Strength Training Help...PLEASE

tarac98

Okay...so you guys are all recommending strength training. (and I HIGHLY reguard what your saying) So...I currently do 60 or so minutes of cardio 6xs a week. I want to replace 2 days or so with strength training. The problem is....I don't go to a gym....I work out at home and only have wrist weights and an elliptical. Any strength training ideas...PLEASE! Thanks!

demorelli

Try picking up a set of resistance bands. They're fairly cheap and super versitile strength training.

nanook37

There are also tons of body weight exercises you can do... The book You Are Your Own Gym is a good place to start...

Machafin

Get the book "You are your own gym" All about body weight exercises. The guy was a navy seal instructor, great ideas and great workouts.

nebraskajoni

I just bought two 10 lb dumbells in a box and it came with an entire workout booklet. It includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced. All you need is a chair and the dumbells. I got them at a big box store for around 20 dollars.

contingencyplan

I strongly recommend you pick up at the very least a pullup bar. After that you can do a simple but highly effective bodyweight based program that will lead to massive functional strength gains as well burn a ton of calories. A simple doorframe mounted unit will suffice.

Do 3 days a week of:

Pushups
Dips
Pullups/Chinups (use a chair to modify)
Squats & lunges (add a jump to them to get too easy)
Planks
Hanging leg raises

Bam and done.

crazybookworm

Body weight training is great, too! If you're on a budget, try one of Jillian Michael's shred dvds. Youtube also has some great Strength workout videos. Also, like the above person mentioned, resistance bands are great as well!

Squats
Lunges
Pushups
Tricep Dips
Crunches(Bicycle, reverse)
Burpees
Mountain Climbers
Plank
Plank to push up
Wallsit
Step ups
Calf Raises
Donkey Kicks
Superman's
Leg Lowers

^^These are just a few exercises you can do to build muscle, just using your own body! There are plenty more!

Good luck!

RoamingDuck

Yes! There are plenty of things you can do with just free weights at home. There are also plenty of body-weight exercises that require no weights at all. A few examples?

Tricep dips
Pushups
Crunches
Planks
Lunges
Squats
Curls

Check out Scooby's workshop. He offers plenty of advice for getting lean and buff with just at-home routines. He's also got a YouTube channel. Here is his website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/

grimendale

nerdfitness.com has several very good bodyweight routines that require little or no equipment. I highly recommend them.

matt2442

3 days of strength training will give you better gains then 2. Bodyweight exercises like everyone else said, bodylastics resistance bands are like 60 bucks and you have 142 lbs of resistance. However, look on Craigslist. You can find weights, benches, and power racks for pretty cheap, which is where I'd start

MidwestAngel

3 days of strength training will give you better gains then 2. Bodyweight exercises like everyone else said, bodylastics resistance bands are like 60 bucks and you have 142 lbs of resistance. However, look on Craigslist. You can find weights, benches, and power racks for pretty cheap, which is where I'd start

^This, invest is some free weights. I was able to pick some up fairly cheap at Wal-Mart (not that I recommend that over craigslist). Just get some and start using them. You won't be sorry for the investment!

j75j75

You probably don't even need to buy anything. You can find a lot of videos on body weight exercises on youtube. And you can probably find everything you need for body weight exercises at your local park (ie: chin-up bar, rings, etc.)