Never go to the gym again!

Are you tired of going to the gym? Paying your dues every month just to go stand in line and wait for the piece of equipment you want. Finally its your turn to lay on the bench and you wonder to yourself, how many strands of DNA am I laying in?

If so, your not the only one. Check out this email I recently got from Mark.

Hey man, my school gym closes early n Im tired of going to the commercial gym during peak hours. Im wondering what basic equipment I would need to get an effective workout at home?

Thanks bro,
Mark 

The good news is, you really don't need much to get a killer training session done in the comfort of your garage or basement. Hell, I've even seen a guy deadlift 500 pounds in a spare bedroom! Below are my essentials for anyone looking to start training at home.

1. Barbell and plates. Buy used to keep the cost down, watch craigslist or local garage sales. Most sets come with around 300 lbs of total weight, but you can get as much or as little as you'd like. A good rule is try to get the equivalent to your own weight. i.e. if you weigh 180 lbs try to get at least 180 lbs worth of weights.


2. Pull up bar. Anything strong enough to support your own weight. You can use the rafters in your basement or garage really. Or look at getting a door mounted pull up bar, or a stand alone tower. Pull ups get you strong.

Those two things are really all you need to get strong at home. But for the sake of this article I will round out my top 5.

3. Jump Rope.  There is a reason you always see boxers and MMA fighters using jump ropes in their training. It adds a certain level of explosiveness that is otherwise hard to get. They take up zero space and are cheap.

4. Heavy Hands. OK so this is a nickname the guys at my training facility came up with. Heavy hands can be anything that is heavy and you can carry in your hands/arms for things like farmers walks. At my gym we use buckets full of dirt, heavy dumbells/Olympic plates, kegs or stones.

Last year my buddy and I did some landscaping for a company. We got to keep some huge boulders and they got cheap manual labor. Anyways, those rocks must weigh 75 lbs each and are very diverse tools. If rocks aren't an option, run down to your home improvement store and grab a couple of 5 gallons buckets, fill 'em up with dirt and just carry them around. Farmers walks (or even holds) are a great movement and will add great muscular endurance to your whole body.

5. Foam Roller / Lacrosse Ball. Recovery work sucks, I'll be the first to admit that. It hurts, its time consuming and its boring as hell. And often when you are training at home it can be easily skipped. But don't let it happen! This shit is damn important, because in the long run it won't matter how much you can squat, press and deadlift if your to fucked up to enjoy yourself. So please guys, get them both and use them at least 3x per week. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.


Got questions? Leave a comment below or shoot me an email!

Caleb

Been to long...

Hello all you fit freaks! I have to say that I am truly sorry for not updating this blog since last September. I have been incredibly busy the last seven months. Now, I am not one for excuses so I wont make any. Starting now I will post at a minimum weekly. 

I have been getting a lot of direct messages on my Twitter asking fitness and lifestyle related questions. As a trainer I normally charge for answering these type of questions, but I feel it is part of my civil duty to help YOU live a better life.

That being said; next week I will be posting a FAQ post where I answer some of the most common questions I get asked. If you have anything you want answered tweet me or leave a comment below.  

Enough rambling... 

Train hard and stay safe.

Caleb Burzan

22 August 2013

"You're successful when you like who and what you are. Success includes achievement… while 
choosing and directing your own activities. It means enjoying intimate relationships and loving what you do in life." - Kekich Credo #7

Warm Up: 

10 minute ROM drills
5-10 minute foam roll/deep breathing/stretch

Prep Phase: 

yoga

Strength: 

rest

Conditioning: 

choose sport:

run: 5k

swim: 500 yd

bike: 13.1M

Supplemental Work: 

recovery work

3x15
push ups
GHD sit ups
back extensions
bench press (light weight)
kb swings (light weight)

06 August 2013

Warm Up:

10 minute ROM, Box Breathing

Strength: 

Power Clean 7x2

METCON: 

5x5 Clean
10x 25 yd Parachute Sprints

Prep Phase (BW): 

25x Squats
10x  Shuttle Run

25x Push Press
10x Shuttle Run

25x Dips
10x Shuttle Run

25x Deadlifts
10x Shuttle Run

05 August 2013

Warm Up: 

