Lifting for women AT HOME

ryliejaiden
ryliejaiden Posts: 68
edited December 18 in Fitness and Exercise
I can't go to the gym so I generally rely on cardio like hiking, walking, stairs, etc. for exercise. I really want to start lifting, but will have to do it from home. Anyone have good tips/routines/ANYTHING for helping me get a good strength training routine down at home?
Thanks in advance! :)
«1

Replies

  • look for the book Convict Conditioning. it teaches you how to use your bodyweight, a door, and a wall to simulate the same kinds of weight lifting you can get in a gym. it is excellent.
  • adietron
    adietron Posts: 155
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.

    The problem with P90x is it's a HUGE investment in time. 1-1.5hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. If you're a parent, it ain't happening.

    My bodyweight strength training program I used is STUPIDLY effective, and is designed to mimic the results of heavy weights (you do 5 seds of exercises designed to cause you to fail within 5-6 reps...which equates to strength training).

    This is the protocol:
    Some of you have been curious about my workout that I used to lose the initial 35+lbs at home. Well, it was 100% bodyweight based, no weights. I'll lay it out here:

    This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set (I use a FT7 HRM and keep my heart rate over 140). The explanations of the exercises you'll use for each group are farther below.

    Workout A
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
    1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
    2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

    Workout B
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
    1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
    1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
    2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

    Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

    Explanations of exercise in order of difficulty (easy-hard)
    1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
    2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
    3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
    4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
    5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
    6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
    7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
    8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
    9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
    10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

    None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

    The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

    The only thing about it that's NOT free, is the pull up bar. If you can swing something to do pullups without one, even that's free.

    As for the results...well, I lost 40lbs in 3mos, performing very little exercise other than this (I did HIIT heavy bag work on off days sometimes). To clarify, that's 3 days a week, 1hr a day...and no other workout.

    Here's some pictures to illustrate:

    7434194_8492.jpg7434194_7770.jpg
    7434194_4814.jpg7434194_6530.jpg

    If you do end up using the above plan, and have any questions...feel free to ask here or PM me, I'll be glad to help!
  • ThePhoenixRose
    ThePhoenixRose Posts: 1,978 Member
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.

    The problem with P90x is it's a HUGE investment in time. 1-1.5hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. If you're a parent, it ain't happening.

    My bodyweight strength training program I used is STUPIDLY effective, and is designed to mimic the results of heavy weights (you do 5 seds of exercises designed to cause you to fail within 5-6 reps...which equates to strength training).

    This is the protocol:
    Some of you have been curious about my workout that I used to lose the initial 35+lbs at home. Well, it was 100% bodyweight based, no weights. I'll lay it out here:

    This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set (I use a FT7 HRM and keep my heart rate over 140). The explanations of the exercises you'll use for each group are farther below.

    Workout A
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
    1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
    2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

    Workout B
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
    1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
    1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
    2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

    Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

    Explanations of exercise in order of difficulty (easy-hard)
    1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
    2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
    3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
    4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
    5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
    6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
    7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
    8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
    9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
    10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

    None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

    The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

    The only thing about it that's NOT free, is the pull up bar. If you can swing something to do pullups without one, even that's free.

    As for the results...well, I lost 40lbs in 3mos, performing very little exercise other than this (I did HIIT heavy bag work on off days sometimes). To clarify, that's 3 days a week, 1hr a day...and no other workout.

    Here's some pictures to illustrate:

    7434194_8492.jpg7434194_7770.jpg
    7434194_4814.jpg7434194_6530.jpg

    If you do end up using the above plan, and have any questions...feel free to ask here or PM me, I'll be glad to help!

    Awesome info! might have to give this a try! would be ince to do this on off days from running!
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    My son wanted to do pull-ups and asked a PT at the gym what he could us if he didn't have a proper pull-up bar, and he told him to go to the local school/park and use the play equipment ... he also said that parks/schools are fantastic because they have benches to do box jumps on .... he had a long list of play equipment that could be used as gym equipment.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    I have just started doing new rules of lifting for women at home. I think it would be more convenient/effective at the gym, but it looks like it is certainly going to be possible at home, adding small amounts of equipment as I go. I have started out with a swiss ball, barbell and dumbbells, I am going to get an aerobics step to double as a weights bench soon (even better if you can afford a weights bench and squat rack) and a pull up bar when I need one, as well as extra weight plates of course.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Awesome info! might have to give this a try! would be ince to do this on off days from running!

