strength training without going to the gym

absolutely! check out: www.scoobysworkshop.com
there is a ton of good information about strength training at home.

There are also some highly recommended videos on YouTube of guys who put together really challenging workouts using entirely body weight exercises. The only name I know off the top of my head is Craig Ballantyne and I might not have spelled that right.

Body weight exercises are great, but also check your newspaper's classifieds, Craigslist, yard sales and flea markets for used equipment.

I was spending $20 a month to go to the gym, but I hated going, so I bought a cheap bench and barbell set for about $100 from Sears. I figured it would pay for itself in 5 months. All the used ones I saw on Craigslist were over an hour away, and I'd spend $30 on gas to get there and back.

Chalean Johnson's Chalean Extreme is great.

Insanity, Tapout XT, P90X, P90X2 or just doing it on your own. Unless you just like going to a gym, which some people do, it is not necessary for fitness. Did no one learn anything from Jack LaLane?

Yup--I do P90X at home. And OMG, I grew up having the biggest crush on Jack LaLane!!!

bump for later

i just downloaded the book You Are Your Own Gym to my phone...lots of info on bodyweight exercises and it has workout plans as will as nutrition. And it gives you basic exercises and advanced to make it harder as you get more fit!

It can but you need to get some equipment. You want to try to do something that incorporates all of the following

Quad dominant leg (like squats)
Ham\glute dominant leg (deadlift variants)
Vertical Push (overhead pressing)
Horizontal push (flat bench presssing\pushups)
Vertical pull (pullup\chinup)
Horizontal Pull (bent over rows)

Here is a link that can be done with all dumbbells and preferably at least a flat bench of some sort http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933

Notice that this is the third thread for this routine as the first 2 both reached 10,000 posts

bump - for later.

There is far more to it than can be contained in even one book. And there is no great single source. Use your google-fu.

But what you are looking for is called progressive calisthenics. Bodyweight exercises done progressively toward ever more difficult, lower leverage variants.

The nice thing is that you can add resistance to a lot of the movements, but because of leverage a little resistance goes a long way. Even your most powerful deadlifter will struggle to do a no-touch glute-ham raise with a single moderate dumbbell held overhead.

Some great web sources are gymnasitcbodies.com, beastskills.com, alkavadlo.com. Good books are overcoming gravity, building the gymnast body, you are your own gym, and convict conditioning.

Weight people are definitely better at programming. Take your routine constuction and rep/set guidelines from them.

I've posted this list before of exercises that I've compiled, but it is worth reposting:

***********************************************

Low-no equipment exercises (google should explain any of them):

Upper Body Horizontal Push:

Easy/Remedial: Wall Pushup, Knee Pushup, Incline Pushups, Pushups

Moderate: Decline Pushups, Diamond Pushups, Divebomber Pushups, Uneven Pushups, Typerwriter Pushups, Incline One Arm Pushups, Clap Pushups, Planche Lean, Tuck Back Lever

Difficult: One Arm Pushups, Decline One Arm Pushups, Pseudo Planche Pushups, Pseudo Maltese Pushups, One Leg Back Lever, Straddle Back Lever, Back Lever, Tuck Planche Hold/Pushups, Straddle Planche Hold/Pushups, Full Planche Hold/Pushups

Assistance: DB FLys, Frog Stand, Straight Arm Frog Stand, German Hang

Upper Body Vertical Push:

Easy/Remedial: PB Support

Moderate: DB OHP, Handstand, Dip, Weighted Dips, Bar Dip, Pike Pushup, Headstand Pushup, Headstand Press

Difficult: L-Sit, Freestanding Handstand, Handstand Pushup, Handstand Press, Human Flag Tuck/Full

Assistance: Headstand

Upper Body Multiplane Push:

Difficult: L-Sit to Handstand Press, 90 Degree Pushups

Upper Body Horizontal Pull:

Easy/Remedial: DB Rows, Inverted Rows

Moderate: Tuck Front Lever, One Arm Inverted Rows

Difficult: Tuck Front Lever Rows, One Leg Front Lever Hold/Rows, Straddle Front Lever Hold/Rows, Front Lever Hold/Rows

Upper Body Vertical Pull:

Easy: Chair Assist Pullup/Chinup, Negative Pullup/Chinup

Moderate: Chinup, Pullup, Towel Pullups, Leg Assist Rope Climb, Rock Climbing

Difficult: Uneven Chinups, One Arm Chinup Negatives, One Arm Chinup, BW Curl, Arm Only Rope Climb

Assistance: Dead Hang, Inverted Hang, DB Curl

Upper Body Multiplane Pull:

Easy: Skin the Cat

Moderate: Bent Leg Middle Split Hold

Difficult: V-Sit, Middle Split Hold, Manna, Front Lever Pulls (Ice cream makers), Crank

Combined Upper Body:

Difficult: Muscle-Up, Elevator

Legs Quad Dominant:

Easy/Remedial: Wall Sit, BW Squat, BW Lunge, DB Squat

Moderate: Jump Squat, Pistol Squat, Falling Tower, One Leg Wall Sit, Weighted Lunges, DB Split Squat

Difficult: Shrimp Squat, DB Pistol Squat, Jumping Pistol Squat, Jumping Shrimp Squat, BW Leg Extensions

Assistance Exercises: DB Extension/Stall

Legs Posteior Dominant:

Easy/Remedial - BW Straight Leg Deadlift, Bridge, Straight Bridge, Side Leg Lift, BW Calf Raises

Moderate - BW One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift, King Deadlift, DB One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift, One Leg Bridge, One Leg Straight Bridge, DB Hip Thrust, DB One Leg Hip Thrust, Assisted Glute-Ham Raise/Stall, BW Good Morning, BW One Leg Calf Raise-Hold

Difficult - Glute-Ham Raise

All (difficulty scales) - Sprints, Hill Sprints, Bounding, Stair Runs, Weighted Sprints, Sled/Car Pull/Push

Core Ab Dominant:

Easy - Crunch, Situp, Plank, Knee Lift

Moderate - Hanging Knee Lift, Incline Situp, Hollow Hold, Boat, Touch the Sky, Hanging Leg Lift, Bicycle Crunch, Bent Leg Straddle L, Tuck Dragon Flag, Floor Wipers

Difficult -L-sit, V-sit, Straddle L, Dragon Flag, Body Lever, Hanging Situp, Front Lever var.

Core Back Dominant:

Easy - Bridge, Straight Bridge (Reverse Plank)

Moderate - Superman Hold, Full Bridge, Elbow Lever

Hard - One Arm Elbow Lever, Stand to Stand Bridge, Bridge to Handstand, Back Lever var.

Core Oblique Dominant:

Easy - Side Bends, Twisting Yoga Poses (many)

Moderate - Floor Wipers, Side Plank

Hard - Human Flag Tuck/Full, Side Lever Pulls

..................................................................................
I'm sure I'm leaving off a lot of stuff, especially the easy and obscenely hard, but that is a pretty good overview of what is possible. Most people will never run out of resistance.