Staying fit while indoors

Glenharvie bodybuilder Bonginkosi Zulu shared his in-home exercise strategy (with equipment and without) for you to try while indoors during lockdown. This is what he recommends:

• With equipment:

Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with short resting periods in between sets. He said this will make one lose unnecessary fats even faster.

Try to train all body parts every time you train. How? You train today and rest the following day. Do this over and over again.”

Day 1:

Legs

• Dumbbell/ barbell squat = Two sets of 8–12 reps

• Stiff-legged deadlift = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Back

• Dumbbell/ barbell row = One set of 8–12 reps

• Chin-ups = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Chest

• Incline bench press dumbbell/ bar = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Shoulders

• Dumbbell/ barbell shoulder press = Two sets of 8–12 reps (one set at the front, and the other one at the back)

• Arnold press = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Triceps

• Dips between two benches = One set of 8–12 reps (weighted)

• Crunches = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Arms

• Dumbbell/ barbell arm row = Two sets of 8–12 reps

• One-arm dumbbell row = One set of 8– 2 reps

Calves

• Dumbbell/ barbell one-leg calve raise = Two sets of 8–12 reps

Stomach

• V-ups = Two sets of 8–12 reps

• Dumbbell side by side = One set of 8–12 reps

• Weighted abs = One set of 8–12 reps

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Repeat day one

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Repeat day one and three

Day 6: Rest

Day 7: Repeat day one, three and five

• Without equipment:

“Train for three consecutive days and rest one day; do this over and over again,” he said.

Day 1:

• High jumps (as if you are holding a skipping rope) = One set of 50 reps

• High jumps to the level of a bench = One set of 20 reps

• Push-ups = Close for 20 reps, mid-close for 20 reps, and wide open for 20 reps (do this slowly)

• Free weight squats = Two sets of 50 reps

• Free weight calve raise = Two sets of 50 reps

• Free weight lunges = One set of 40 reps

• Sit-ups = One set of 20 reps

• V-ups = Two sets of 8–12 reps

• Leg raise = One set of 8–12 reps

• Dips between two benches = Two sets of 8–12 reps (free weight)

Day 2: Repeat

Day 3: Repeat

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Repeat

Day 6: Repeat

Day 7: Repeat

About Bonginkosi:

• He works as an accommodation administrator at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof mine near Westonaria
• He is originally from a Newcastle farm in KwaZulu-Natal
• He has competed in many bodybuilding events locally and abroad, including:
Winning Mr Fitness Model at the IBFF World Championships in Italy 2016; placing 11th at a World Fitness Federation (WFF) competition in South Korea in June 2019; and winning the Mr Fitness Model title at the IBFF World Championships in Midrand in September that same year.
Other local competitions he won include the South African Championships hosted by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) and IBFF. He is also a qualified NABBA judge since 2017.