Building up your MUSCLE MASS

You can stay fit at home using your own body weight while gyms remain closed to flatten the curve

VIWE NDONGENI-NTLEBI

JUST because gyms are now closed in an attempt to flatten the curve of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it doesn’t mean that your workout regime has to suffer.

Building muscle at home is possible and anyone can achieve their muscle gain goal – all it takes is a little creativity and a commitment to work out regularly. In fact, you can build muscle, lose fat and get in the best shape of your life without even walking out the door.

Building muscle can be a combination of a good diet, commitment, and good sleep.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sleeping for five hours, as opposed to eight hours, per night for just one week cuts muscle-building testosterone levels by a whopping 10 to 15 percent.

Khethiwe Mlangeni, co-founder of PopUpGym, a lifestyle brand aimed at the health and fitness of women and children, says there are creative ways of retaining your muscles without gym equipment.

“I believe that exercise is not limited to a gym, but it can be done anywhere and anytime,” she says.

Follow these five tips from Mlangeni to pack muscle without weights.

The first step to retaining muscle without a gym is to create a fitschedule with dates and times when you plan to exercise and the trick is to stick to it.

The next step to retaining muscle is to exercise using your own body weight. The following bodyweight exercises require no equipment at all and can help you to achieve your muscle-building goals.

The exercises include squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, and mountain climbers.

If you feel that performing bodyweight exercises alone is not enough you can use a stable chair or ottoman to work different muscle groups.

Exercises that can be performed using a chair include tricep-dips, single leg-lunge, elbow planks, and push-ups.

Another way to retain your muscles without gym equipment is to use homemade weights – 500ml, 750ml, 1l or 2l bottles filled with water work well as weights. As long as you have two bottles that are the same size.

Exercises that can be performed using water bottles include squats, lunges, bicep curls, rows, tricep kick-backs, sit-ups, chest press, and overhead press.