One of the best things about having a gym in your home is it makes it infinitely easier to use. Hopefully, this means that you end up consistently using your home gym. And that begs the question, “Use it for what?”
Of course, the answer is to work out, but how? Once you have the equipment and the consistency, the next step is deciding on your programming.
For those of you that just asked, “what’s programming?”, the answer is pretty straight forward. Programming is the system of exercises, sets, and reps you’ll do when working out. And make no mistake, programming makes a huge difference in your results.
Programming is your road map to results!
There’s a saying in fitness that a crappy program followed consistently will produce better results than a great program followed intermittently. But what about a great program followed consistently? That’s where the gold is. Finding a great program, however, can be a huge challenge.
I know because I’ve tried most of them! From P90x to Beach Bodies to “custom programming” by Instagram personalities, I’ve tried a ton of programs. And I’ve learned a whole lot in the process. The biggest lesson? Most of them suck (all the ones I just named are just a little better than terrible, in my opinion).
Luckily, there are some very good programs out there. And when you are working out at home by yourself, having a quality program to follow is key!
Mind Pump is the number one fitness podcast out there. If you don’t listen, I highly recommend it! It’s done by 3 personal trainers who, between them, have almost 60 years of experience creating programs that work. I’ve done several of their programs, and each one produces results that simply can’t be denied.
Here is a list of the MAPS (muscular adaptation programming system) programs I’ve run (some multiple times) and the fitness goals they will help you achieve. I own all of these and can’t recommend them highly enough!
***Oh, and don’t forget that all of their programs come with a 30-day money-back guarantee! You literally have nothing to lose by trying them!
This program is amazing. It’s my favorite MAPS program, and wow, does it produce results? It builds muscle, ramps your metabolism, and is a fantastic all-around muscle-building and fat-burning program.
In my opinion, if you get only one program from these guys, this should be it. You could literally run it over and over for a couple of years and continue to see results the entire time. See my detailed review of MAPS Anabolic here.
MAPS Prime is key. This isn’t a training program. Instead, it’s a diagnostic system that allows you to self-diagnose any movement or mobility issues you might have. Once diagnosed, it provides you with the right tools to address said issues. Prime also provides you with a short but effective way to prime yourself for your workout.
I got Prime Pro because, at the time, I had several pretty serious mobility issues. At 48 years old, my body sometimes doesn’t like to move like it used to. Prime Pro is an advanced system that allows you to self-diagnose mobility issues that occur throughout your entire body.
One of the biggest aids in getting results is maintaining your momentum. There’s nothing worse than stringing a ton of great workouts together only to miss some due to travel or not having access to your gym.
MAPS Anywhere is a tremendously effective system that only requires your body weight and some resistance bands.
Anywhere will keep your momentum on track, even while you are on vacation or traveling for work!
They have a lot more available than I just listed, but as I’ve mentioned previously, I only want to specifically recommend things I’ve used myself and can endorse from experience. That said, I have full confidence that all of their programs are amazing. Want to train like a strong man? They have a program for that. Want to do a body-building split? They have programs for that.
