When everything are closed, we advise you to find the opportunity to move your exercise routine to urban areas, nature or for some restricted regions as home training.
But when your local gym is not an option, you have to consider several factors for you to maintain muscle mass or strength. For most gym rats it should be achievable to maintain muscle mass in this lockdown situation, but it becomes inherently more difficult when your goal is hypertrophy. In regards to absolute strength, it becomes even more difficult to retain and especially increase strength.
The amount of load and volume is obviously highly dependent on your current training status. But for a vast generalization, maintenance of muscle bulk should be obtainable for most people, especially with BFR and in less time!
As a proxy for estimation of 20-40% of 1 RM, these basic simple principles apply:
As rule of thumb, aim for 20-35 reps to voluntary failure for the first set, followed by 3 sets of 10-20 reps with an inter-set rest period of 30-45 s.
When considering the minimum effective volume, it becomes more difficult to generalize, but in regards to hypertrophy, more IS better! On the other hand, if your goal is to maintain strength, less volume is needed. Aim for at least 30 % 1 RM with every set near failure. Some evidence suggests that BFR can be optimized by exercising the same muscle group 1 or even 2 times a day in periods of 3 weeks.
Considering these principles for BFR, bodyweight squats is insufficient for most people, but can easily be progressed by means of:
External resistance with an elastic band ➡️ Unilateral like Bulgarian split squat ➡️ Higher relative pressure (mmHg).
For regression of push-ups, just elevate the hands relative to the feet as displayed. Please also remember, that all exercise is better than no exercise! And BFR is Better For Results – when load is low!
