Alternatives to heavy lifting?

nrbrake
nrbrake Posts: 38 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, I see posts all the time about how amazing lifting can be to cut body fat. I currently don't have a gym membership and I don't want to ask my husband about getting one at this time. Is there anything I can do at home to get similar results to the heavy lifting without any weights or with only a few dumbbells?


Thanks!

Replies

  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    check out the smartphone app 'you are your own gym.'

    You can get pretty far with body weight exercises alone. =)
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    You'll no doubt get a load of posts telling you that bodyweight exercises get to a limit where you have to start using weights to progress but that is not true. Use weights and mix it up with bodyweight to make things more interesting but Bodyweight exercises can be as open-ended as the weights approach if you know how to make the exercise more intense.

    I second GetSoda's recommendation - You Are Your Own Gym, app, website and book by the same name.

    All best!
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    check out the smartphone app 'you are your own gym.'

    You can get pretty far with body weight exercises alone. =)

    This. Also check out Convict Conditioning.
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
    Failure. Anything to failure is kick *kitten* too.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    You'll no doubt get a load of posts telling you that bodyweight exercises get to a limit where you have to start using weights to progress but that is not true. Use weights and mix it up with bodyweight to make things more interesting but Bodyweight exercises can be as open-ended as the weights approach if you know how to make the exercise more intense.

    I second GetSoda's recommendation - You Are Your Own Gym, app, website and book by the same name.

    All best!

    i second this as well! also would say heavy lifting isn't the pinacle of burning fat. curicut training would burn more calories. HIIT is probably king when it comes to burning the most calories in the shortest time plus a prolonged post exercise metabolic effect.
    Failure. Anything to failure is kick *kitten* too.

    as long as you taking any resistance exercise to failure, your creating a muscle building stimulis. the more reps it takes to get there, presumably the more calories you'll burn...
  • cyoka13
    cyoka13 Posts: 288 Member
    You are Your Own Gym is awesome. I am on week 5 of his basic program. My weight has remained the same but I have lost an inch around my belly button. Although I do not know what my exact body fat percentage is, I feel like it has definitely decreased over the past five weeks by following that program and maintaining a 250-300 cal daily deficit. My body just looks leaner and shorts that I could not fit in mid-May now fit.

    He also offers a lot of variations on the body weight exercises so that if you get a point where they are too easy, you can switch it up. My one criticism is that I find the pull exercise in the program unrealistic. He has an exercise that you hold onto a door knob, pull yourself in and then return to start. I have cheap-o doors and I just do not think they will last if I do that. So, I do incorporate resistance bands for pull work.

    I have no idea how far it will take me - but for now, I love it.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    You are Your Own Gym is awesome. I am on week 5 of his basic program. My weight has remained the same but I have lost an inch around my belly button. Although I do not know what my exact body fat percentage is, I feel like it has definitely decreased over the past five weeks by following that program and maintaining a 250-300 cal daily deficit. My body just looks leaner and shorts that I could not fit in mid-May now fit.

    He also offers a lot of variations on the body weight exercises so that if you get a point where they are too easy, you can switch it up. My one criticism is that I find the pull exercise in the program unrealistic. He has an exercise that you hold onto a door knob, pull yourself in and then return to start. I have cheap-o doors and I just do not think they will last if I do that. So, I do incorporate resistance bands for pull work.

    I have no idea how far it will take me - but for now, I love it.

    Body by You- which is based on the same plan, gives you more increments.
  • nrbrake
    nrbrake Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you all for your responses! I'm looking into the things you mentioned now! Also, I'd like to continue losing weight while building muscle since I am still not at a healthy weight... Is this possible or is it likely I'll maintain or lose very little weight since I'd be gaining muscle?...
  • Candy1629
    Candy1629 Posts: 40 Member
    bump
  • BeautifulScarsWECHANGED
    BeautifulScarsWECHANGED Posts: 749 Member
    bump
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Thank you all for your responses! I'm looking into the things you mentioned now! Also, I'd like to continue losing weight while building muscle since I am still not at a healthy weight... Is this possible or is it likely I'll maintain or lose very little weight since I'd be gaining muscle?...

    You might gain a couple ounces of muscle. You'll lose that again once your fat starts to go.
    You WILL pick up a lot of water weight for the first month or so. Don't worry about it.
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
    One of the things I've found annoying on some of the LIFT HEAVY, DUDE! threads is when people chime in to say "I don't do any cardio, just bench, deadlifts, rows and squats" as if that's something to be proud of... focusing simply on muscle and fat but otherwise ignoring heart and lungs? Seems short sighted.

    I appreciate the suggestions - I want to start incorporating muscle work, but there's not much appealing to me about lifting heavy...
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Thank you all for your responses! I'm looking into the things you mentioned now! Also, I'd like to continue losing weight while building muscle since I am still not at a healthy weight... Is this possible or is it likely I'll maintain or lose very little weight since I'd be gaining muscle?...

    nerdfitness.com is another good resource.

    Unfortunately, if you're eating at a deficit, while you might see some newbie gains, you won't build a significant amount of muscle. And to, really, really build muscle, you will need to eventually eat heavy and lift at a surplus. That doesn't mean that doing challenging bodyweight exercises isn't great for you. You'll build strength, and it will help you retain muscle while losing fat instead of losing a combination of fat and muscle.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
    is 'you are your own gym' the app for iphone same as the book, going to check this out sounds good :)
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    is 'you are your own gym' the app for iphone same as the book, going to check this out sounds good :)

    Yes, same as the book and there's a website by the same name with inbuilt forum of like-minded bodyweight exercisers.
  • lauraellie10
    lauraellie10 Posts: 273 Member
    Will catch up with tips tomoro x
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    One of the things I've found annoying on some of the LIFT HEAVY, DUDE! threads is when people chime in to say "I don't do any cardio, just bench, deadlifts, rows and squats" as if that's something to be proud of... focusing simply on muscle and fat but otherwise ignoring heart and lungs? Seems short sighted.

    I appreciate the suggestions - I want to start incorporating muscle work, but there's not much appealing to me about lifting heavy...

    Off topic:
    Most of the people that say that they only lift weights and do no cardio are letting people know that cardio is not necessary for fat loss. Not that you should not do cardio. Lifting weights can be a great heart and lung workout, even when done just for strength training.


    On topic:
    Resistance training promotes the retention of lean body mass while in a caloric deficit. Resistance training does not have to be lifting heavy weights. It can be hill sprints, resistance bands, body weight and so on. As long as you keep pushing yourself harder you should continue to see these benefits. It is easy to increase resistance with weights. With other methods you just have to be more creative.
  • GODfidence
    GODfidence Posts: 249 Member
    Bump
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    bump.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Get some dumbbells too. Some bodyweight exercises are easier to do once you build up your strength with weights.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Get some dumbbells too. Some bodyweight exercises are easier to do once you build up your strength with weights.

    Yes I hate to admit, because I tend to be an all or nothing type person, but my strength gains in pull-ups, push-ups and handstands have all increased through the use of dumbbell rows, curls and shoulder presses. Don't need weights for leg strength yet though as I am working through Pistol Squats - plenty to go on there without ever needing weights.

Categories