I got an email from a guy a while back that said that he wanted to start doing the Visual Impact workout but couldn’t because he didn’t belong to a gym. He was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to follow Rusty’s Visual Impact workout without a bunch of equipment or machines. I told him that I was eventually going to do this workout at home and when I did, I would let him know what exercises and changes that I made.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I am now doing the Visual Impact workout at home because I kind of lost my desire to train at a gym around a bunch of people. I don’t know why, but sometimes I just don’t feel like being social. I guess I am screwed since all we ever hear about is social media like Facebook and Twitter. 
I thought that it would be cool to take the Visual Impact workout and convert it to strictly bodyweight exercises. At some point, I still may do that, but after months of doing just bodyweight training, I was itching to lift with weights again. So, I will leave that for a rainy day.
I finally got my adjustable dumbells from Bowflex that go from 10-90 lbs with a quickness and an adjustable flat-incline-decline bench. I ordered them from DirectBuy and had to wait for them to come in. I was willing to wait though, since it was such a good price.
[Here are my adjustable dumbells. I really need to build a stand for them to set on. They make a stand but I am too cheap to pay for something that I can build myself.]
Rusty actually does a great job in the Visual Impact ebook of giving alternate exercises that you can use in place of the recommended ones. In fact, there is a 227 page ebook that comes with the program that has a ton of exercises that are grouped in to phases that coincide with the three phases of the Visual Impact workout. It really can’t get any easier than this! This is pretty typical of Rusty. He usually over-delivers on anything that he does.
This ebook has demonstrations of each exercise as well as photos and descriptions. If you don’t have a lot of equipment, you can easily find a number of exercises that you can use in place or even find different ones for a change. I am now on week three of Phase One and all that I am using is my adjustable dumbells, my pull up and dip bars, and my suspension trainer and I am having some great workouts.
Visual Impact Workout Home Equipment
[Here is my bench, my dip bars, and my pull up bar that I made out of black pipe.]
Visual Impact Workout Alternative Exercises
Here are a few examples of some of the alternate exercises that I have been doing with my Visual Impact workouts. If you train at home with limited equipment and have been wanting to try Visual Impact, this may help you to implement these in to your own workouts,
Chest:
This is easy. I just do dumbells in place of barbells for incline or flat bench press. Obviously I use dumbells for flyes and close grip push ups to finish it off.
Shoulders:
Just as easy as chest using dumbells in place of barbells. For any machine work, I just do another shoulder exercise but use lower weight and concentrate on form more.
Back:
I use my pull up bar for pull ups. I do dumbell rows and pullovers. With 90 lb. dumbells, I should be okay for a while.
Legs:
This can be a little tricky although I have been doing fine doing dumbell squats and dumbell bulgarian deadlifts. If you are really in to going heavy on legs, you may want to get a barbell, although I am over doing 500 lb. squats and deadlifts! I feel fine just working out with dumbells for now.
Arms:
Biceps are easy training with dumbells and don’t really need any explanation. Triceps can be trained with dips, dumbells, as well as resistance bands, and any kind of suspension training. I have a U.S.A. which stands for Universal Strength Apparatus and is a really great piece of equipment. I can do tricep extensions with it and adjust the resistance depending on where I grab hold of them. The lower you hold, the harder the exercise is.
[Here is the USA suspension trainer. It is pretty cool and you can do a lot of body weight exercises with it. If you want to do one legged squats but don't have great balance, these will help you to do them.]
Without getting in to too much detail, ( I don’t think Rusty would want me to give away his entire program) 
hopefully you can see that you can easily do a great program like the Visual Impact workout at home with minimal equipment. Rusty has given me permission to give away one of the tactics of the visual impact workout, called “The Shrinkwrap Effect”. If you haven’t read it yet, you can get it here.
If you have any questions about an exercise or any examples of changes that you have made, let me know with a comment below. So regardless of if you train in a gym or at home, you should give the Visual Impact workout a try.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool setup Kelly and good job building the pullup bar!
I actually really like working out with dumbbells — sounds like you’ve got a good plan for the VI workout at home.
Kevin@Fitness B&W´s last [type] ..The Burpees Exercise Will Prepare You For Combat — Well- At The Least Whip You Into Shape
I really like your set up, Kelly. My basement gym is looking better and better as well. How are you liking those adjustable dumbbells? Would you recommend them over regular ones?
Also the Universal Strength Apparatus you got looks really good. I can already think of dozens of exercises to try on that.
