Best At Home Workouts

I just got a question from one of my Ultimate Gymless Workout customers that I thought might help others, so I’m answering it here:

Here is what I was asked…

“Greetings,

I’ve purchased the Ultimate Gymless Workout and intend on starting the
General Fitness Workout soon but there is one exercise that I am unable to
perform because I am not strong enough (pull up).
What do I do in the case where I cannot perform not even one repetition of an
exercise?

I no longer have access to a gym facility (and their pull up machine that would
assist by supporting some of my body weight).

Is there an alternative exercise that can be done or can I just hold on to the
bar for a specified amount of time? (if so please indicate how much time would
be appropriate)

(I actually do not have a pull up bar…I will be attempting to do the pull ups
by holding on to the space above my closet).

Please let me know as soon as you can as I am eager to start this program.”

Here is what I suggest…

Assisted Pull Ups

Put a chair under your closed door and stand on it.  The hang from your arms, but with some of the weight supported by your legs… you’ll be in a crouching position.  Then pull with your arms and use your legs as necessary to complete the “Assisted Pull Up”.  Don’t just use your legs to stand up.  If you want to get the benefits, you need to try to pull as much of your body weight as possible.

Or use a band like in this video I found:

To get the feel of your body weight, you can try to hang for 10-30 seconds.  Do this both in the down position and up position… using the chair again to get up.  If you are strong enough, try to hang in the middle position as well for as long as you can.

OK, if none of this seems to do the trick you can try this…

Loop a towel around a door knob of a sturdy door so that the towel forms two handles.  (Take a rolled up towel and place the middle of the towel on the side of the open door and loop the two sides over each door knob so you can grab both ends of the towel as handles).  The squat down and lean back until your arms are fully extended.  The perform a rowing motion against the resistance of your own body weight.

Hope this helps!

For my readers:

If you are interested in working out at home (like a lot of people who have given up their gym memberships in the bad economy), I suggest the Ultimate Gymless Workout.