    For sure!! It's very effective strength training (the guy that wrote the program is STUPIDLY built...not just lean and cut like you'd expect from bodyweight).
    My son wanted to do pull-ups and asked a PT at the gym what he could us if he didn't have a proper pull-up bar, and he told him to go to the local school/park and use the play equipment ... he also said that parks/schools are fantastic because they have benches to do box jumps on .... he had a long list of play equipment that could be used as gym equipment.

    For sure!! Have him go to www.bodyweightculture.com, or search it on youtube. That's where I got my program...and those guys are CRAZY strong! Playgrounds are where they do their thing lol.
  • taxidermist15
    taxidermist15 Posts: 677 Member
    bumpity bump
  • aekaya
    aekaya Posts: 163 Member
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.

    The problem with P90x is it's a HUGE investment in time. 1-1.5hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. If you're a parent, it ain't happening.

    My bodyweight strength training program I used is STUPIDLY effective, and is designed to mimic the results of heavy weights (you do 5 seds of exercises designed to cause you to fail within 5-6 reps...which equates to strength training).

    This is the protocol:
    Some of you have been curious about my workout that I used to lose the initial 35+lbs at home. Well, it was 100% bodyweight based, no weights. I'll lay it out here:

    This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set (I use a FT7 HRM and keep my heart rate over 140). The explanations of the exercises you'll use for each group are farther below.

    Workout A
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
    1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
    2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

    Workout B
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
    1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
    1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
    2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

    Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

    Explanations of exercise in order of difficulty (easy-hard)
    1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
    2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
    3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
    4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
    5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
    6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
    7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
    8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
    9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
    10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

    None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

    The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

    The only thing about it that's NOT free, is the pull up bar. If you can swing something to do pullups without one, even that's free.

    As for the results...well, I lost 40lbs in 3mos, performing very little exercise other than this (I did HIIT heavy bag work on off days sometimes). To clarify, that's 3 days a week, 1hr a day...and no other workout.

    Here's some pictures to illustrate:

    7434194_8492.jpg7434194_7770.jpg
    7434194_4814.jpg7434194_6530.jpg

    If you do end up using the above plan, and have any questions...feel free to ask here or PM me, I'll be glad to help!

    Holy crap that's awesome!
  • cjsanford63
    cjsanford63 Posts: 19 Member
    Bump
  • ryliejaiden
    ryliejaiden Posts: 68
    Thanks for all the replies so far!!
    Just to clarify, I'm looking to do heavy lifting.

    And I totally 2nd the playground idea. The first thing I thought of when I heard "pull up bar" was monkey bars :)
  • ryliejaiden
    ryliejaiden Posts: 68
    @crisanderson2 Thanks for your help! I've done P90X and didn't get the results or workout I was looking for. Your routine looks great, I'll definitely be giving it a try!
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    @crisanderson2 Thanks for your help! I've done P90X and didn't get the results or workout I was looking for. Your routine looks great, I'll definitely be giving it a try!

    No problem...glad to help! Just make sure the exercises you choose are difficult enough where you can only do 5 in a row...or you won't benefit from them. For example, if you can do 5*5 full pushups without real strain...you'll need to switch to decline pushups, etc. If you can do 5*5 Hindu pushups, switch up to hand stand pushups. By the time I quit and got a gym membership, I was doing 25 hand stand pushups...with almost no break between the fives.
  • bump, thank you some great tips :o)
  • medlicott68
    medlicott68 Posts: 35
    BUMP some great info here. Will take a while to digest it all
  • hcoburn37
    hcoburn37 Posts: 442 Member
    bump for later
  • Weaz66
    Weaz66 Posts: 1,846 Member
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.

    The problem with P90x is it's a HUGE investment in time. 1-1.5hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. If you're a parent, it ain't happening.

    My bodyweight strength training program I used is STUPIDLY effective, and is designed to mimic the results of heavy weights (you do 5 seds of exercises designed to cause you to fail within 5-6 reps...which equates to strength training).

