets.
If you have an adjustable set of dumbbells or a set of dumbbells of different weights, increase the weight by 5 to 10 pounds once you can do 3 sets of 20 reps instead of adding sets (and if you run out of weight to add, then you can start adding sets to progress ). Rest for one to two minutes between each exercise, and finish all sets for one exercise before moving on to the next.
Dumbbell bench press
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Sit on the edge of the bench with dumbbells on your thighs. Then get into the starting position shown above by bending back slowly and gently and kicking your thighs (and weights) toward your chest. Keep rolling back on the bench until you’re lying flat with the dumbbells on either side of your chest.
Pull your shoulder blades together toward your rear (imagine you’re “putting your shoulder blades in your back pockets”), then position your elbows six to ten inches from your ribs.
Next, keeping the shoulder blades and elbows, push the dumbbells straight until your arms are locked, and finally, lower the dumbbells by reversing the movement (keeping the position of the shoulder blades and elbows) and return to the starting position.
dumbbell squat cup
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
The dumbbell squat works the same way as a bodyweight squat, except that you hold the dumbbells directly in front of your chest as shown in the pictures above.
Dumbbell deadlift exercise
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Get into the starting position shown above, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Place your feet a little narrower than shoulder width, and slightly rotate your toes. Stand erect with your chest and arms at your sides, take a deep breath into your stomach (as opposed to your chest), and relax your stomach muscles as if you are about to be punched in the gut.
Begin descending by pushing your hips back and bending at the knees. Don’t allow your lower back to rotate as you move down – instead, straighten it slightly. Allow your knees to bend a little more as the dumbbells run over them and continue until the dumbbells are about six to eight inches off the floor.
To stand, push your body up by pressing into your heels, keeping your arms straight, lower back arched slightly (no rounding!), and core taut. Once the dumbbells go through your knees, push your hips forward as you return to the starting position.
Press the dumbbells above the head
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Set the bench to a vertical position (most people prefer a slight tilt, about 75 degrees or so), and get into the starting position shown above by lifting or kicking the dumbbells with your knees. Then bend your shoulder blades back and down, push the dumbbells straight up until your arms are locked, then lower them, then return to the starting position.
Single arm dumbbell pull exercise
Groups and actors:
3 sets of 10 to 20 reps
how:
Get into the starting position shown above, with your right knee and arm firmly planted on the bench and with your left foot on the floor about a foot or two off the bench, pull the dumbbells toward your torso. Keep pulling until the dumbbells touch the side of your abdomen or the bottom of your rib cage, then lower it and return to the starting position.
Also, one set necessitates training both parties. For example, you have completed one set of 10 repetitions of a single-arm dumbbell row when you have completed 10 repetitions of each arm.
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Are you ready to get started on this home workout program to build muscle? Thanks to this awesome workout by Michael Matthews, now you can!
If you want more great workout tips from Michael, you can grab his book Amazon Or you can follow it InstagramAnd the FacebookAnd the Youtubeor Twitter. Make sure to check out his book, it will change your outlook on fitness!
His simple, science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has helped tens of thousands of people build their best body ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more. That, as well as on FOX and ABC.
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