Film Fit: The best at-home fitness for bingewatchers

When you have a goal of getting in shape, don’t think that you need to be at a gym in order to do so. Although being in a gym is ideal, it may not be possible for everyone. It’s hard to find the time to exercise when all you want to do is stay home and binge-watch the latest show.

Luckily you can always find a way to get in shape without being in a gym. In fact, you can just build your own at home with some basic equipment and you don’t even need to have a lot of space.

Let’s break down what equipment is ideal for your home gym, what the benefits of each are, and the workouts you’ll need to get in shape at home in between each season you binge:

Bodyweight Training

Bodyweight training is often neglected and underrated in getting in shape.

Besides it not costing you a dime, the beauty of bodyweight training is that you can do them anywhere. Bodyweight exercises have a place in any and every workout routine. No matter what your fitness levels are, bodyweight training is beneficial and effective.

Exercises such as pushups, chin-ups, squats, lunges, jumps, and plank variations are incredible at building strength, increasing muscular endurance, improving your athleticism, stability, and balance. 

Lifting weights is great for strength and muscle building, but bodyweight movements do the same thing but in a different manner even when the same muscles are involved. For example, performing a chin-up vs. a lat pulldown. Both exercises target the same muscle group but in their own respective ways.

With the chin-up, it’s a closed chain exercise, meaning your hands or feet are fixed on a surface and don’t move while performing the exercise.  And with the pulldown, it is an open-chain exercise which means you’re moving something either away or towards the body. Both recruit the same muscles, but closed chain exercises stimulate your nervous system differently, allowing you to recruit more muscles.

Bodyweight training also builds relative strength. Being strong and moving big weight is great and all, but you want to have the strength relative to your bodyweight. What good is benching 400+lbs if you can’t perform a single pushup?

Bodyweight exercises give you feedback on how you’re progressing with your physique. If you’re on bulk and have been gaining weight, your performance on pushups and chin-ups will reflect whether or not you’re gaining any extra fat.

Resistance bands

Resistance bands are great because they allow you to target all different muscle groups, and the resistance feels completely different than using your bodyweight or any weights.

For example, performing a row with bands is going to feel different than doing it with a barbell or dumbbell. This is because the resistance comes from the elasticity of the bands rather than gravity from weights. As you continue to stretch out the bands during an exercise, the more resistance you’ll feel.

You can also use bands to add resistance to other exercises as well, such as pushups, squats, presses, and rows with weight, making them more difficult.

We recommend either compact resistance bands or loop resistance bands.

Dumbbells

Compared to barbells, dumbbells are a much better tool for home workouts. They take up less space and you can do more movements with them. Depending on some exercises, they can be also way more challenging than their barbell counterparts.

You can do unilateral movements, load bodyweight exercises, and can chain together an awesome fat loss circuit with just one dumbbell. 

Jump Rope

One of the easiest tools you can use to improve your cardio and conditioning. It’s low impact, burns fat, and you can do it from anywhere. While you are watching the latest episode of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, you can be skipping your way to those Summer goals. 

Jumping rope at the end of your workouts can also provide a nice fat burn effect to top things off. 

Another benefit of jumping rope is improved coordination and athleticism. As we continue to age, we lose both of those things. By jumping rope and performing the different types of moves, you can maintain and improve your coordination and athleticism. 

Here are some ways you can jump:

• Regular jumps
• Double Unders
• Single Leg
• Running Man
• Criss-Cross

Your road to success

Now that we’ve broken down each piece of equipment, it’s time to put the workouts together. Here’s a sample 3 day home workout using bodyweight, dumbbells, bands, and jump rope:

Day 1

Warmup:

Jump rope for 5 minutes
Side Plank – 30 seconds each side
Decline Plank – 45 seconds
Band Pullaparts – 2 sets of 15 reps
A1. Dumbbell Goblet Squat – 3×12-15 reps
A2. One Arm Dumbbell Row – 3×10-12 reps each arm
A3. Pushups – AMRAP (as many reps as possible with good form)
Perform A1, A2, and A3 back to back with no rest.
B1. Band Face Pulls – 3×15
B2. Dumbbell Reverse Lunges – 3×10 reps each leg
B3. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3×10
Perform B1, B2, and B3 back to back with no rest.
C1. Standing Dumbbell Curl – 3×12
C2. Bench Dips – 3AMRAP
Perform C1 and C2 back to back with no rest.

Day 2

Warmup:

Band Woodchops (Low to High) – 3×10 reps
Plank to Pushup – 3×5-8 reps each arm
A1. Standing Dumbbell Arnold Press – 3×10 reps
A2. Dumbbell Split Squat – 3×10 reps each leg
A3. Band Reverse Fly – 3×15
Perform A1, A2, and A3 back to back with no rest.
B1. Pushups – 3xAMRAP
B2. Dumbbell Deadlift – 3×10
B3. Band Rows – 3×15
Perform B1, B2, and B3 back to back with no rest.
C. Dumbbell Pullover – 3×10 reps
D. Jump Rope – 5 minutes to finish

Day 3

Warmup:

Band Woodchops (High to Low)– 3×10 reps
Hollow Body Hold – 3×20-30 seconds
Side Plank – 3×30 seconds each side
A1. Dumbbell RDL – 3×10 reps
A2. Dumbbell Floor Press – 3×10 reps
A3. Kneeling Band Pulldown – 3×10 reps
Perform A1, A2, and A3 back to back with no rest.
B1. Pushups – 3xAMRAP
B2. Standing Band Bicep Curls – 3×15 reps
B3. Standing Band Lateral Raises – 3×12-15 reps
Perform B1, B2, and B3 back to back with no rest.
C1. Bodyweight Squats – 3×10 reps
C2. Lateral Lunges – 3×10 reps
C3. Jump Squats – 3×10 reps
Perform C1, C2, and C3 back to back with no rest.
D1. Toe Touches – 3×10 reps each side
D2. Bicycle Crunches – 3×30 reps
D3. V-Ups – 3×10 reps
Perform D1, D2, and D3 back to back with no rest.

Consistency

If you’re trying to get in shape, don’t think you’ll have to join a gym. It’s ideal but not your only solution. You can get a great workout at home using your body, a set of bands, some dumbbells, and a jump rope. 

Don’t think you’ll need a fancy workout program too, simply execute the basic movements and focus on improving each week. If you do so consistently, you’ll get the body you want. So keep on binge-watching and get fit while doing it!