These are difficult times for everyone. The COVID-19 emergency has already forced home half of the world, and it’s rapidly spreading. In January 2020, the infection seemed to be circumscribed in China. But within a month, it reached the rest of Asia, then the Middle East, Italy, and finally the rest of Europe. To date, the contagion keeps extending, knocking at doors across the US, Canada, and several other countries.

Each one of us has to do his or her part to help contain the infection. It doesn’t matter whether you personally fear the virus itself, its widespread economic repercussions, or you believe it’s just “another” flu. It is not only about you. It is about your family and children, your friends, your co-workers. It’s about the first responders and all of those involved in healthcare, who are risking every day their own lives to protect ours.

But what can we do? What does “doing our part” mean if we are not first responders, medical doctors or nurses, and have no knowledge of medical matters? The answer is easy. Doing our part means following the instructions of our governments and of the agencies and organizations in charge of taking care of everyone’s health. And those instructions are to be followed to the letter, with commitment and full trust.

Do What YOU Can

But we can probably do more, or at least many of us can, according to our area of expertise. I am a strength coach, and as such, I am also involved in people’s health, at least up to a certain degree. It has been shown that the great majority of COVID-19 related deaths happened to those who already presented with a clinical picture compromised by various pathologies. In contrast, those who were strong and healthy before becoming infected have a significantly more favorable prognosis. From my vantage point, this indicates that proper training and nutrition may play a very important role in fighting the disease. This is where I can play a part: by helping people stay strong or become even stronger.

But how can I do this, given that an increasing number of countries have tightened restrictions aimed at combatting the threat, including temporarily closing gyms and forcing people in isolation (or at least encouraging social distancing) at their homes?

By the way, as I’m writing this I am also in isolation and only allowed to leave home for necessary shopping such as groceries and to the pharmacy. And if I do venture out, in addition to wearing a mask and keeping a minimum of one meter (3.3ft) distance from anyone, I must carry a self-certification document in which I clearly indicate the place where I’m going and the reason why I’m going there. If I am caught without that document, or if the reason for which I’m leaving home isn’t considered important enough by the public authorities, I will have to pay a fine and I may also be arrested.

How can I help others if I am also home-bound, and all I have available here is a pullup bar and an incomplete set of kettlebells?

I decided to design and share a complete but very flexible plan, that allows you to train and become stronger in any environment and with whatever you have available, whether it is a power rack with a bar and a full set of plates, kettlebells, or just your bodyweight. And of course, if you live in a country without restrictions and gym access, this plan will work well for you also.

A StrongFirst Plan Rather than a Collection of Workouts

Yes, I know, given the international circumstances there are literally thousands of trainers out there who are posting plans and workouts that can be done comfortably at home, and many of them are great. But I’m sharing mine anyway in part because more choices are better than zero choices (as those in isolation can attest), and in part because I wanted to provide an option of a plan in a perfect StrongFirst style.

I also noticed that what many are sharing are basically workouts. While these may be great in the short term, given that this situation is probably (and unfortunately) going to last for more than just a few days, my plan is an 8-week structured progression that leads to some final tests and measurable results.

And by the way, it is exactly the plan I’m following now!

Let’s take a look at it.

The Plan

The plan is based upon three movement patterns, one squat, one press, and one pull.

For each one of the movement patterns, according to your strength and skill level and to the available equipment, you have to pick one kettlebell, one barbell, or one bodyweight exercise.

This table presents a list of options:

For kettlebell and barbell exercises, use a weight that equals to your 8-10 technical rep maximum (TRM). If you don’t have that weight available, switch to a different exercise.

Please note that when I say 8-10TRM I mean a weight which allows you to perform 8-10 perfect reps to technical exhaustion. If you are unsure about what that means, check this article before moving forward.

For bodyweight exercises you must select the appropriate variation—progression or regression—that equals to your 8-10TRM.

For instance, if you choose to do pushups as your press exercise, you must decide whether you will perform them on the ground, on an elevation (stair or box), or with your feet elevated, according to which one of these variations matches your 8-10TRM.

With the purpose of giving you a better idea, I’m sharing below my personal selections.

This is what I have available:

Pullup bar

12kg kettlebell—one

16kg kettlebell—one pair

24kg kettlebell—one pair

28kg kettlebell—one

32kg kettlebell—one

36kg kettlebell—one

40kg kettlebell—one

These are my selections:

Squat pattern—pistol, with a 24kg kettlebell

Press pattern—one arm military press, with a 40kg kettlebell

Pull pattern—weighted pullups, with a 16kg kettlebell

Let’s now take a look at the weekly schedule:

Please note that “heavy”, “medium,” and “light” refer to the volume and not to the intensity. This means that the weights—or the exercise variations in case of bodyweight moves—will remain the same for the entire plan.

