People have been asking me lately, can you get big from working out at home? The answer is yes, you absolutely can. It just depends on your dedication and habits.
Most people think that you absolutely need a gym and heavy weights in order to build solid muscle. That isn’t the case.
In fact, when I first started working out, I did it at home. And once I got comfortable with the idea of going to the gym, then I switched. The best thing to do is just get started.
The secret to getting big working out at home
The idea of working out at home has been pushed hard by the fitness industry. But unfortunately they are also selling you the idea that you can get ripped overnight. The sooner that you realize this process is going to take a lot of time, the better off that you will be.
But that is not the secret here. The secret to getting big working out at home is by eating at a caloric surplus. What is a caloric surplus? It is when you are eating enough calories every day to surpass your body’s resting state.
You can know exactly what your resting state is by learning to calculate your maintenance calories.
This is the secret. You have to be in a caloric surplus to build muscle. It is literally impossible to build muscle while in a caloric deficit. Why? Because when you are in a caloric deficit, your body doesn’t have extra calories to prioritize your muscles. Only your vital organs get the calories.
This is why you see people being able to lose weight so rapidly. People can lose multiple pounds per week in a caloric deficit. The process of building muscle in a caloric surplus is much slower.
I am sure that you have heard people say that diet is 90% of the equation. This statement couldn’t be more true! You are simply not going to build muscle if you are in a caloric deficit. You can workout 7 days a week for 4 hours each day, and you won’t gain any muscle.
So, can you get big working out at home? Yes, but make sure that you are eating at a caloric surplus AND working out.
Bodyweight workouts or home gym?
The classic decision maker. Should you build a home gym or just start with bodyweight exercises? It doesn’t matter what you choose, because as long as you are eating in a caloric surplus and working out at least 3 days per week, you will gain muscle.
A good place to start would be our 3 days a week workout plan at home. It will require some equipment like a pullup bar, but you can modify your workouts around them.
If you want to get real serious about making your home a muscle building paradise, take a look at our 20 recommended pieces of home gym equipment from Amazon.
Really what it comes down to is commitment. If you are going to commit to eating at a caloric surplus, you have to commit to working out.
Here’s why. If you are eating at a caloric surplus and not working out, you are going to end up building fat, not muscle. Working out while in a caloric surplus is going to ensure that a majority of those extra calories goes towards muscle.
Back to working out. The best thing about working out at home is that you get to decide what workouts you want to do, what equipment you want to buy, and how much time you spend there.
If you want the ability to make custom workout plans with 100+ built-in exercises, I highly recommend downloading our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). We also have FREE workout plans that will help you become a beast.
All in all, you are probably still wondering, can you get big working out at home? The answer is always going to be yes. Don’t let anyone tell you that you need a bunch of special equipment to build muscle.
How to ensure that you are gaining muscle
One thing that I regret not doing when I first started out was taking measurements and pictures before I got started.
When you see yourself in the mirror everyday, it is difficult to see the massive progress that you are probably making. When I first started a caloric surplus and lifting weights, I was embarrassed with how skinny I was.
I thought that I was making zero progress with my gains. It wasn’t until I saw a random old picture of myself that I realized how far I had come. My recommendation to you is to start this off intentionally from the start.
You might be super motivated right now, but down the road, there will be ebbs and flows of motivation.
After realizing that my old picture motivated me so much, I started taking pictures, weighing myself, and taking measurements every 2 month. You can use a simple body measurement tape like this one from Amazon.
You aren’t going to realize the subtle changes when you look at yourself everyday. But you will be able to see them when you look at a picture from 2 months ago.
This process is also a great way to make sure you are continuing a trend. For example, if you haven’t gained any weight in 2 months. That is an indication that you probably aren’t eating enough calories.
When this happens, all you need to do is adjust your caloric intake to be higher, and then check in again in a month. If you are gaining weight at that point, then you are on the right track.
Main Point: Can you get big working out at home?
By now, you should have a good understanding of the answer to our question, can you get big working out at home. The answer is yes, you absolutely can, and this article should give a great idea of how.
Really what it comes down to is 2 things. Eating at a caloric surplus and making sure you are working out at least 3 days per week. As I mentioned throughout this article, those workouts can vary drastically. But the point is that you need to just do something.
A lot of people complain that they have a hard time building muscle. 9 times out of 10, it comes down to eating. How much you eat is going to have the biggest effect on how much muscle you build.
You also need to take into consideration the fact that every single person has a different threshold of how many calories they need to eat in order to build muscle. Your neighbor might only need to eat 1,500 calories. But you might need 4,000 calories. Everybody is different.
Be sure to take measurements of your weight and muscles. And don’t forget to take pictures. These are going to come in handy if you end up getting in a rut down the road. Don’t let it deter you from making serious muscle gains.
The last thing that I want you to take away from this article is that building muscle is not something that is going to happen overnight. It happens in small increments over an extended period of time.
Just commit to the time and effort that it is going to take and you will be shocked with the results that you can achieve.
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