Are home workouts effective? Without learning to design your own home workouts, you will probably never unlock your fitness goals!
There’s nothing remotely sexy about programming. That goes for C++, HTML and the rest. And it applies just as much in the world of home gyms.
The fun comes in buying the new equipment, testing it out and trying new exercises. It comes with pumping iron outside on a warm day and working out with family or training partners. Programming your workouts? Ew. It sounds like a dirty word.
However, if you don’t know how to design a fitness programme, you may be wasting your time and money on a home gym. In fact, you will probably be defeating the whole purpose of buying a gym in the first place.
Here’s why.
Are Home Workouts Effective If You Can’t Design Them Yourself?
If you use a commercial gym, you essentially pay someone else to use their gym equipment. But you also put yourself in a space where there are trainers and staff members at hand – as well as other gym users – who can provide you with advice on how to use that equipment.
Potentially, they can also provide programmes or programming tips. In a home gym, you have access to none of that. With less equipment around, you can’t do what I used to do in my early commercial gym days: Hop about aimlessly on various machines and then finish off with some unplanned cardio on the treadmill.
As such, home gym owners need clearly goals, and even more clearly designed workout programmes. When you’re on your own, you cannot afford to wing it. Attempts to do so will see you make minimal gains and maximize your frustration.
So what can you do?
Online Advice: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Some turn to Google and YouTube for answers. Big mistake. While there are some good free programmes out there, it’s very unlikely that they will meet the following two criteria:
- be a perfect fit for your goals
- be a perfect fit for your body
That’s because we all have very different goals and bodies. If you blindly follow some internet personality’s programme, you are following advice specific to their goals – with exercises that feel right for their bodies.
In addition, there are a plethora of people out there who sell their cookie-cutter programmes online for high prices. If you want to buy one, who am I to stop you? But there is no guarantee that the programme that worked for you will bring you the same benefits. All bodies, as I said, are different.
“That’s fine for you to say,” you may retort. “But where should I turn if I lack the experience and knowledge to make my own programme?
If you are a rank beginner, you have two choices: Either find a coach who can teach you to program (rare) or noodle about in a commercial gym while you self-teach yourself the basics of programming.
A Third Way (Kinda)
A third way, which I recommend with some trepidation, is Starting Strength – a method developed by the somewhat abrasive Mark Rippetoe.
This programme comes from the world of powerlifting, and centres around the squat, bench and deadlift.
I mention my hesitancy about recommending Starting Strength because I disagree with much of what Rippetoe has to say about nutrition, conditioning and other matters. The programme requires you to work out three times per week, using sets of five – and with the goal of adding 5lb (just over 2kg) to your lifts each session.
For beginners (the group this programme was designed for), this is an almost universally effective programme. I disagree with the emphasis on the bench press, as not everyone dreams of benching 100kg.
And if your goal is building muscle or crafting abs to look good on the beach, this programme may not be for you.
But as cookie-cutter programmes go, it’s unquestionably the very best around – precisely because it will make almost anyone stronger.
Aside from this unique exception, paying for a one-size-fits-all programme seems a total waste of money, unless it has been designed especially with your body and goals in mind. A cookie-cutter programme from a trainer who’s never met you will ultimately just let you down.
The Truth Programming Will Set You Free
Learning how to program for yourself is the very essence of home gym ownership. It’s the intangible element behind the physical equipment itself. There’s no point in buying a car if you don’t have a licence and have to drive everywhere with an instructor at your side.
How to learn to program? You might as well ask how to teach a child to swim or ride a bike. There’s no foolproof way. It is trial-and-error at every step. And while you may delve into the world of fitness influencers and Men’s Health articles for inspiration, never take what they say as gospel.
Instead, learn how to assess their advice critically and think if any of it applies to your body and/or your goals.
And really focus on the goals. The more precise you can be about what you actually want to do, the better your programmes will become.
“I want more muscle.”
“I want to look good in a bikini.”
“I want to get in shape.”
“I want to build fitness.”
“I want to get strong.”
These goals are not specific, so even a good coach won’t be able to work with them effectively. As I’ve said elsewhere, if you want more muscle, consider which muscles matter most for you, and start creating a programme that prioritises them.
If you want to pursue strength, which movement patterns are you looking to improve? Pulling from the floor? Lifting overhead? Pushing?
Strength comes in all shapes and sizes.
Goals: Home Workouts Are More Effective When You Refine Them
Goals are the key to it all. And from there, do the research. Create your own programmes and A/B test them… on yourself, in the comfort and privacy of your home gym! Before you know it, you will become a whizz at it.
Are home workouts effective enough to help you meet your goals? Is self-programming going to help you achieve them? The answer to both is yes – and going solo in both regards could help you get there quicker.
Self-programming lets you become truly independent in your fitness journey. No AI-powered app or personal trainer could possibly train you better than yourself, at least not at the casual level. Programming lets you break out of the cage of dependence.
For home gym owners, programming is not a desirable skill – it’s a must-have.
