One facet of COVID-19 that doesn’t necessarily affect everyone is weight training and gym-based exercise.

Most gyms in the Topeka area are closed: Washburn’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center, SRWC, is closed and the new Crunch Fitness is as well. That means the majority of students are forced to partake in alternatives.

Realizing the general populace will be stuck at home itching to channel their stir-crazy feelings and be productive – Hollywood fitness icon and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and star Dolph Lundgren went to Reddit and Instagram to reach out.

Attaching photo demonstrations to accompany the exercises, Schwarzenegger listed the routine below, recommending doing it every other day – “reps” stand for repetitions:

Push-Ups

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Dips between chairs

Beginner: 20 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Row between chairs

Beginner: 30 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Sit-ups

Beginner: 30 Reps

Advanced: 100 Reps

Bent leg raises

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Bent-over twists

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Knee bends (squats)

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50-70 Reps

Calf raises

Beginner: 25 Reps

Advanced: 50 Reps

Chin-ups

Beginner: 10 Reps

Advanced: 30 Reps

Stating his reasoning for putting out the Reddit post, Schwarzenegger said:

“We can control how responsible we are right now. We can slow down the spread of the virus by staying at home as much as possible. I know that isn’t easy, but right now it’s our responsibility. Most of us will be fine if we get the virus. This is a time not to think about yourself, but to think about the people you could be infecting. Be a part of the solution and stay home every chance you can. That means no bars, no restaurants, no gatherings, and you’ll all be shocked to hear this from me, but no gyms. Even without a gym, we can also control our physical fitness during this pandemic. Body weight, or freehand, training is the oldest method in the world.”

As for Lundgren, he took to Instagram posting a video demonstrating the following exercises as well as posting the circuit in the description of the video, instructing to do 3 rounds of the circuit:

May try to do a graphic here as well. Better than listing out this information. More appealing.

1a: one arm shoulder press – 15 reps each

1b: biceps curl – 15 reps slow descent

1c: rows – 15 reps

2a: pull down – 15 reps

2b: chest press – 15 reps

2c: one-legged RDL – 15 reps ea

3a: slow descent squats – 15 reps

3b: triceps overhead – 15 reps

3c: narrow push-ups – 15 reps”

The catch with Lundgren’s though is that he recommends a resistance tube as well as a resistance mini band to accomplish these.

I haven’t tried Lundgren’s yet. I have tried Schwarzenegger’s and although nothing is quite as satisfying as bench pressing, deadlifting, squatting and push-pressing at the gym – it is quite close if you go for all the reps he recommends.

While both are two infinity stones to my personal fitness motivator infinity gauntlet, I hope that other members occupying this group will post similar routines: Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme specifically have high name recognition, and the more routines and tips for people at home, the better.

Edited by Wesley Tabor, Diana Martinez-Ponce, Hannah Alleyne