Alternating Gym & Home workouts

[UpgradeDon]

Hey guys,
Hope you’re all awesome and making your gains in and out of the gym!

I’m a recently divorced father of two and I have my kids (2 & 4yrs old) on alternating weeks.

I’m going back to full-time work & with limited availability to leave the house when kids are asleep (can’t leave kids home alone haha) to go to the gym, I’m thinking of switching up my workout routine. That way I can still workout in the early mornings/evenings at home on my weeks with the kids when they’re asleep.

At the moment I do:
- weights at the gym 3-4 days a week;
- 5km jogs outside 3-4 days a week;
- 1 day off a week.

So I intend to keep that as my workout routine for my week without my kids, and then for my week with the kids at home doing the following:
- home/body-weight workout 3 days a week;
- 5km jogs on treadmill 3 days a week;
- 1 day off a week.

Is this recommended? Would I still be able to build muscle by alternating my weight workouts with home/body-weight workouts on a weekly basis?

 

[jackBruh]

As long as you can incorporate progressive overload into your home workouts then you'll be fine.

 

[Lostcause]

Will it be optimal? Hell no.
Will it be better than doing nothing? Much better.

There are definetely lots of people who had built awesome physiques with their bodyweight only - gymnasts most notably.

 

[Gio]

I have some experience with this, been training 20 years.

A good starting investment would be a pullup bar.

A good YouTube channel for calisthenic workout ideas is Chris Heria.

JackBruh is right about the progressive overload.

A good way to progressively overload is to perform the movements slow and controlled with full range of motion to maximize time under tension.

Once you can easily lift your bodyweight for about 20 reps or so, invest in a weighted vest. You can add and remove weights to increase resistance as you like and continue progressively overloading.

The weighted vest will also help you bridge the gap between novice calisthenics such as pushups, and more advanced calisthenics such one arm pushups.

Keep in mind that just because you're lifting bodyweight doesn't mean you can't get hurt. That's why I recommend giving yourself a few months to master each movement before adding any resistance.