    This is the protocol:
    Some of you have been curious about my workout that I used to lose the initial 35+lbs at home. Well, it was 100% bodyweight based, no weights. I'll lay it out here:

    This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set (I use a FT7 HRM and keep my heart rate over 140). The explanations of the exercises you'll use for each group are farther below.

    Workout A
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
    1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
    2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

    Workout B
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
    1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
    1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
    2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

    Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

    Explanations of exercise in order of difficulty (easy-hard)
    1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
    2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
    3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
    4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
    5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
    6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
    7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
    8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
    9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
    10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

    None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

    The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

    The only thing about it that's NOT free, is the pull up bar. If you can swing something to do pullups without one, even that's free.

    As for the results...well, I lost 40lbs in 3mos, performing very little exercise other than this (I did HIIT heavy bag work on off days sometimes). To clarify, that's 3 days a week, 1hr a day...and no other workout.

    Here's some pictures to illustrate:

    7434194_8492.jpg7434194_7770.jpg
    7434194_4814.jpg7434194_6530.jpg

    If you do end up using the above plan, and have any questions...feel free to ask here or PM me, I'll be glad to help!


    Thanks for the info
  • ZoAnnAlexis
    ZoAnnAlexis Posts: 34
    BUMP :)
  • Lula16
    Lula16 Posts: 628 Member
    you can try Les Mills PUMP from beachbody. They offer payment plans. I started it 2 wks ago and its one of the best investments I spent money on! good luck!
  • erineddy81
    erineddy81 Posts: 43 Member
    Well my intro to fitness was Basic training, and it is pretty much made up of bodyweight work and running. I am a HUGE fan of pushups, and have recently started being able to do full bw pullups. And I love taking the kids to the park, always turns into an extra workout for me ;). Took them to the school park for a bit yesterday, ran a few quick miles and knocked out a few sets of pullups, pushups and chinups ;) I am sooo not the mom you wanna mess with ;) lol
  • martielou
    martielou Posts: 50 Member
    Bump! Thx!
  • StrawberrySt
    StrawberrySt Posts: 235
    BUMP :bigsmile:
  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
    bump
  • mamakira
    mamakira Posts: 366
    bump
  • lisa28115
    lisa28115 Posts: 17,271 Member
    bump
  • SteffieMark
    SteffieMark Posts: 1,719 Member
    Thanks for this info.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    p90x is designed to be done at home, with minimal investment in a set of dumbells or bands.

    Also, search the app store on your phone for the Nike training (NTC) app. It's women-specific, and again, little investment in weights or medicine ball. With most of the drills you have the option of not using weights at all.

    The problem with P90x is it's a HUGE investment in time. 1-1.5hrs a day, 6-7 days a week. If you're a parent, it ain't happening.

    My bodyweight strength training program I used is STUPIDLY effective, and is designed to mimic the results of heavy weights (you do 5 seds of exercises designed to cause you to fail within 5-6 reps...which equates to strength training).

    This is the protocol:
    Some of you have been curious about my workout that I used to lose the initial 35+lbs at home. Well, it was 100% bodyweight based, no weights. I'll lay it out here:

    This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set (I use a FT7 HRM and keep my heart rate over 140). The explanations of the exercises you'll use for each group are farther below.

    Workout A
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
    1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
    2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

    Workout B
    1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
    1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
    1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
    1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
    2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
    2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

    Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

    Explanations of exercise in order of difficulty (easy-hard)
    1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
    2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
    3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
    4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
    5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
    6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
    7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
    8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
    9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
    10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

    None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

    The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

    The only thing about it that's NOT free, is the pull up bar. If you can swing something to do pullups without one, even that's free.

    As for the results...well, I lost 40lbs in 3mos, performing very little exercise other than this (I did HIIT heavy bag work on off days sometimes). To clarify, that's 3 days a week, 1hr a day...and no other workout.

    Here's some pictures to illustrate:

    7434194_8492.jpg7434194_7770.jpg
    7434194_4814.jpg7434194_6530.jpg

    If you do end up using the above plan, and have any questions...feel free to ask here or PM me, I'll be glad to help!

    BUMP:happy:
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