Strength Training without gym/weights
Replies
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Try one leg squats. More than double the weight per leg of using both legs at the same time.
Lmao. Seriously? Ok you got me.
If I find someone at my gym doing one legged squats like that I will write them a check to buy some weights at the store.
joe what gym do you work out at and when will you be there
I'd also like to know, but for completely different reasons :blushing:
I just saw this. ;-)0 -
Ever run into this guy there?Gold's Gym - Washington DC on Capitol Hill
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Ever run into this guy there?Gold's Gym - Washington DC on Capitol Hill
HAHA no. He belongs to Planet Fitness (the wimpy gym).
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Try one leg squats. More than double the weight per leg of using both legs at the same time.
Lmao. Seriously? Ok you got me.
If I find someone at my gym doing one legged squats like that I will write them a check to buy some weights at the store.
joe what gym do you work out at and when will you be there
Gold's Gym - Washington DC on Capitol Hill
I'm there Tues, Wed, Sat, and Sun from 6:30am - 8:00am.
Will you spot me on the flat bench before I write you a check? lol
ya i got you covered0 -
Do lunges while holding your weights, holding them at your sides and raising your elbows outwards every time you take a step/lunge.
Killer burn!
Resistance bands are cheap, too. You can Youtube simple exercises to use with them, and they do pretty much what regular weights would target.0 -
Start with what you have, and build up from there. When my 5# dumbbells stopped being a challenge, I started lifting at the gym. But you can also switch up to gallon jugs from milk filled with water or sand, or kitty litter buckets.
And you can check the classifieds in your local paper or Craigslist for used weights dirt cheap. In about two months, people will have given up on their New Year's Resolutions, and starting their spring cleaning, so they'll be ditching their equipment.0 -
There's absolutely nothing wrong with starting out doing bodyweight exercises and then adding in those weights you have. Hopefully, eventually, your budget will open up enough so that you can either buy some heavier weights or join a gym.
You can google bodyweight and/or at home exercises that will give you a lot of great ideas. Some things to start with: push-ups, sit-ups, planks (and variations - mountain climber, plank jacks, twists, etc), squats, lunges, tricep dips. And of course my favorite - shadow boxing. Mix in some combo moves like squat/shoulder press (go down in to a squat with the weights in your hands and when you come up, do a shoulder press), side lunges with lateral raise or forward lunge with a wide bicep curl (got a lot of these ideas from Jillian Michael's DVDs). For something like bicep curls, I'd start out by doing some slow concentrated curls where you're really thinking about the muscle contraction and do several sets until you feel that muscle fatigue. Then once that becomes too easy, double up the weights and do one side at a time.
Check out your local library for exercise DVDs or books about exercise for more ideas.0 -
Try one leg squats. More than double the weight per leg of using both legs at the same time.
Lmao. Seriously? Ok you got me.
If I find someone at my gym doing one legged squats like that I will write them a check to buy some weights at the store.
joe what gym do you work out at and when will you be there
Gold's Gym - Washington DC on Capitol Hill
I'm there Tues, Wed, Sat, and Sun from 6:30am - 8:00am.
Will you spot me on the flat bench before I write you a check? lol
I'm totally stalking you in like 10 days just to make all the other girls jealous.
Never mind, that's like a 40 minute drive from Rockville.0 -
If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?0 -
Who said that they don't have that right? The debate is over the benefits of heavy lifting. :noway:A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?0 -
If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?
CertainIy, start off with what's a chaIIenge, but wouIdn't you agree that one wiII eventuaIIy get accustomed to using a certain weight at some point, therefore they shouId up the weight to continue progress0 -
Really it boils down to this, if you want to strength train you need to lift in sets with short reps aiming to make it through your set with the last few reps as a serious challenge (you really want the whole thing to be a challenge). If you want to endurance train with weights, which is different from strength training, you do lots and lots of reps at a lighter weight. I teach bodypump classes and squat 60 pounds for 5 minutes, that's endurance trainiing. I also work in the weight room and squat double that or better in 2 sets of 8 - 10 reps for strength training.
What will work for you for strength training all depends on where you are starting. If you are not used to squatting and bw is a challenge then rock the bw squat, but progressively add weight over time (I try to add 5 pounds to squats each week for example), otherwise you stregth training will stall. If you don't have access to weights you can use any object to create resistence (water jugs with progressively heavier contents or more contents to add weight), cans of pumpkin (I used to use the large ones for overhead presses and tris).0 -
Hi everyone!
How can I strength train without gym or weight...Im kinda between a rock and a hard place right now where money is concerned. I cant afford to join a gym or buy weights..I have 3.5kg weights that I bought years ago when I still had a job.But thats it.What CAN i do strength train ?
Check out the bodyweight training resources. There are a ton out there, and contrary to what some of the naysayers who have commented here say, you can build strength on bodyweight alone, the difference is that it's not as "simple" as adding more weight, but rather changes are in the less discrete methods such as changing stance, hand grip, center of mass, etc. to affect your leverage.
Personally, I prefer bodyweight training to weights, because the focus isn't taken off of all the little supporting muscles that a good portion of weight-based workouts the gyms have you do miss out on (unless you have a personal trainer who actually knows the benefits of freeweights over machines). It also forces you to improve on balance and take a more holistic approach to working out (instead of focusing on deltoids or whatever, you work all of the muscles in your arms, chest, and shoulders).
You can get started with the basic pull up (if you have access to a bar that will hold you), push up, and squat. You can also throw in forearm planks for core work if the push ups and squats aren't doing it for you. These are the three basic exercises for BWST, but there's a million different variations to them, all of different intensity levels.
Let's take the squat, for example, since it was one singled out by those who consider weights to be the be-all, end-all:
1. Squat to parallel (thighs parallel to the ground)
2. Full (thigh to butt) squat
3. Assisted one-legged squat
4. One-legged squat to parallel
5. Full one-legged/pistol squat (the small weights you have will actually be great for helping with balance as you work on this)
What makes the pistol squat more challenging is two-fold - the first is that you need a lot of balance (you're doing a full squat on one leg), the second is that you're putting all of your weight *plus* the weight of your off leg on one leg. Additionally, you can continue to make it harder by lifting your off leg higher, until it's parallel to the floor.
Additionally, you can check out Yoga. Also contrary to popular belief, Yoga is great for strength training. In fact, it's from Yoga that you get the forearm plank, which is a popular exercise known as an "isometric hold" (that is, you stay in one position for as long as you can). The Warrior series of poses, as well as Eagle are killer for building leg strength and balance (and are a great complement to Squats), while the myriad of handstand poses help with advanced upper body strength.
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/top-posts/
http://beastskills.com/tutorials/
http://www.dragondoor.com/articles/building-an-olympic-body-through-bodyweight-conditioning/default.aspx
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2010/03/the-fundamentals-of-bodyweight-strength-training/
http://yoga.about.com/b/2008/03/12/yoga-poses-for-strength.htm0 -
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If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?
CertainIy, start off with what's a chaIIenge, but wouIdn't you agree that one wiII eventuaIIy get accustomed to using a certain weight at some point, therefore they shouId up the weight to continue progress
I don't believe a person has to up their weights, but if they want to, they can. I know what I'm aiming for and I don't have to use weights to get there.0 -
If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?
CertainIy, start off with what's a chaIIenge, but wouIdn't you agree that one wiII eventuaIIy get accustomed to using a certain weight at some point, therefore they shouId up the weight to continue progress
I don't believe a person has to up their weights, but if they want to, they can. I know what I'm aiming for and I don't have to use weights to get there.
What are you aiming for?
And in order to increase strength you do in fact have to up the weights to increase progressive overload.0 -
If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?
CertainIy, start off with what's a chaIIenge, but wouIdn't you agree that one wiII eventuaIIy get accustomed to using a certain weight at some point, therefore they shouId up the weight to continue progress
I don't believe a person has to up their weights, but if they want to, they can. I know what I'm aiming for and I don't have to use weights to get there.
What are you aiming for?
And in order to increase strength you do in fact have to up the weights to increase progressive overload.
Dude. "You are ignoring this user"
It's not worth it.0 -
If your dumbeIIs weight Less than your purse, you're doing it wrong!
How much does a purse weighs?
That depends what's in it, Iike sometimes it may be Ioaded with pepper spray and snacks so it'II be Iike 10 Ibs, but the point of my comment is, if a women Iugs a 5 Ibs purse around aII day, she shouIdnt be afraid to use heavier weight than that
A woman has a right to use whatever size weights she wants to use, don't you agree with that?
CertainIy, start off with what's a chaIIenge, but wouIdn't you agree that one wiII eventuaIIy get accustomed to using a certain weight at some point, therefore they shouId up the weight to continue progress
I don't believe a person has to up their weights, but if they want to, they can. I know what I'm aiming for and I don't have to use weights to get there.
What are you aiming for?
And in order to increase strength you do in fact have to up the weights to increase progressive overload.
She wants wicked arms. Just without the muscle!0 -
Bump0
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I never use weights, but I do plenty of strength training. I just do it all with bodyweight exercises in my own home. Videos of my workouts are on youtube: www.youtube.com/mdloughy and then I post the workout breakdown on my blog www.fitnessbender.com
It's totally free, I just do it because I love it and it keeps me motivated. I hope that helps!0 -
I never use weights, but I do plenty of strength training. I just do it all with bodyweight exercises in my own home. Videos of my workouts are on youtube: www.youtube.com/mdloughy and then I post the workout breakdown on my blog www.fitnessbender.com
It's totally free, I just do it because I love it and it keeps me motivated. I hope that helps!
Thank you FitnessBender0 -
I don't believe a person has to up their weights, but if they want to, they can. I know what I'm aiming for and I don't have to use weights to get there.
Some people would rather reach their goals in a timely fashion, rather than spending 13 years spinning their wheels.0 -
Thanks alot..I am hooked on nerdfitness.com That was really helpful..Thank you, thank you !0
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To the OP. If you are a beginner, Uisng your bodyweight is probably sufficent for now. Especially if you are doing a squat properly. ie.. down enough for a legal squat. Jump squats would probably help add some resistance. Along with bands (that are very cheap to buy used).
Eventually, you'll overcome your bodyweight and need to start using more resistance that bands can give.
Note: this is for the OP and is NOT designed to be a reply to anyone else's comments.
Thanks alot..0 -
Great post Dragonwolf.
Progressive resistance is required whether that be from more weight on a db or some of the variations mentioned for bw exercises. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
I personally do both. You know, variety is the spice of life and all
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A recumbent bike with adjustable magnetic resistance...is that considered strength exercise for the legs?0
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CallmeSbo, another option if money is tight is to check with friends who have gym memberships. A lot of places have guest passes for members, so maybe you could tag along once or twice a week.0
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I never use weights, but I do plenty of strength training. I just do it all with bodyweight exercises in my own home. Videos of my workouts are on youtube: www.youtube.com/mdloughy and then I post the workout breakdown on my blog www.fitnessbender.com
It's totally free, I just do it because I love it and it keeps me motivated. I hope that helps!
Yup there is plenty you can do without having to go to a gym. I'm doing virtually all Ashtanga yoga at the moment and it seem to be working well. I need to post some pix.0 -
You're welcome!0
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Use your own body weight. I do lunges which works the legs. I also do squats. Anything that means I have to move my own fat butt with my own muscle.
You aren't improving strength doing just bodyweight squats and lunges. You'll get some muscle endurance on the short term, and thats about it. You need resistance.
Single leg squats like pistol squats will increase leg strength, and maybe by the time they stop working the OP can afford something to add weight to that.0
This discussion has been closed.
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