Nothing can take down a strong heart  💪

With gyms closing up and down the land I’ve been getting a ton of messages from y’all asking me how to set-up a bodyweight-only workout with zero equipment.

And here’s the answer; an article and video explaining how to emulate the Super Saiyan 6 with nothing but household equipment, how to effectively combine it with cardio, and how to keep your cool during quarantine with all exercises demonstrated by Goku. It's my belief that when done properly this workout will allow you to progress in muscle gains even without a gym. 

This entire program has been planned for years with a different purpose. Originally, the information was going to be put into a book behind a pay-wall to help those with gym anxiety make gains from home. I took my time to thoroughly consider which movements belonged and which didn't to make what I believe to be the best and simplest bodyweight-only workout for beginners and advanced alike.

But considering the current events of the world I've ultimately decided to release it for free, not in the form of a book but in the form of an article and instructional video. This is my gift to you, if you're willing to take it of course. We're in this together 💪

I want you all to make this Covid-19 quarantine your hyperbolic time chamber. I want us all to come out the other side looking more jacked, stronger, and better looking than when we went in.

If you would rather watch than read:

Before we begin, remember that I’m not a doctor, nor a brilliant scientist. Don’t listen to me, EVER.

Okay now that I've simmered the haters here are the workout rules

1) All these exercises are to be done 3 days a week. I recommend Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We’ll call these your callisthenics days.

2) Each rep must be done with controlled perfect form for 50 perfect reps across multiple sets. For beginners, it might be best to go for 25 reps.

3) Progress is made by doing the exercises in as few of sets as possible. So workout 1 maybe it takes you 5 sets of 10 to complete 50 reps. Try and get it down to just 4 sets, then 3 sets, all the way until it takes just 1 set. After that, you can either up the total rep amount or choose to make the exercise harder with another variant.
 

With that in mind, let us begin

The Squat

The first exercise is the Squat which is one of the best movements around for the legs. Keep your knees out and go to full depth during each rep.

The Push-Up

Next, we have the push-up. There’s a reason why Goku always does these, it’s one of the greatest chest exercises and most certainly the greatest bodyweight chest exercise. Go through a full range of motion and be sure to tuck your elbows. 

The Rack-Row

Next is the rack row. It’s very hard to train the back with nothing but bodyweight movements and without a gravity chamber but as you can see, with a bit of creativity we can create a set up with just household equipment. Two chairs that can support a strong wooden broom will allow you to perform inverted rows. Be careful that the bar can’t slip or that the chairs can’t collapse on you.

The Bodyweight Deadlift/Good-Morning

Next up we have the bodyweight deadlift or the bodyweight good morning. You should be able to feel this stretch in the back of your legs, aka the hamstrings. Be sure to remain strong and stable throughout the movement (just like Theresa May)

 

The Chair Dip

Next up is the dip. A great exercise for the chest, shoulders, and triceps. You’ll need two chairs, be sure to apply the right kind of pressure so that the chairs can’t slide away from you or collapse. Go all the way down until your arm is at a 90 degree angle.



This is quite a challenging exercise for beginners so if this proves too difficult then try the: the bench dip instead.


The bench dip is one of the best movements for isolating the triceps and is much easier to perform than the full dip, along with being safer in this context.

Side Lateral Raises

Historically in my bodyweight programs, I would have trainees do wall supported handstand push-ups for shoulders but since I want this workout to be accessible to anybody regardless of strength level, I recommend side lateral raises. Find an object that's relatively light, for this example I used a jug of milk, and lift your arm up to the side in a slow and controlled manner. Once you can get 50 reps in a single set with perfect reps, look for other heavier household objects.

My friend mad-hampster costumes used a water cooler for example, and when you think about it, that could even be overloaded over time by adding multiple objects inside. If you feel like you're up to the challenge of handstand push-ups, feel free to replace these with them or add them to the routine.

