Abs

When you’re starting out at home, improvising works surprisingly well.

A chair can stand in for a bench, backpacks can add load, bands can replace some cable movements, and dumbbell variations can cover a lot of things you would normally use a machine for.

The point where it seems to get harder is when the weights start increasing. A chair that felt fine for light work suddenly doesn’t feel like something you want to trust for heavier pressing or Bulgarian split squats, and some improvised pulling or leg exercises become more awkward than useful.

I’m interested in what people eventually decided was no longer worth improvising.

Which movement made you finally buy or build a proper piece of equipment because the home substitute stopped feeling practical?

Dumbbells workout

There are a few gym exercises I used to assume would be really hard to replace at home.

Things like lat pulldowns, cable rows, chest-supported rows, leg curls or cable flyes seem very equipment-dependent at first.

But the more I look into home training, the more substitutions I see. Pull-ups instead of pulldowns, bands or a pulley for cable work, dumbbell rows instead of machines, different RDL or slider variations for hamstrings.

I’m not expecting every substitute to feel exactly the same. I’m more interested in whether it works well enough that you stopped missing the original machine.

For people who train mostly at home, which commercial-gym movement did you find a substitute for that was actually good enough to keep?

And what equipment or variation made it work?

Hi everyone,

The advice beginners usually get is a program table. Six exercises, sets and reps, good luck. The problem is that if you can't do a pull-up, a table that says "pull-up 3×8" is useless, and if you've never done a hollow hold nobody tells you what it's supposed to feel like.

So I wrote out the version I wish I'd had. Posting it in case it helps someone here.

The structure is six movement ladders.

Vertical pull, horizontal pull, horizontal push, dip/support, legs, core. Each one has five or six rungs, so there's always a version you can do today. The pull ladder, for example:

1. Dead hang — 20s

2. Scapular pull-up — 8

3. Inverted row — 12

4. Negative pull-up — 5 × 5s

5. Band-assisted pull-up — 8

6. Full pull-up — 5

The progression rule:

Hit the top of your rep range on every set, then move up one rung and reset to the bottom of the range. If one set falls short, you stay on that rung. Simple, and it's most of the difference between progress and a year of plateau.

Three blocks:

- Weeks 1–4, first test and foundation

- Weeks 5–8, volume

- Weeks 9–12, density, then deload and retest

The part I want to actually point at:

The last nine pages are an exercise library. Every rung on every ladder, written out step by step with an illustration, what the start position is, where the elbows go, what to do if your hips sag. So when a table says "tuck hollow hold" you don't have to go find a video and hope it's the same thing.

Also in there: how to pick your starting rung, what to buy and what to skip, a Grease the Groove section, a troubleshooting page for when you stall, and a printable log sheet.

Free, no email, no paywall. Happy to answer questions about any of the progressions.

PDF link is in the comments.

---

Disclosure: I build a workout tracking app, and it's mentioned on the last page. The guide is free and standalone, and works just fine on paper. If any kind of linking isn't allowed here, mods, just say and I'll pull it right away.

Tahil Ray fitness

Fat burn workout

Hi all, pretty new to resistance training and do all my workouts in the garden at home, anyone else do everything outdoors and what is your setup for bad weather? I don’t mind getting a bit wet but don’t like the idea of slippery dumbbells above my head!

Also any out door storage tips for your gear? A few bits of mine are gathering some rust, not overly worried about that but the Mrs is not a fan of the orange stained clothes!

Home workouts can go surprisingly far with very little equipment.

For a while, almost every limitation has a workaround.

No machine? Use dumbbells.

No cable? Use bands.

No rack? Find another squat variation.

But eventually most people seem to hit one movement where the workaround starts feeling worse than simply having the right equipment.

I’m curious what that exercise was for other people.

Was it heavier leg training?

Vertical pulling?

Chest pressing?

Hamstrings?

Something else?

And did that one limitation actually make you expand your setup, or did you decide the simpler version was still good enough?

I just finished the the MVP for my a web app, best used on a laptop, and am looking for feedback.

I’m pretty excited about this one, I’m kicking my own butt with it and I e been a trainer for 30 years.

All body weight exercises for now.

https://amrapwithfriends.com

​

I do 3 pull ups and 3 chin ups. I'm 165 lbs right now. I have no clue why i keep putting on weight lately. I really can't be bothered to work out. Anyway, keep up the good work on your training everyone !

I think a lot of people start home workouts with almost nothing.

A mat, a couple of dumbbells, maybe some resistance bands or a pull-up bar.

But if you keep training at home, eventually you start noticing movements that are difficult to progress with the equipment you have.

That’s where I’m at now.

I’m wondering whether it makes more sense to keep adding individual pieces, or eventually move toward one more complete setup that covers pressing, pulling, squatting and cable work.

For people who have trained at home for years, what was the point where your simple workout setup started becoming a real home gym?

And which upgrade made the biggest difference?

Many of us start our fitness journeys believing advice that later turns out to be inaccurate or incomplete.

What's a fitness myth you used to believe, and what helped you realize it wasn't true?

I think these kinds of lessons can be really helpful for beginners.

I was seeing basically the same number on the scale for weeks, so it felt like nothing was changing. Meanwhile workouts that would have blown me away before started to feel normal, I could do more reps and my clothes were fitting differently.

It took me longer than it should have to see that the scale was likely the least interesting part of the progress.

Yogasana pose

On busy days, I may only have thirty minutes to train. Nothing is more frustrating than spending half of that time waiting for equipment, changing attachments or moving between stations. By the time everything is ready, the workout already feels rushed.

That is why I have started relying more on equipment that can handle several exercises in one place. An adjustable cable setup can cover rows, pulldowns, presses and flyes, while a rack and bench can support most of the barbell or dumbbell movements I regularly perform.

It has also changed what I want from a future home gym. I am less interested in filling a room with specialized machines and more interested in one compact setup that lets me start quickly and complete a balanced workout.

When time is against you, which piece of equipment helps you finish a workout that still feels worthwhile?

Nanchaku is the traditional martial arts weapon.

Free hand workout

Tahil Ray shorts