Quick Home Muscle-Building Workouts

Quick Home Muscle-Building Workouts
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There are a number of ways to quickly begin building muscles even if you choose to do so within your home. The important thing to remember is that you must stick with your workout to see any results. Also, to ensure that you are able to see your muscles, you must engage in cardio exercises in addition to strength training. This will ensure that your muscles are not hidden by a layer of fat.

Free Weights

Buy a set of free weights to use at home. Either get a couple of different weights or buy adjustable weights so that you can increase your weight as you build muscle. Use these free weights to engage in muscle building exercises for your arms and legs. Do three sets of lunges on each leg while holding weights at your side. The sets should contain anywhere between 12 and 15 repetitions. Then, do 40 full squats and 20 fast half squats while holding light weights in your hands up by your head with your elbows parallel to your shoulders. Make sure when you do the squats that your knees remain behind your toes.

To build arm muscles quickly with free weights focus on your bicep muscle. Curl your bicep for 12 repetitions. It is important to use enough weight to make your muscles feel fatigued by the 12th repetition, according to MayoClinic.com.

Full Body

Do total body movements that target several muscle groups together to fast track your muscle-building and burn more calories, according to Fitness Magazine. To build different muscles at once, add a jump or spring to the muscle-building activity. To include a jump in your push-ups routine, do a push-up, then jump your feet toward your hands and spring toward the ceiling. Incorporate the jump or spring move into other strength-building moves, such as squats.

You can also do full-body strength training by lifting weights while doing a leg a leg exercise such as lunges or squats. This will reduce the impact to your knees that can occur when you incorporate a jump into these exercises.

Body Weight

Build your muscles quickly at home by simply engaging in exercises that cause you to lift your own body weight. To focus on your abs, hold the plank pose for 60 seconds, three times in a row. Then, do bicycle crunches for three sets of 15 repetitions. To do this, lie on your back with your legs moving as if you were pedaling a bicycle. Touch alternating elbows to your knees each time you bring your knees back in. To create more resistance, extend your legs all the way out and rotate them only slightly above the ground.

Begin doing push-ups, and do them until your muscles feel fatigued, increase the amount you do as your muscles get stronger. Build your triceps by doing three sets of dips, each containing 12 to 15 repetitions, off the edge of the coffee table. Dips require you to have your back turned to the coffee table and reach back to hold yourself up with your hands. Then, lower your butt just off the ground and rise back up.

References

Article reviewed by Eric Lochridge Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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