Crunches

Next up are crunches to work your core. The type of crunches I’ve always loved are the hanging ones Goku does in the Gravity chamber on his way to name, but alas we’re doing this without any fancy equipment and thankfully that’s just fine! Pick a comfy spot and lift yourself up slow and controlled whilst focussing on your abdominal muscles.

Bicep Curls

Now for biceps, we’re going to need something that we can place weights on either side of…like a power pole! If your 'power pole' (or broom) provides enough resistance on its own you can stick with that, or try a single armed variant. Tie shopping bags on either end if you wish and overload them with objects over time to add resistance.

Calve Raises

So the last muscles we want to train are the calves. Grab yourself a small raised object that can support your weight, I used a brick, and press yourself up with your calves with a pause at the top and bottom. It’s especially important to pause your calve raises as momentum can completely take the tension off of the muscle.

Potential Equipment Investments

So that’s more or less every muscle in the body trained however if you’re lucky to have some equipment we can do better. If you have a chin-up bar there probably isn’t a better exercise for the back and biceps and I'd strongly recommend that you get one if you are to take home training seriously.




Also, if you have resistance bands you can use them for a variety of movements ranging from bicep curls (which I'm demonstrating here) or something resembling a cable row/chest press.

And if you have any weight plates lying around use them in creative ways. For example I can use these 2.5kg plates to get a good burn in my side laterals.

Cardio

So now that the bodyweight training portion is covered you might be wondering about cardio. This is probably the most simple thing as most cardio doesn't require equipment but there are some basic rules: not all cardio is created equal. There are different programming rules for high intensity, moderate intensity, and low-intensity cardio so they don't interfere with muscle gain and recovery.

Before we begin it's important to note that cardio isn't strictly necessary for aesthetics. But it is my belief that it's necessary for optimal health and when it's correctly programmed can even boost recovery, so let us dive into each modality of cardio. 

If you choose to do high-intensity (HIIT) style cardio such as burpees, sprints, or martial arts practice I’d prefer them to be at the end of the callisthenics workout so they don’t interfere with recovery and if you have the opportunity try to separate them by 12 hours.

If you’re going to do moderate-intensity cardio such as a long jog or a 5k run I would prefer that to be done on a none-callisthenics day where there is no callisthenics the day after either so that you avoid muscle loss and also remain fresh, so realistically that's a long-winded way of saying 'Saturdays'. 

And lastly low intensity cardio such as a brisk walk can be done every day as it doesn’t interfere with recovery one bit. I personally aim for 10,000 steps a day.

If you think you don’t have the space to do cardio where you’re quarantined I’d like you to consider that this man ran a marathon on his balcony:




The guy on the left above (Elisha Nochomovitz) ran an actual marathon on his balcony to prove a point: where there's a will, there's a way! I salute you, sir. That's Shonen AF.

Meditation

 

Last but not least, I think it’s time for many of us to practice meditation. We need to control our impulses and emotions now more than ever to remain calm and cool-headed. You can use apps such as headspace or calm to get started. I really like Calm’s breathing meditation and I use it every morning for ten minutes. 

Allow the silence to calm your mind, just like Goku's Ultra Instinct

Cosplay: Ultra Instinct Goku (DragonBall Super)

In Closing

I personally think this exercise selection is the best with limited equipment and I stole the progression scheme from Arnold Schwarzenegger so if anybody knows anything about building muscle, I think we could all probably agree that it’s Goku and Arnold. Jokes aside, I hope you find this tutorial useful during and after this quarantine.

Before I go, I just want to say that this quarantine is only temporary. If we all stand together, stay at home, and practice social distancing this will all be over before you know it. This is our chance to be heroes, to save lives, and the best thing about that is that all we have to do to achieve it is sit at home.

Stay fit, eat well, sleep well, watch anime, game, kiss your kids, cuddle your dog, whatever. Do anything besides interact with people outside of your home.

This is our shot, our shot to be more shonen. Let's save lives and come out of this quarantine more jacked than any nerd has a right to be! 

Cosplay: Super Saiyan Goku (DragonBall Z)