Staying in Shape Without a Home Gym

Written by : Sondre Berg

Instagram : @sondre_berg

The corona crisis has had a huge impact on the lives of countless people across the globe, some affected more than others. In Norway, like many other places, the government has introduced mandatory social distancing; all public areas where people may gather in larger groups are closed and traveling internationally and domestic is restricted heavily. In addition, people are prompted to stay in their homes and a temporary law prohibiting people from staying at their cabins in the mountains has been put forth due to the lack of health services in these areas.

Needless to say, all of these changes are having a huge impact on the lives of athletes, whether that be the professional athletes or the weekend warriors. I specialize in not needing any equipment for my training, but even I am having a hard time. Calisthenics is strength training using only your body-weight as resistance, but this can be difficult without a bar or something to pull yourself with. For people not used to it, it can be extremely difficult to learn how to use this kind of training to efficiently gain strength.

Moving and using my body is a big part of my life and, apart from the office (I am a PhD student btw), this is where I meet my friends and have a good time. I can imagine a lot of people out there feeling the same way. Even though I pride myself in not needing a gym to exercise, I don't train in my living room all by myself day in and day out. I have a large network of people that I hang out and train with and, for me, this a big part of my social life. In addition, I also train a lot of climbing and acrobatics and both the climbing and the gymnastics gym has been closed in my area. Climbers are also recommended to stay away from outdoor climbing crags.

I have been training like this for 8 years and coaching others for 5 years, so I wanted to share what I have learned over the years with you guys. On my Instagram, I will be posting short instructional and inspirational videos in the hope that people will be motivated to spend some of their time at home learning new things, getting stronger and having some fun with this “home movement”. 

Tricep Extensions Variations at Home

Learning a One Arm Push-Up at Home