If your goal is to obtain a firm core, with well-defined abs and power in your pectoral muscles, with a specific routine and following some basic guidelines, you can be able to train your torso at home and achieve excellent results.
The machines and training accessories, available in any gym, are a good help but if you choose your exercises well and plan your sessions focusing your effort on the upper body, you can also train your torso at home with a little perseverance and some discipline.
Keep in mind that the central area of the body is essential for balance and stability when practicing any sport, so get down to work and discover the keys to a torso routine that you can do without leaving home.
The basics for effective core training at home
It is important to understand that gaining strength at home and definition in the entire upper zone requires an intense and balanced work of several muscle groups. It is a common mistake, when speaking of a torso routine, to limit the exercises to the classic abdominals. These cannot be absent, but they are not the only essential exercises. The muscles of the back, with the deltoids as the main protagonists, the pectorals and also those that shape the shoulders are also important for your torso training at home to be complete and effective. Some basic guidelines to keep in mind when designing your routine are:
1. Make multi-joint exercises predominate by introducing variations in your routine
Multiarticular exercises are the most advisable to gain strength in the musculature as a whole and are the ideal ones to get the greatest number of trunk muscles involved in a single exercise. Chest openings , with or without dumbbells, that put both the pectorals and the lats to work; plank to work the core and also the shoulders; trunk bends and twists, which also involve the abdominal muscles …
There are many perfect exercises to work the torso at home and you should try to design a different training plan for each session, so that at the end of the week, all the muscles in the central area have worked equally and contribute to that common goal of achieve a solid torso like a rock.
2. 2 – 3 sessions are enough
To achieve a harmonious development of the muscles of the trunk it is important not to exceed the number of weekly sessions. Working large muscle groups requires more effort than you would if you opted for a type of training focused on individual muscles.
Respecting rest times in training at home is very important. If you want to train daily, it is best to choose torso / leg routines to alternate different exercises that are not as demanding for a single muscle group.
3. Repetitions and training rhythm
Although each athlete has their own preferences when it comes to exercising, doing a core routine at home involves training for 30 – 45 minutes. The number of repetitions will depend on your specific goals. If you want to develop muscles, do between 8 – 10, but adding whenever you can, extra weight (bar, dumbbells …).
On the other hand, if you are looking for a greater definition of the trunk, increase the number of repetitions 12-15 and the speed of performance. It is important to rest between exercises for 60 to 90 seconds.
4. Cross training
Completing your torso training at home with other aerobic activities such as running , swimming or cycling , is always a good option that will help you burn calories and fat, making it easier for you to gain definition in the central area of the body. It is also important not to neglect the rest of the muscle groups to have a harmonious development.
