OK, so weights

mirandamayhem
mirandamayhem Posts: 772
in Fitness and Exercise
I can't afford gym membership, so everything I do has to be home based. I'm getting my cardio in,but have no clue where to start with strength training and what weights to use etc.
What dvds are good for a starter? Are kettlebells good or should i get dumbbells and if so, what weights, a variety? I know people pour scorn on the pretty lady pink ones. I just want to get something I know I'm going to use and benefit from.

Thank you muchly in advance!

Replies

  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    Well if you can buy weights and kettlebells than you can afford a gym membership. If you are in a tight budget resistance bands are the way to go.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    I can't afford gym membership, but i can afford some £20 weights if they're any good? A one off payment is a bit different to £20+ a month on membership
  • Elen_Sia
    Elen_Sia Posts: 638 Member
    You don't *have to* buy weights or a gym membership if you don't want to: http://www.moneycrashers.com/strength-training-exercises-women/
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
    look up body weight exercises on youtube. There are many vidoes with exercises you can do using your own body weight. My husband has been doing these at work lately and they are kicking his butt. lol Also some hand weights and resistance bands would help too. Those items are pretty cheep. If you have the money for the initial buying of a kettle ball and maybe an exercise ball and some hand weight those would be a good investment. I know a monthly fee for a gym can get quite expensive. Les Mills Pump is a good DVD as well.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    You don't *have to* buy weights or a gym membership if you don't want to: http://www.moneycrashers.com/strength-training-exercises-women/

    Ooh will have a look, thank you!
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    look up body weight exercises on youtube. There are many vidoes with exercises you can do using your own body weight. My husband has been doing these at work lately and they are kicking his butt. lol Also some hand weights and resistance bands would help too. Those items are pretty cheep. If you have the money for the initial buying of a kettle ball and maybe an exercise ball and some hand weight those would be a good investment. I know a monthly fee for a gym can get quite expensive. Les Mills Pump is a good DVD as well.

    Thanks, will have a look!
  • stronglikebull
    stronglikebull Posts: 402
    you're not going to get your money's worth out of weights if that's all your budget is.

    look up Convict Conditioning on google. it's a free book that you can download and it will give you an excellent body weight training program that literally requires no equipment. otherwise, pilates and certain forms of yoga are surprisingly effective for body weight strength training. good luck!
  • apriltrainer
    apriltrainer Posts: 732 Member
    as a former member of the US Military..bodyweight exercises ROCK!

    Of course eventually I found that I had to get weights to progress. But could have been happy with bodyweight exercises too(but unlike lot of women on MFP...i actually wanted to get bigger! Bodyweight exercises made me STRONG but didn't really get me the size I wanted which was...BIGGER!)

    Best of luck..

    btw..by the time I was able to do 50 pushups...my abs were FLAT.

    no situp or crunch required.

    That's a link of me doing pushups.

    http://youtu.be/z18kFLGZksY
  • lauren3382
    lauren3382 Posts: 372 Member
    as a former member of the US Military..bodyweight exercises ROCK!

    Of course eventually I found that I had to get weights to progress. But could have been happy with bodyweight exercises too(but unlike lot of women on MFP...i actually wanted to get bigger! Bodyweight exercises made me STRONG but didn't really get me the size I wanted which was...BIGGER!)

    Best of luck..

    btw..by the time I was able to do 50 pushups...my abs were FLAT.

    no situp or crunch required.

    That's a link of me doing pushups.

    http://youtu.be/z18kFLGZksY

    50 pushups???? YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    You can get a set of resistance bands on Amazon for next to nothing and they take up no room and come with suggested exercises.

    Research online for a routine you want to stick with for a while first to get an idea what to buy. Dumbbells are a good place for beginners to start, but be warned you'll needs lots of different weights, and will grow out of your beginner weights really quickly. Adjustable sets are expensive and fiddly to change between exercises.

    Try Gumtree for cheap second hand gear local to you.
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    I agree with the body weight exercises to begin with, adding some hand weights as you progress.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Body weight exercise sound perfect for me for now, thank you all!
    I'll stop reading all the weight training posts for now, and not run before I can walk. I'm sure with minimal muscle I can make a good deal of difference for now without spending money! Thank you all!
  • cookeh88
    cookeh88 Posts: 4
    I just starting Jillians 30 Day Shred and its fab :-) you can find all the levels on Youtube
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Thanks! I've actually ordered it on love films so will have a look. I did a dvd with some pilates at the end. My tummy hurts and no way i could plank for any length of time!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    To my knowledge, there are no videos that really focus on strength training... they are all cardio based (which isn't a bad thing, just not what you said you were looking for).

    Spend some time looking up and reading about weight routines (I recommend compound movements, and there are some really good programs centered on these), but anything using heavy weights hitting the major muscle groups will be fine.

    Body weight exercise are fine for some body parts, especially the upper body, but they have lots of limitations.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Thanks, i think I'll focus on body weight exercises for now, seeing as I have 5 stone of extra weight to lose. But i think when I'm slimmer I shall re evaluate. I just don't want oodles of excess skin and keep hearing weights is the way to go!

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