Effective exercises with dumbbells/bands/chinup bar?

cmeiron
cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've lost about 30 lbs in the last year; about ten with jogging and more mindful eating, and the other twenty with even MORE mindful (tracking) eating and exercise consisting mostly of cardio and HIIT and some jogging (I'm doing Turbo Fire videos - which I love -and starting to incorporate Insanity videos). I'm thinking about starting to do some lifting now that most of the weight is off (I still have probably 8-10 lbs of fat to lose). I have very strong and toned legs (probably from the plyo) but my upper body is not very strong. I can't do a single "proper" pushup with good form - only from my knees. I'd like to change this.

I don't have access to a gym. I'm a student, so broke; I can't afford a trainer or any new equipment.

I have dumbbells, from 5 to 45 lbs, a variety of bands, pushup bars, and a chinup bar.

Can anybody recommend a series of effective (and perhaps compound) exercises that I could do with this equipment? Which would give me well-rounded results? Or, perhaps a better question is: are there exercises I could/should to without weights to prepare well for heavier lifting?

Also, if I start doing weight-bearing exercises a 2-3 times a week, how does this, if at all, affect my eating targets?

Thanks!

Replies

  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Anyone?
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    if your goal is to do a number of push ups with proper form and not on your knees, i suggest you get the 100 push ups app on your phone. it gives you about 5 sets of push ups to do. do as many of them "regular" style, and then do the rest on your knees.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    marksdailyapple.com has some exercises that only use your body weight.
  • bdamaster60
    bdamaster60 Posts: 595 Member
    For Dumbbels:

    Flat Bench Press
    Incline Bench Press
    Flat Bench Fly
    Incline Fly
    Decline Bench
    Decline Fly
    Shoulder Press
    Side Lateral
    Front Raise
    Rear Delt Fly
    Bent-over Row
    One-Arm Row
    Overhead Tricep extentions
    Skull Crushers
    Tricep Kickbacks
    Curls
    Hammercurls
    Reverse Curls
    Shrugs
    Deadlift
    Stiffleg deadlift

    just off the top of my head.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    Convict Conditioning

    You Are Your Own Gym

    Both will teach you how to make progressive strength gains without the use of gym equipment.
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Thanks so much for all the tips, folks! :)
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    If you don't want to use weights, try checking out Mike Chang on youtube. He has some towel exercises that you probably like. The towel exercises works against your own strength no matter how big or small you are. So its ideal for peeps who want to work on correct form and gain some strength and definition. He also incorporates a lot of different types of push ups in his videos to work the muscles up.

    As far as weight bearing exercises...I strongly suggest doing so. As you gain muscle, your metabolism grows causing to lose fat quicker even when your just doing normal activities. Just get the proteins to fuel your muscles, just don't go overboard as too much protein can actual damage your kidneys.

    Good luck!
  • matt2442
    matt2442 Posts: 1,259 Member
    well it's hard to tell you over the internet but you can look up resistance band excercies and there are some good ones on youtube...also look up "Tony Hortons One on One" Just Arms, diamond delts, road warrior, 30-15, uml,...he has some very good routines where he uses bands/dumb bells...

    getting the door attachment for the bands will also allow you to work your back in different ways and even give yourself tricep workouts and shoulder workouts

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