Nice post overall! The alternative exercises you listed are great.
Srdjan-Bloom to Fit´s last [type] ..What is so BAD About Sugar
Kevin,
Thanks. The pull up bar really works great. It is about as solid as you can get. I was in Home Depot one day and saw a display that they had and it gave me the idea for it and then I made the dip bars the same way.
Srdjan,
I really like the adjustable dumbells. They take up less space and are less expensive than regular dumbells. They go from 10 lbs up to 90 lbs. all in 5 lb. increments so they actually take the place of around 17 different sets of dumbells! They are really smooth and easy to change the settings so far. We’ll see how they hold up. I will keep you posted.
-Kelly
I’m loving your setup on that home gym!
One thing you can add for legs exercises perhaps are weighted jump squats by simply holding light to moderately heavy dumbbells.
-Sam
Sam- Look Like An Athlete´s last [type] ..Kettlebell Workout Routines- Pick Up Some Steel And Chisel Your Body
that looks like a pretty solid workout space, there seem to be a lot of different exercises that you can do with that setup. I totally understand that some people don’t want to hit the gym, and having something in your home can help the time factor as well.
Kelly,
Great explaination as always. I was in a similar situation when I stared visual impact. Providing minimal equipment alternatives for visual impact is a great way to get people started.
When people first read though the course, they might get the impression that you would need a gym membership or require access to a lot of equipment.
Love the suspension set up. Pulling exercises seem to be the toughest to replace and you did a great job addressing that issue.
Cheers,
Jordan
Jordan – The Healthy Teacher´s last [type] ..Top 10 Paleo Recipes
Kelly,
I completed Visual Impact 100% at home, in fact using the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells and an adjustable bench. These two pieces of equipment have been by far the best fitness investments I have ever made. Once you get used to the feel of the dumbbells, I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I do!
Alykhan
Like your set up.
I could not get use to the Bowflex dumbbells, I have a set of powerblocks and find them much better. After doing a front squat with a powerblock there is no other adjustable dumbbell I would use. But I guess in the end weigh is weight.
Jason – Fitness Workouts´s last [type] ..Cardio Lose Weight Interval Training Workouts 1
Awesome set up…wish I was this organized. I feel like my home gym is a mismatch of barbells, dumbbells, a dip/pullup station, and a few cardio machines. Some day I may have to reorganize like you. As for Visual Impact, I think bodyweight exercises and adjustable dumbbells should be enough for someone to succeed in gaining muscle and then burning off a little excess fat.
Thanks for the update Kelly. I’ll have to take a better look at these as I’m looking to invest in some dumbbells for my basement gym. It’s either between these or a set of old school dumbbells
Srdjan-Bloom to Fit´s last [type] ..Kettlebell Training and 3 Powerful Kettlebell Routines
Sam,
Yeah there are a ton of possibilities and variations. I am really liking it so far.
Terry,
The time factor is the main thing that I am loving. It takes me about half the time to workout now that there is no travel time.
Jordan,
I haven’t even scratched the surface with all of the exercises that you can do with that suspension trainer. It is pretty awesome!
Jason,
Yeah weight is weight. The bowflex dumbells are a little long though. It takes a little time to get used to them.
Dave,
Thanks. I don’t think anyone ever called me organized! Please don’t tell my wife or I may have to get more organized at other stuff as well!
Srdjan,
I think old school dumbells would be better if you had the room to put them all and didn’t mind spending a lot more money. I would take the trade off with the adjustable ones. They take up little room, cost less, and are easy to switch weight.
-Kelly
Nice pics… It’s cool to see the USA suspension trainer, I don’t know of many people that use those. I’m a big isometrics and body weight fan so it’s cool to see that in action.
I don’t know too much about Rusty’s product, but as a husband and father of 2 young boys (3.5 years and 4 weeks!), I just can’t go to the gym. I’m looking back into cool body weight workouts and play ground workouts I can do with the kids when I take them to the park. It’s getting warm here in Chicago too so I should be able to get some good workouts in over the next few months.
Raza
Raza – Workout Routines Guy´s last [type] ..Killer Bodyweight Cardio Workout to Burn Fat
I’m a big fan of the adjustable dumbbells as well. I don’t have a whole lot of room for doing exercise at home so need to make the most of it by keeping equipment to a minimum.
I haven’t had a chance to check out the visual impact stuff yet, but it’s good to know it can be done at home as well as the gym.
Can you tell us more about this? I’d care to find out more details.