Tips for home fitness? Specifically strength training.

Daenae18

The building I live in has a gym, which is great because I can't afford an actual one. But it only has a bike machine, a treadmill and a cross trainer. I want to start incorporating strength training into my exercise, which is a bit difficult when I live in a tiny apartment, and the gym has no weights or weight machines.

I really, absolutely, cannot afford to join a gym. Does anybody have any tips or links?

girlwithcurls2

A $5 app for You Are Your Own Gym. It's kicking my *kitten*, in a good way. I want a bodyweight program because I'm not sure where I'll be in a year's time (or two) and I want to be able to continue a good, structured program. So far, this guy delivers.

BiggeA

Save some milk gallon jugs and fill them with water / sand. You can use them as a set of dumbbells.

If you're patient you can watch Craigslist and find good deals on free weights eventually. Around .10-.50 cents per pound. Many people buy weight sets and stop using them. When they collect enough dust people practically give them away.

Cahgetsfit

BiggeA wrote: »

Save some milk gallon jugs and fill them with water / sand. You can use them as a set of dumbbells.

If you're patient you can watch Craigslist and find good deals on free weights eventually. Around .10-.50 cents per pound. Many people buy weight sets and stop using them. When they collect enough dust people practically give them away.

This. I bought a bench and some adjustable old-skool dumbells - you know those ancient ones where you load the plates on either side? I got 40kg worth of plates (in lots of 1.25kg, 2.5kg and 5kg) for cheap. Wouldn't even need the bench really. I stack the weight on the DB and can do goblet squats, use them for upper body workouts, hold them and step up and down on a kitchen chair, lunges... pretty handy. Also got a cheap chin up bar from K mart for like $15. Probably even cheaper in the USA. Kmart surprisingly has cheap workout stuff.

xvolution

BiggeA wrote: »

Save some milk gallon jugs and fill them with water / sand. You can use them as a set of dumbbells.

If you're patient you can watch Craigslist and find good deals on free weights eventually. Around .10-.50 cents per pound. Many people buy weight sets and stop using them. When they collect enough dust people practically give them away.

This is what I do when I need either 8 pound or 15 pound weights [I currently only have two "old-school" dumbbells and 4 7.5lb plates]. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, while a gallon of sand weighs 15.

canadianlbs

BiggeA wrote: »

Save some milk gallon jugs and fill them with water / sand. You can use them as a set of dumbbells.

i suggest sand or some other solid, unless you want extra stabilization challenge. water sloshes too much <--- sez the woman who once tried to do turkish getups using the water approach.

sandbag squats are fun. so are farmer and suitcase carries. i get a kind of a kick out of laundry day now, because it feels like i'm getting some sneaky accessory work done at the same time.