10 minute ROM

3x 10-15

GHD Sit Ups

GHD Back Extensions

Push Ups

OVH SQT

KB Swings (35)

Ring Dips

METCON: 

21-15-9

Front Squat to Overhead Press

Pull Ups

Supplemental Work: 

50x Leg Levers

2 x 50x Bicycle Crunches

25x Reserve Crunches 

15x L Pull Ups

10x Jack Knife 

15x Weighted Sit Ups

Prep Phase (BW):

100 Jump Ropes

20x Lunges

100 Jump Ropes

30x Jump Squats

100 Jump Ropes

40x Step Ups

100 Jump Ropes 

31 July 2013

Stamina: 

Swim, 800 ft (731m)

Prep Phase: 

Max plank hold*
If under 30 seconds perform a 30 burpee penalty
If under 60 seconds perform a 20 burpee penalty
If under 90 seconds perform a 10 burpee penalty

10 Rounds
8x, 4ct Flutter Kicks
8x, 4ct Mountain Climbers
8x, Lunges (4 each side)
8x, Squats

Max plank hold*
If under 30 seconds perform a 30 burpee penalty
If under 60 seconds perform a 20 burpee penalty
If under 90 seconds perform a 10 burpee penalty

24 July 2013

Strength: 

8x2 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls 7 @ 115#, 1 @ 125#

100 Push Ups

Max Plank Hold (5:11)

Stamina:

10M Bike, 45 minutes

Prep Phase (BW):

Tabata:

Push Ups
Plank Holds
Jump Ropes
Squats

23 July 2013

Strength:

5x5 Deadlift
205, 215, 225, 255, 225

3x10 Floor Press @ 135#

Stamina:

15-10-5

GHD Sit Ups
Back Extensions
KB Swings @ 35#
Ring Dips

Prep Phase (BW):

20m AMRAP

25 Mountain Climbers
20 Flutter Kicks
15 Jumping Jacks
10 Dips
200m Run

22 July 2013

Thought For The Day

Strength: 

5x3 Front Squats (135#), (155#), (175#), (165#), (165#)

then,

Stamina:

100 Air Squats
2x25 Goblet Squats (35#)
3x10 DB Thrusters (20#)
3 Perimeter (100m) Farmers Carry (45#)
2x25 Ab wheel roll outs
100 Russian Twists (35#)


Prep Phase (BW)

4 rounds:

Run 400m
20x elevated feet push ups
15x squats
10x burpees

18 July 2013

5x

Push Press, 3x (3@135#, 3@155#, 3@155#, 3@155#, 3@155#)
Perimeter Stone Carry, 1

3@135#, 3@155#, 3@155#, 3@155#, 3@155#

15 July 2013

AM:

21-15-9

Deadlifts, @ 225 lbs
Hand Stand Push Ups

PM:

Power Cleans

5 @ 135, 185 (fail), 165, 175, 185 (PR!)

12 July 2013

Strength: Shoulder Press

Conditioning:
Tabata

Flutter Kicks
Ring Rows
Push Press
Squats

10 July 2013

Deadlift 8x2 (135, 155, 225, 225., 275, 255, 255, 225)

Team Effort:

100 Bodyblasters

(do as many as you can before tagging your teammate in)

08 July 2013

20 minute AMRAP;
5x HSPU
7x Chest to Bar Pull Ups
10x (5ea arm) DB Snatch @ 35 lbs
Goal: 15 rounds
Actual: 13 rounds

then,

Front Squat 3x3 (135, 155, 165)

07 July 2013

Vacation officially ends tomorrow. So why not start getting after it today. 

21-15-9
Power Cleans @ 135lbs
Ring Dips

05 July 2013

15 Minute AMRAP

2 Power Cleans @ 155 lbs
5 Over bar burpees
50 Single Under (Jump Ropes)

*9 Rounds + 35 Single Unders

*Finished 10 Rounds even.

04 July 2013

1M Run

21-15-9,
Burpee Pull Ups

1M Run

(wearing a 20# vest)

25 Jan 2013

5 Rounds (14:42)
22 Front Squats @ 75 lbs
11 Chest to Bar Pull Ups

24 Jan 2013

5x3 Deadlifts

225 lbs. 275. 285.295. 300.

22 Jan 2013

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 95lbs
Lateral Jumps (over 16" box)

(14:55)