Sculpt a chiselled chest & shoulders, strong arms, and defined abs with this explosive 45-minute home workout.
Post includes method for 6 exercises, plus clever ways to make the moves easier & harder.
It’s time to get off the sofa & fire up your twitch fibres with this explosive 45-minute home workout. This routine is my bread & butter when I’m keeping up with my regular workout programme. It’s guaranteed to give you a great pump & build up a strong, functional physique before you know it. And the best thing about it is the fact you barely need any equipment to get going – just a weighted vest & one dumbbell (or I use a kettlebell, but it doesn’t matter really). Or just your own bodyweight if you don’t have any equipment at all… I’ll show you how below.
This workout incorporates 6 moves, working your shoulders, chest, abs and triceps. Some great compound moves in there, and a few more isolation-based exercises too. 60 seconds rest between each set should be plenty of time. Follow along once you’ve had a warm-up and I’ll give an easier, and harder, variation for each move, so whatever level you’re at, you can still have a great workout that tests you to your limit.
So, without further ado, the moves…
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Move 1: Handstand Shoulder Press (3 sets of 6 reps)
A great compound move to kick things off, and get the shoulders working. Position yourself in a crouching position in front of a wall, with your hands a bit wider than shoulder-width apart on the floor in front of you, and about half a foot away from the wall ahead of you. Push your legs off the floor and straighten them to get yourself into a handstand position, so that your legs are parallel to the wall when your heels touch the wall. Then push your body upwards from the floor with your shoulders & arms until your arms are nearly straight (don’t lock your elbows out!), before lowering back down slowly until just before your head touches the floor, and repeat.
Make it easier: Pike pushup.
Make it harder: Increase the time under tension by making the handstand shoulder presses slower!
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Move 2: Dragon Flags (3 sets of 5 reps)
Now this is tough going. Give it a try by all means, but it took me a while to build up to this strength, so don’t be put off if you can’t do it at first. Practice makes perfect! Lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands holding onto something very sturdy (I’ve got a pair of handles drilled into the wall!). Keeping your legs straight, use your core to lift your hips, legs and feet off the floor and up until they’re nearly parallel with the wall behind you. Then lower back down until your legs & feet almost touch the floor, and repeat.
Make it easier: Perform crunches while holding a weight or fairly heavy object above you.
Make it harder: It’s hard enough as it is!! Ok, as above, slow the movement down to increase your time under tension.
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Move 3: Pushup with weighted vest (4 sets of 10 reps, first 2 sets with feet on a raised object)
Something a bit more conventional in this explosive home workout, but with the added twist of alternating between a standard position, and a position with your legs raised off the floor. I’ll explain the latter, as the former is very well-known let’s be honest! With your weighted vest fastened on, get in a pushup position and place your feet on an object behind you (I use a stool which is about 30-40cm high). Then while keeping your body straight, bend your elbows to bring your chest to the floor, before pushing back up, and repeat. With good form, this ensures you’re working multiple muscles in your chest, as opposed to only performing a standard pushup. If you don’t have a weighted vest, simply strap on a backpack with some weight in it, then get those push-ups cranking.
Make it easier: Drop the vest.
Make it harder: Increase the height of the object your feet are resting on.
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Move 4: Dumbbell Russian twist (3 sets of 8 reps)
This is an excellent move to target your obliques, and will give you some great definition around your torso. Sitting on the floor, hold a dumbbell (or anything really, I use a kettlebell) in front of your body. Bend your legs and raise your feet off the floor, and lean your body back about 45 degrees, so that you feel fairly balanced. Then, while keeping your head & torso looking forward, and without straightening your arms, move the weight to the left around your torso until it nearly touches the floor, and hold for a second if you can. Then return to the starting position before moving down to the right in the same way. Then return to the start again, and repeat. That’s one rep.
Make it easier: Side planks.
Make it harder: Hold the weight in the lowered position for longer.
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Move 5: Dumbbell skull-crushers (3 sets of 10 reps on each arm)
A decent isolation move to finish off the triceps, and give you a solid set of arms to be proud of. Lying on the floor, hold the dumbbell straight above your shoulder with one hand, with your palm facing away from you. Slowly lower the weight until it is beside your head, and your elbow is bend at least 90 degrees. Then straighten and repeat. Once you’ve done all the reps on one arm, switch to the other.
Make it easier: Diamond push-up.
Make it harder: Diamond push-up with the weighted vest.
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Move 6: Lying leg raises (3 sets of 20 reps)
A simple lower-ab burner to finish things off, and complete the full compliment of working different areas of your abs. Lying on the floor face up with straight legs, raise your legs off the floor until they’re at least 45 degrees up into the air, then lower back to the floor and repeat.
Make it easier: Flutter kicks.
Make it harder: Hold the legs in the raised position for a couple of seconds on each rep.
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And that’s it! A great workout routine using minimal equipment, which will help you build solid pushing muscles & get stronger fast. I’ve given a basic rep range here for you to try, but if it’s too difficult, just do as many reps as you can until you can’t maintain good form, then rest before starting another set. Or you could just have a bit more rest time e.g. 90 seconds between sets.
If you get through this workout and think you could have done more, try some or all of the ‘make it harder’ suggestions, and once you’ve mastered those moves, simply increase the amount of reps until your form starts tailing off, and you’ll be in pretty good shape by then! You could increase the amount of sets, but keep an eye on your workout time. A good 45-minute session is plenty of time for muscle building.
For building a great set of chest, shoulder & ab muscles, give this explosive home workout a try & see how far you can get! Master the dragon flags & handstand presses, and you’ll be showing off to your mates before you know it! Got some more workout posts coming soon, but in the meantime check out some of my delicious, nutritious recipes.
Take it easy!
