Need an effective strength routine.. preferably no weights?

zlottery

SW: 186
CW: 158

Hey guys!

So, as it happens that I had to stop Insanity a couple of weeks ago due to knee pain, I've reverted to elliptical training and running. Unfortunately, this means I've almost completely stopped strength training. I had this issue before Insanity as well, but I cannot find a solid routine to stick to. I would REALLY like to work on abs/arms/butt.. do you have any effective no-weight/dumbbell routines you do to work these areas?

Please be as detailed as possible (times a week, reps and sets, rate at which reps/sets progress, and your success with this routine).

Thank you!

Also: If you have any videos you'd like to recommend, that works too!

*there is such a thing as resistance training, which does not require weights. And Insanity incorporated some pretty intense strength training too.. it just did it simultaneously with cardio.

samkelly89

I have been doing Jillian michaels dvds. I am currently doing the 30 day shred. I do it every day and it is about 27 min long. ( I get it free off youtube) But you do need 2-5 pound weights or full water bottles or something. I really am enjoying what weight training is doing for my body because before I would just run and do zumba every so often. I also like jillian's video "no more trouble zones" which targets arms, butt, and abs. But it is pretty intense and about 50 min long. I do it maybe once a week. Hope this helps a little! I would recomend at least trying the 30 day shred level 1 since it's free on youtube

JustANumber85

I dont know but im glad you asked because I want the same thing- ST without weights.

rkr22401

None of the programs mentioned thus far would be classified as strength training. For the most part, strength training = weights. Insanity, etc. are cardio/conditioning programs.

jaz050465

Theres's a book and an app called something like ' you are your own gym' do a search in this forum about that v

LexyDB

Strength training without weights? You're negating progressive overload to produce hypertrophy if you don't use weights.

Your own body weight will only take you so far as in press ups etc., I'm afraid you'll have to use weights or look for an alternative form of exercise as both compound and isolation exercises with free weights is the best and most effective method of reducing body fat and promoting lean muscle growth.

Yogi_Carl

Strength training without weights? You're negating progressive overload to produce hypertrophy if you don't use weights.

Your own body weight will only take you so far as in press ups etc., I'm afraid you'll have to use weights or look for an alternative form of exercise as both compound and isolation exercises with free weights is the best and most effective method of reducing body fat and promoting lean muscle growth.

Sorry but - not true.

Not saying weight training is not a legitimate way to increase strength - it is, but it is also perfectly possible to progressively load the body itself to keep increasing strength beyond push-ups without resorting to weight training if you don't want to. It is also quite addictive to see how far you can go with just your body and a few props.

Have a look at a website called "You are your own gym" - also a book and an e-book you can download of the same name.

Once you start I'm sure you'll be hooked and you can take your gym pretty much anywhere. Also recommend you buy a pull-up bar - the best exercises by far for biceps, torso and back.

Plenty of challenging stuff on You Tube as well - have a look at Barstars on You Tube.

wmagoo27

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/workouts/

There are some bodyweight workouts on NerdFitness. Maybe these will fit what you are looking for.

wellbert

Strength training without weights? You're negating progressive overload to produce hypertrophy if you don't use weights.

Your own body weight will only take you so far as in press ups etc., I'm afraid you'll have to use weights or look for an alternative form of exercise as both compound and isolation exercises with free weights is the best and most effective method of reducing body fat and promoting lean muscle growth.

Gymnast disagrees. He doesn't lift weights, but he does do a lot more than planks and push ups.

DavPul

Whenever this particular topic comes up, people tend to drift into talking about what CAN be done, versus what WILL be done. Yes, you can transform into an absolute ripped, shredded beast doing bodyweight only work. Will you? Hell no. The gymnast pictured above me is in the Olympics, for pete's sake. Virtually every waking hour of his life for the last decade has been devoted to type of training that produced that physique. The Barstarzz? Those guys are ****ing awesome. Those guys also hang out in the park all day long doing set after set after set. Do you have a job? Then you probably won't end up looking like Hannibal the King.

Yes, you can build an AMAZING body without any weights at all if you're willing to start doing muscle ups at Venice Beach in the middle of the afternoon. But nobody here is talking about muscle ups and ring dips; they are talking about planks and pushups and inverted body rows. No. Not going to get there.

That Nerd Fitness advanced bodyweight is a solid workout. But if you triple it, you've barely reached the point where it's going to do anything for me. How do I know? Because I do approx. triple that work for my metabolic conditioning once per week. That means I'm doing 3x the work for my CARDIO routine, not my strength routine.

There's a lot you can do, but like Cali Girl mentioned, you end up having to do more and more till overuse injuries become something to worry about.

Please be as detailed as possible (times a week, reps and sets, rate at which reps/sets progress, and your success with this routine).

Really? We can suggest sites and books, but asking for us to type complete details is a bit much, no? You Are Your Own Gym was a good recommendation. Amazon has it in stock right now.

BinaryPulsar

^^ Yeah, that's good advice. But, just from a purely educational perspective (so people don't misapply their understanding even to people that do spend all day training at a physical job), it is sometimes nice for people to understand the full range of possibilities (though it is not usually realistic for most people and can lead to overuse injuries).

