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How to Strength Train in Your Garage

 

Would you like to sign-up for a membership at a fitness center? Okay, no problem, that will be $700 per year or $50 per month. If you’re like most people, this is not the kind of disposable income you have lying around. Your health and fitness are important, but when you have a family to feed and bills to pay, it would be selfish to take that much money and put it toward a fitness center or gym membership. This is especially the case since there is a much cheaper option available. That cheaper option is to build a gym in your garage. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. There are a few steps you need to take in order to make sure this is done right.

 

If you really want to build the ideal gym in your garage, the first thing you need to do is clean out your garage. This means you need to take everything out onto the driveway, debug, sweep, air out, and then place everything you store in your garage into an area that will not interfere with your workouts. You must have your own designated area for your workouts. This area will include a carpet, a radio, a fan, a weight bench, and a dumbbell rack. You don’t need to buy all this at once. The carpet should be your first purchase - if you don’t have one already.

The second purchase should be a fan, especially if it’s summer time. The radio is an added bonus for motivation, but workouts can be completed without one. The weight bench certainly helps, but there are only a few exercises you actually need a weight bench for. These include incline and decline dumbbell bench press. When you do buy a weight bench, make sure you buy one with these options.

You might think you need a weight bench for flat dumbbell bench press, but this isn’t true. Most people think you need range of motion for flat bench so your elbows can go below the level of the bench, but this is only the case if you want to build strength in your back. You’re only building your chest from when your elbows are in line with your body to full extension. Also notice that dumbbells are the weights of choice for bench press.

There are two reasons for this. One, if you want to workout alone in your garage you should not be using a barbell. Many accidents occur this way and several of them have cost people their lives. It’s not worth taking a chance. Two, the dumbbells are more effective anyway. Dumbbells require you to do all the work and put more emphasis on balance. This means you will be recruiting all the smaller muscle groups in the area you’re working opposed to just performing a strictly muscle-specific exercise.

 

You might have noticed that the carpet and fan were listed as higher priorities than the dumbbells. This is because you can still complete a great workout without any weights at all. There are so many items in a garage that can be taken advantage of. If you have two paint cans, take them down from the shelf.

One of the best exercises with paint cans is paint can push-ups. Place each hand on top of a paint can and do a set of push-ups where your chest will almost touch the floor. In this case, unlike the dumbbell bench press, range of motion is important. By using the paint cans, you will be able to build your chest much faster than by doing standard push-ups on the floor. It will require more work to push your body back up from the floor.

Push-ups are an excellent way to build muscle if you can do fewer than 20 reps at a time. If you can do more than that, they are great for muscle endurance, which is important to anyone who works out. Muscle endurance leads to more reps on the heavier weights. When you do push-ups, be sure not to use momentum. The slower you go, the stronger you will get.

Another great exercise with filled paint cans is reverse curls. Take each paint can by the handle and do simultaneous reverse curls until failure. These can be done at any point in your workout, but are best when you’re doing a superset and have just completed a standard set of curls with dumbbells. If you don’t have the dumbbells yet, don’t worry. If you do these until failure, you will feel the burn. Filled paint cans can also be used for side raises and front raises for shoulders. They are actually a great choice for these exercises because you never want to use too much weight when working out your shoulders. Keep in mind, shoulders don’t repair easily. Always use caution.

 

If you have a chair in your garage, great. If not, bring one in from the house. A chair can be used for many effective exercises. These include triceps dips, incline push-ups, and decline push-ups. Doing a set of triceps dips until failure creates an enormous burn in your triceps, but it will be one of the best burns you have ever felt in your life. For incline push-ups, place your hands on the chair and leave your feet on the floor. These push-ups will work on your lower chest.

For decline push-ups, place your feet on the chair and your hands on the floor. These push-ups will work on your upper chest. Whether you have a chair or not, be sure to include diamond push-ups into your workout. These are done by creating a diamond with your hands on the floor. Both hands will be next to each other directly beneath your chest. You will find these push-ups to greatly improve the strength and tone of your triceps. That is only if they’re done consistently, of course.

 

Look around your garage. Pay careful attention to each item and try to determine if one of them can be used for an exercise. Maybe there’s a small poker table folded up that you can use for a unique form of skull crushers. Maybe there’s a piece of antique furniture that you can use for close-grip bench press. Or, perhaps there’s something you can hold on your shoulders while you do squats. Saving money is one benefit to garage workouts, but always finding unique ways to challenge your muscles is another. By consistently shocking your muscles, they will build faster.

 

Once you’re ready to buy dumbbells, make sure you do it the right way. Your best option will be Craigslist. There are millions of people throughout the United States who have dumbbells sitting in their garage or basement collecting dust. That being the case, they’re willing to sell them for extremely low prices. Since dumbbells are heavy and would cost too much to ship, you will have to deal locally. But if someone is an hour away, consider making the drive. You will still be saving a lot of money. Most dumbbells in retail stores will sell for just over $1 per pound. These are prices you want to avoid. You should be able to find people selling dumbbells on Craigslist for half that.

 

How you choose to build your garage gym is up to you, but there is one thing to remember. You’re not really in shape unless you include cardio. Since you will be working out from home, you can simply run on the street. If you have a path or track near your home, even better. And if you have the money to buy a new or used treadmill, that’s another good option. The treadmill will allow you to run regardless of the weather. It’s also less taxing on your joints. However, running outside is more challenging and will get you in better shape quicker. The best option is to run outside on a soft surface. If this is not an option for you, you will have a tough decision to make between a treadmill and running on the street.

There is a lot of information here that will help you get started right away. How about beginning your workout right now? You have everything you need. No excuses!

Read More about Weight Gain Guide

 



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