Seven pros, seven body parts and two big jugs: you don't need the time or money of a long-haired rocker to build a great body. Just follow this workout, one of the best and cheapest routines we've ever had a group of trainers assemble - Home Training

Ian Cohen

Your gym, if it's like our gym, is full of distractions, and if you're short not just on attention but on time, money, patience, and tolerance for Top 40 tunes, you might want to consider alternative training methods. The good news is, unless you live in a Dumpster, you can achieve some damn impressive results by working out in your very own home.

No need to get out the credit card, though. We're not talking pricey, unwieldy contraptions like Thigh Thrasher or Body by Bozo. We're talking four walls, a floor, a chair and a couple of water jugs. If you don't own these items, you might want to reevaluate more than just your exercise routine.

For our purposes, we're going to assume you have a roof over your head and a sturdy place to park your butt. We consulted seven expert trainers across North America, picked their brains, and had each one offer up his favorite home exercise for a specific muscle. Then we combined the exercises into one killer workout.

THE WORKOUT

This is a home workout, so unless your house is currently being swept down a river or is engulfed in flames, there's no excuse for not being able to complete this 45-minute session three times a week. Just warm up with jumping jacks or jogging in place and a few minutes of stretching.

THE EXERCISES

1 SHOULDERS, UPPER PECS * PIKE PUSH-UP

Trainer: Michael Jocson, P.T., MS., O.C.S., C.S.C.S. Board-certified orthopedic physical therapist and personal trainer. Owner of Jocson Strength & Conditioning, Howard Beach, N.Y.

How to do it: Assume a regular push-up position, hands by your shoulders, fingers forward, with your feet extended behind you and elevated on a chair. Walk your hands back toward your feet so that your glutes rise toward the ceiling. Your upper body should form nearly a 90-degree angle with your lower body (1a). Keeping your head in line with your trunk, pull your belly button in toward your spine to activate your spinal stabilizers. Slowly lower yourself until your nose almost touches the floor (1b), return to the starting position and repeat.

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Added Difficulty:

* Three-point pike push-up.

2 CHEST, TRICEPS, BACK * 3-IN-1 PUSH-UP

Trainer: Tony Horton. Certified personal trainer and creator of best-selling home-workout video Power 90. Founder of ASH fitness in Santa Monica, Calif.

How to do it: The 3-in-1 push-up is one continuous set of three types of push-ups: the heart-to-heart push-up, the military push-up and the flye push-up. Perform the same number of reps for each type, allowing only two or three seconds to adjust your hand position.

* Heart-to-heart push-up: Assume a basic push-up position, but instead of placing your hands outside your shoulders, place them directly beneath your chest with your thumb and index fingers touching, forming a, heart shape. For stability, space your feet two or three apart (2a). From an arms-extended position, lower yourself and touch your chest to your hands--heart to heart (2b). Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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* Military push-up: Assume a basic push-up position with your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your feet extended together behind you (2c). Lock your eyes on a spot nine to 12 inches ahead of your hands. From an arms-extended position, slowly lower your chest toward the floor until it touches (2d). Try to keep your elbows pointed back (along your sides). Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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* Flye push-up: Assume a basic push-up position with your hands spaced six inches wider than shoulder width And your legs extended behind you, feet together (2e). Slowly lower yourself toward the floor until your chest almost touches (2f); return to the starting position and repeat.

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3 TRICEPS * CHAIR DIP

Trainer: Dave Johnson B.P.E., C.F.C., N.S.C.A.-C.P.T., C.S.C.S. Owner of In Training an in-home personal-training and fitness-consulting business in Saint John New Brunswick Canada:

How to do it: Sitting on a chair slide your glutes to the end of the chair and place your hands on the edge fingers pointing forward just outside your hips Extend your legs out in front of you, feet together, knees bent (3a). Keeping your back close to the chair, bend at the elbows and lower your body until your upper arms are parallel to the floor (3b). Pause, then return to the starting position and repeat.

Added Difficulty: Legs extended straight onto another chair.