DavPul

^^ Yeah, that's good advice. But, just from a purely educational perspective (so people don't misapply their understanding even to people that do spend all day training at a physical job), it is sometimes nice for people to understand the full range of possibilities (though it is not usually realistic for most people and can lead to overuse injuries).

Totally agree with you BP. But it quickly drifts from "Hey, looks what's possible!" to "This can be you if you switch out bench presses for pushups!". They see it as a shortcut to going to the gym when in reality the gym IS the shortcut.

running_shoe

Boot camp staples: Push ups, sit ups, lunges, squats.

Yogi_Carl

Totally agree most people on here just won't have the time to build the bodies we are seeing on the photograph above or Barstarz using bodyweight only - not enough hours in the day and yes, high repetitions are a concern.

But if you are not aiming for a more muscular physique but are looking to maximise the strength of the physique you already have and to maintain lean mass while reducing fat then bodyweight becomes a real alternative to weight training.

My main activity is yoga and to have too muscular a body would not stand in my favour though I do need both isometric and moving strength to enjoy yoga to its fullest and I find the balance you need to do a lot of body strength exercises really works for my needs.

More generally, I think there is a place for both weights and bodyweight training; especially pull-ups.

BinaryPulsar

^^ Yeah, that's good advice. But, just from a purely educational perspective (so people don't misapply their understanding even to people that do spend all day training at a physical job), it is sometimes nice for people to understand the full range of possibilities (though it is not usually realistic for most people and can lead to overuse injuries).

Totally agree with you BP. But it quickly drifts from "Hey, looks what's possible!" to "This can be you if you switch out bench presses for pushups!". They see it as a shortcut to going to the gym when in reality the gym IS the shortcut.

I agree. Going to the gym IS the shortcut.

Yogi_Carl

Going to the gym IS the shortcut, but not accessible to everyone. In that case, bodyweight exercise offers another alternative and is a great workout in it's own right. Not superior - just different.

BinaryPulsar

Going to the gym IS the shortcut, but not accessible to everyone. In that case, bodyweight exercise offers another alternative and is a great workout in it's own right. Not superior - just different.

I agree that different people can have different goals.

I do body weight exercises and weights. Both are necessary for me personally and my own personal goals as a dancer and just wanting to be fit.

There are some things I can achieve a lot easier with weights than with body weight exercises and other things I must do for body weight exercises. And each of those things I can use in ways that help me with my past injuries. I'm happy with what I am doing right now, and when that gets too easy I need ways to progress. But, I would only recommend it to people that have similar goals and issues as me.

monty619

strength routine with no weights??? so its just a routine then?

cmfselby

Do some research on resistance training.....that's prolly the best idea for you.

00Melyanna00

Bodyrock.tv

They do mostly bodyweight, especially in the old videos (they seem to be using more and more equipment lately).
All their videos are free.

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

Nerd Fitness as suggested by one of the commenters above is also good.

Yogi_Carl

Going to the gym IS the shortcut, but not accessible to everyone. In that case, bodyweight exercise offers another alternative and is a great workout in it's own right. Not superior - just different.

I agree that different people can have different goals.

I do body weight exercises and weights. Both are necessary for me personally and my own personal goals as a dancer and just wanting to be fit.

There are some things I can achieve a lot easier with weights than with body weight exercises and other things I must do for body weight exercises. And each of those things I can use in ways that help me with my past injuries. I'm happy with what I am doing right now, and when that gets too easy I need ways to progress. But, I would only recommend it to people that have similar goals and issues as me.

Agreed - as a yoga practitioner my strength needs are possibly similar to yours in ways.

I'm possibly not seeing the whole picture for other peoples' needs. For most, the quickest easiest option is the weight room with some bodyweight exercises as appropriate (pullups come to mind); depending on your needs and goals.

jetscreaminagain

I lift weights because I love the iron and I'm going through New Rules for Women the second time through. I'm totally sold on progressively increasing weights so that I continue to challenge and build muscles. I am always trying to make my lifting exercises harder.

But I also have a strength-focused body weight routine from a book called Convict Conditioning. You make pushups harder by bringing your hands closer and then going one armed or by lifting your feet to the point of hand stand push ups. It ISN'T a matter of doing more reps because of "lower weight" this isn't like 3 pound weights and "do more reps at lower weight so you don't get bulky" stupid foolishness like that. You can be serious and badass and really push your strength in body weight routines.

So, to the OP, if you want this, you're going to have to do your own reading. I'm not going to lay this out for you with specific exercises, descriptions, reps, and how to make them progressively harder. That's a bit much to ask.

However the book, CONVICT CONDITIONING will do that for you in one read through. It is aimed at men, so it will talk about building gigantic muscles. Ignore that, because unless you have their testosterone, you won't get gigantic muscles like men. Iron won't do it, body weight won't do it.

But there's a whole program in Convict Conditioning that if you keep at it for years may well get you to one-legged (pistol) squats, handstand push ups, pikes on the rings, one armed pull ups, and one handed push ups. It starts with wall push ups and knee tucks, so as beginner or as advanced as you think you might be, you're within the range that this book covers and you're likely to progress in strength and still be within the range the book covers.

Well worth the $40 for you to buy it and understand and design your own program.

gaston095

You could try squats, push ups and leg raises, look for convict conditioning videos on youtube.

BinaryPulsar

Convict Conditioning sounds like an excellent book. I might get that one.

There is also another book called: "Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength"