Anyone do only or predominantly body weight exercises?

emmab0902

I am looking for a home strength workout for the weeks when work and life mean I can't get to the gym. I have dumbells ranging from 7 to 13lbs, and my own body!

Can anyone recommend a good resource for bodyweight and minimal equipment strength training?

Momkat65

bump for later

Kym1610

There are heaps of stuff you can do from home. Sit ups, crunches, squats (with or with dumb bells) Lunges (can also be done using weights). Push-ups. I am sure there is a proper name but I call them backwards squats (you put your hands back on a low bench or a decent size pot plant etc and you push youself up and down). There are heaps of DVD's that focus on this kind of weight training.
Here is a website that has a few more on it http://health.ninemsn.com.au/fitness/exercise/694916/at-home-exercises
If you are looking for more perhaps google exercise at home etc

ladykate7

Burpees. I think that's what they are called. Its a sequence of moves, requires no equipment. I've seen different variations in the moves but try searching it online and see what you find. There are probably a ton of youtube videos, I think they started as a military thing.

Also, dips are great for triceps. You can do them off nearly any flat elevated surface, I did them on the loveseat in the women's bathroom at my old job. (every time I went in there I had to do ten, that was my rule), co-workers thought I was nuts but they got used to it and I even saw a few other people doing it too. But a kitchen chair, a couch, the kitchen counter, bathroom counter, heck even the side of the tub if you have room for your legs. Just something sturdy.

Arm circles, old school like in grade school. round and round one direction in small circles, switch directions, then do it all again but with big circles. You'll be surprised to see how much this does for your arms if you do it everyday.

Squats & lunges with or without weights.

Push-ups, There are a lot of variations, even up to one-arm push-ups from your toes. I'm just glad to do 8 in good form from my knees!

Steps in any building. just haul butt up and down. Go fast and nimble, slow and methodical, take two at a time. Don't do a ton at first, you're body has to get used to the impact. There's something about stairs and hills that can kick your body's butt in no time.

Jumping jacks - those really get my heart rate up fast!

With your weights there are tons of options. look up dumbbell exercises online or just lifting in general. There are lots of free resources for exercises that way. I go for the exercises that I see on multiple websites.

I like to keep my old magazines, they all seem to have workouts in them. Exercises don't change, only the trend. You can check out magazines at the library or make notes/copies of them. They get themed- yoga, stretching, butt, arms, wedding, least worked muscles blah blah blah, just pick out the ones that are body weight or use weights only.

Of course sit-ups/crunches and all that jazz.

If you're looking to buy a dvd, I HIGHLY recommend "the bar method" accelerated workout. with Burr Leonard, I think I got it on amazon for $20. unfortunately it isn't on netflix for easy renting. I use a kitchen chair in place of their ballet bar - its really only needed to hang onto for balance & I don't bother with the stretching strap, its not critical to the workout one bit.The routine is body weight with a few exercises with hand weights and they cover everywhere in the 50 minutes. Its definitely a strength workout. And you can do the moves anywhere without the dvd if you remember how to do them.

cee134

For little investment, you can get kettle-bells and resistance bands which work really well and there are tons of exercises for them. Kettle-bells are more effective then dumbbells. If not, then push ups, bicep curls, wrist curls, leg lunges or squats with or without dumbbells, and sit ups*, is a great core exercise routine away from the gym. (*Straight Leg Drops, Bicycle maneuver, Captain's chair, crunches are not as effective a use of time as these other abdominal exercises). (pull ups if you have an area for it)

scarletleavy

Bodyrock.tv

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I have subscribed to Shah Training newsletter. The website focuses on bodyweight exercises that many FBI, SWAT, military men & women are also doing.

Check this out:

http://shahtraining.com

Some of their articles:

Bodyweight Training: How To Burn Fat And Build Muscle Without A Gym‏
http://1fce0koouc911m8e1mg2w8ze2w.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=EMAIL

Bodyweight Exercise For Fat Loss: Shed The Pounds!
http://cfa5d9nf2biw8lblylqhw4yh00.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=email

chuckyp

"The Naked Warrior" by Pavel Tsatsouline is one possibility. I own this book and apparently it's also available on DVD now. You can find it a bit cheaper at Amazon.
http://www.dragondoor.com/shop-by-department/books/b28/

My staple bodyweight strength training exercises are push-ups, pull-ups, and dips.
I also use kettlebells for a great combo strength/cardio workout. You can really smoke yourself with just one kettlebell in a very short time. Good workouts.

supertracylynn

I do a quick routine a few times:
Sit ups
Tricep dips
Pop squats (though any good- form squat will do)
Reverse crunches
Pushups
Lunges to kneeling, hold back leg up as you return to standing position.

All reps are done for about a minute. 2 sets done back-to-back can be quite the workout!

emmab0902

My staple bodyweight strength training exercises are push-ups, pull-ups, and dips.
I also use kettlebells for a great combo strength/cardio workout. You can really smoke yourself with just one kettlebell in a very short time. Good workouts.

I would love to be able to do ONE pullup - I have recently found a graduated approach to doing pullups so am going to start that!

IronSmasher

http://www.marklauren.com/

emmab0902

Thanks for all the awesome replies!