Here is the 8-week plan, which is based on repetition ladders:

The three exercises are to be executed in a slow-circuit fashion. This means that you will do a set of the squat of your choice, shake off the tension, take some rest, do a set of your chosen press, shake off the tension and rest, and do a set of your selected pull.

Once you’ve completed the three exercise circuit, the round is over. Take a longer rest before you start the next round.

You should rest about 1 minute after the sets of 2 and 4 reps, and 1-2 minutes after the sets of 6 reps. At the end of each round, you may rest more, up to 2-3 minutes, before starting the next.

For instance, let’s say that I’m about to start Session B of week 2 of my plan, with my chosen exercises:

My session would call for 2 ladders of 2, 6, 2 reps for the pistol, 2 ladders of 2, 4, 6 reps for the press, and 2 ladders of 2, 4, 2 reps for the pullup.

Here’s how I would do it.

Ladder one, Round one

Pistol—2 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Press—2 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Pullup—2 reps

2-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Ladder one, Round two

Pistol—6 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Press—4 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Pullup—4 reps

2-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Ladder one, Round three

Pistol—2 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Press—6 reps per side

1-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

Pullup—2 reps

2-minute rest, including fast and loose drills

After adequate rest, I would repeat for my second ladder.

What to Do on Alternative Days

You have several choices for the days between your main training sessions. However, no matter what you choose to do, be sure to make them “easy days.” You need to recover from your main sessions—forget about doing “finishers.”

If you have kettlebells, the ultimate option is doing swings. You may do them with two hands, one hand, in a dead-stop fashion, etc. But take it easy.

Here is one of Pavel’s swing protocols that complements this plan:

Two-hand Swings

Heavy—32-48kg for men, 24-32kg for women

Maximally explosive

7 reps on the top of the minute (1:5 work to rest ratio)

15 sets

You may also add get-ups if you wish.

Personally, I’m doing “timeless” Simple and Sinister, which calls for 100 one-hand swings in sets of 10, and 10 get-ups in single reps, without well-defined rest intervals, but resting according to the talk test.

Actually, I use the “sing test” instead, meaning that I start the next set when I have recovered enough to being able to sing along the heavy metal songs of my MP3 player.

I do my swings and get-ups with a relatively light weight. Again, the goal is to recover between the main training sessions.

If you don’t have kettlebells, you may of course do something else. One of my favorite choices when kettlebells aren’t readily available is crawling. I usually do short crawling sprints in different directions, with a generous rest between sprints. There are several reasons for it, but I will save them for another article.

Finally, feel free to include your favorite correctives and stretches in your “easy days” routine.

Testing

The plan is structured in such a way that the volume builds up gradually in time, and peaks at week 6. Week 7 is a de-load week and week 8 is devoted to testing.

You will test your squat on Session A, your press on Session B, and your pull on Session C.

Given that the plan is flexible, at least as far as the exercise selection goes, the tests are also designed to be so.

If you have a barbell and a set of plates or a full set of kettlebells available, and provided that your chosen exercises are done with these modalities, you may attempt a 1-3TRM test and shoot for a PR. If this is the case, it’s important that you perform the same test prior to starting the plan.

If instead you have a limited selection of weights, or you have opted for bodyweight exercises, you may test your TRM and still shoot for a PR. Also in this case, it’s important that you perform the same type of test prior to starting the plan.

You may also decide to test your 1-3TRM in some exercises and your TRM in others, according to your initial choices as far as for exercises and your available selection of weights.

In my case, for instance, at the end of the plan I will test my TRM in the pistol and the press, and my 1-3RM in the pullups. This is because I only have kettlebells up to 40kg, and my current pistol and press 1-3RMs are already above that weight.

Final Words

Whether you live in an area that is facing the virus emergency and you are home-bound due to the imposed restrictions, or in a safe area which allows you to train at a gym, I hope you will give this plan a shot and enjoy some very good results. And in case you hadn’t yet realized, with the 8 exercise variations I provided for each pattern, you have over a year of training sessions ready to go. Simply follow up a week of de-loading with a new trifecta for each new 8-week cycle.

Finally, no matter where you live, train well, eat healthy, get strong, always be respectful of the rules, and care about others. Being healthy and part of a community are gifts that we too often take for granted. We realize how important they are only when we are at risk of losing them or have already lost them. Be smart, value these gifts while you own them.

Stay safe. Stay strong.