4 UPPER BACK, REAR DELTOID * STANOING REVERSE FLYE

Trainer: Robert Fulton, C.S.C.S. Owner of Mint Condition, a wellness and training center in Westmont, Ill.

(You'll need a couple of one-gallon water jugs for this. Filled, the jugs will weigh almost eight pounds each. To make them lighter, decrease the amount of water. For more weight, add sand or dirt.)

How to do it: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, a jug in each hand. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward at the hips almost 90 degrees. Keeping your head, neck and back aligned, hold the jugs in front of your knees, with your arms slightly bent (4a). Slowly move your arms in an arc, out to the sides and up (4b). Stretch your chest and pinch your shoulder blades together, feeling the squeeze in the rear deltoids. When your arms are parallel to the floor, slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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5 BICEPS, BRACHIORADIALIS * INCLINE HAMMER CURL

Trainee Paul Sklar, B.S., C.S.C.S., A.C.S.M. Certified exercise physiologist and personal fitness trainer. Owner of Prescriptive Fitness, LLC, a personal-training company based out of the Harris YMCA in Charlotte, N.C.

(You'll need the jugs for this exercise as well.)

How to do it: Begin by grasping a one-gallon jug of water in each hand (or a one-gallon jug full of sand if you want to go heavier) and stand straight up against a sturdy wall. Slowly take one or two steps forward, keeping your entire upper-back and shoulder area flush against the wall. Try to maintain a 30- to 45-degree angle between your body and the wall. Your feet should be firmly positioned on the floor, shoulder-width apart, knees bent slightly. With your arms at your sides and flush against the wall, thumbs pointing forward (5a), slowly curl the jugs toward your shoulders (5b). Pause at the top, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Be careful to keep your upper arms pressed against the wall.

Added Difficulty: For an intense burn at the end of your workout, curl the jugs from the starting position to a point halfway to your shoulders for six or seven repetitions, immediately curl from the halfway position to the shoulder for six or seven more repetitions. Finally, without any rest, finish up with six to 10 full repetitions.

6 ABS, OBLIQUES * SUPINE BICYCLES

Trainer: Jason Barber, C.S.C.S. Head strength-and-conditioning coach for Functional Fitness, the primary provider of strength-and-conditioning services for the United States Special Operations Forces in Columbus, Ga.

How to do it: Position yourself on your back, legs off the floor, knees bent 90 degrees and hands comfortably behind your head.

Slowly bring your left knee toward your chest, and curl and twist your body upward so that your right elbow reaches toward your left knee. Your right leg should be extended out above the floor (6a). Now repeat this motion with the opposite side--i.e., right knee to left elbow with left leg out (6b). Continue alternating sides for the prescribed number of reps.

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Added Difficulty: Instead of alternating every repetition, you can stay on the same side for the entire set, then switch to the other side.

7 QUADRICEPS, HAMSTRINGS, GLUTES * ELEVATED SPLIT SQUATS

Trainer: Aron Branam, C.S.C.S., A.C.S.M. Certified personal fitness trainer at the Seattle Athletic Club.

How to do it: Find a step, or any elevated surface, about six inches in height and face away from it, hands on hips. Place your feet in a lunge position, one foot in back and one foot in front. Both feet should be pointed straight ahead. Place your rear foot up on the step, with your weight on the toes (7a). Keeping your upper body erect--your chest up, shoulders back, head and eyes straight ahead--slowly lower your body straight down (7b). Your front leg should bend at the hip and knee at a 90-degree angle. Your back knee should almost touch the floor. After reaching the lowest point, slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

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Added Difficulty: Use a more elevated area as strength and flexibility increase.

THE JUG-BASED WORKOUT

EXERCISE                 SETS      REPS

Pike push-up              3      10-12
3-in-1 push-up            3      Varies *
Chair dip                 3      10-12
Standing reverse flye     3      10-12
Incline hammer curl       3      10-12
Supine bicycle            3      10-12
Elevated split squat      3      10-12 **

* The number of reps is dictated by your fitness level. Strive for at
least eight reps of each push-up.

** Each leg

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group