You try to stay active. You go to the gym. You get outside. You take a spin class here and there. But what can you do when you're quarantined for the greater good and responsibly practicing social distancing?
Apparently, quite a lot – no equipment required.
Buccaneers Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Anthony Piroli not only gave us a complete at-home workout that requires absolutely no equipment (other than maybe some furniture), he gave us some of the same moves he gives Bucs players in the same situation. Believe it or not, not every player has a state-of-the-art gym at home, either. The key though, no matter who you are, is consistency.
"The way that we like to talk to the players about it is keeping a consistent schedule regardless, beyond the weight-room work or field work that they do," Piroli said. "The same thing goes for their sleep schedule. Trying to get a consistent sleep schedule and consistent eating schedule. When this stuff all does change, obviously, and you go right back into your routines, you want to make sure you're not too far removed from doing the things you need to be doing day in and day out."
While the strength staff still recommends a five-day workweek for players with varying degrees of moderation each day, Piroli says us normal folk, as in, not elite professional athletes by trade, could benefit from just a half an hour of exercise, three days a week. If you're just beginning, try the below exercises just one time through. Then, as you progress, you can begin to add more sets. Then add more weight, if you have it available. But don't do both at once.
"There isn't one right answer, it depends on where people are at beforehand," Piroli said. "If they haven't been working out, they shouldn't immediately go into a five-day, two hour a day workout regimen – it's going to be too much for their body and they could even hurt their immune system. With that being said, if Week 1 we do equal to the amount of work we were doing physically prior, we can incrementally increase it by 15-20 minutes a week by volume rather than adding complete workouts in by a whole additional day. Or you could focus on increasing intensity week to week with more weight or more reps. You don't want to increase volume and intensity because that will be a lot more stress."
With that in mind, you should consult a physician before beginning a workout program. Piroli is the first to say he isn't one himself. But if you wanted to workout like the pros do, a full body workout is below, and very aptly named.
BUCS FAM HOME SWEAT SESSION
TOTAL BODY WARMUP:
THORACIC SPINE ROTATION
X 10 EACH SIDE
KNEELING ROCK BACK LAT/T-SPINE STRETCH
3 X 10 sec.
PRONE ON GROUND ISO HOLD "I"
10 sec.
PRONE ON GROUND ISO HOLD "Y"
10 sec.
PRONE ON GROUND ISO HOLD "T"
10 sec.
SCORPIONS
X 5 EACH SIDE
FIRE HYDRANTS
X 5 EACH SIDE
MICRO-CIRCLES (FORWARD/BACKWARD)
X 5 EACH SIDE
BIRD DOGS
X 5 EACH SIDE (35 SEC. HOLD)
SINGLE-LEG GLUTE BRIDGE HOLD & REPS
10 SEC. HOLD + 8 REPS (NO HOLD)
SIDE-LYING HIP INTERNAL ROTATION
X 8 EACH SIDE
TOTAL BODY WORKOUT:
REAR-FOOT ELEVATED SPLIT SQUAT (10-sec hold at bottom)
X 10 (HOLD) X 10 (REGULAR REPS) 3x
SINGLE-LEG GLUTE BRIDGE (3-sec hold at top, 2-sec down)
AS MANY REPS AS POSSIBLE 3x
BACKPACK-WEIGHTED CLOSE GRIP PUSHUPS
AS MANY REPS AS POSSIBLE 3x
INVERTED ROW WITH FURNITURE
AS MANY REPS AS POSSIBLE 3x
WEIGHTED PRONE COBRAS
8-10 REPS 3x
WEIGHTED BACKPACK 4-PART PLANK (Do not drop during changes)
30-45 SEC. HOLD 2x (ALL FOUR SIDES ONE AFTER ANOTHER)
ELEVATED BENCH/LEDGE TRICEP EXTENSION (35 seconds on the way down)
AS MANY REPS AS POSSIBLE 3x
