Gym vs Own body strength excersises
star2lite
Posts: 37 Member
I'm sorry if you fed up reading about it all the time.
I've lost 40 lbs now just by doing cardio like trampolining, cycling, running walking.
I would like to sign up to the gym but it's expensive.
Are the home dvd's like Jillian Michaels SHRED etc as good as joining gym and lifting weights??
Will my own body strength excersises like squats and crunches give me similar results as using machines in gym??
Thank you for your answers and advice :-)
I've lost 40 lbs now just by doing cardio like trampolining, cycling, running walking.
I would like to sign up to the gym but it's expensive.
Are the home dvd's like Jillian Michaels SHRED etc as good as joining gym and lifting weights??
Will my own body strength excersises like squats and crunches give me similar results as using machines in gym??
Thank you for your answers and advice :-)
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Replies
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There's obviously going to be a big difference between weight-less squatting, and squatting with 100+ pounds of weight on your shoulders. But there are ways of making bodyweight exercises more challenging, such as doing pistol squats (one-legged with the non-supporting leg sticking out forward) instead of regular squats. Plus, you can use househould items in place of weights.
Machines are overrated anyway... Free weights are where it's at, even in the gym!0 -
I personally think the 30ds is vastly overrated on this site, especially if it's strength training you're after. 30ds is mainly cardio. But, I think it's available for free on youtube, so try it out and see what you think.
I'm doing 30 mins cardio of my choice for warmup, and then the Nerdfitness bodyweight workout at the moment, and like it a lot:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/
I've also seen "You are your own gym" recommended on here (book or phone app).
And there are a few other links in this thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/772334-wants-strength-training-no-equipment-help?
Good luck!0 -
Are the home dvd's like Jillian Michaels SHRED etc as good as joining gym and lifting weights??
No. This and other programs are endurance and cardio not strength training. They are beneficial for sure but not the same as lifting weights.Will my own body strength excersises like squats and crunches give me similar results as using machines in gym??
Probably at first but eventually you will have to find ways to make these movements more difficult to continue seeing the same benefits. As you get stronger and more efficient at these you will need to progress to higher resistance. This can be done with resistance bands and adding dumbbells or modifying them like Withchaco suggested.0 -
Like MGM just said, those DVDs are cardio, not strength training.
But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.0 -
You can shop Craig's list in your area for used free weights.0
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You can shop Craig's list in your area for used free weights.
this.0 -
What are your goals? If you want to get bigger muscles (not just stronger muscles, but bigger ones) then a structured free weights routine (either at home or at the gym) is probably your best bet for that. Aside from that, I think it boils down to what you might enjoy more. Being able to do pull-ups and push-ups is a good measure of fitness, you don't necessarily have to lift heavy objects. And remember there's gymnastics, once you get into the higher level of bodyweight training. If you're interested in that at all, go for the functionality of bodyweight exercises. If you're not overly interested in that (and that's okay!) then maybe you'll enjoy lifting more. You should do whatever you'll enjoy most. Jillian Michaels DVDs aren't a bad place for a beginner to start, though they are more cardio than weight work. Still - there's some beginner weight work in there that you may find useful for starting out with, and it's entertaining.0
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But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.
In the upper body it is near impossible to run out of low rep resistance using bodyweight alone.
You will eventually run out of low rep resistance in the lower body with bodyweight alone, however you can load exercises like Pistol Squats and Glute Ham Raises with apartment/pocketbook friendly weights (weight vest/dumbbells) in the low rep area up to extremely high resistances (a 0.5x BW Pistol 5RM is roughly as difficult to achieve as a 2.0x BW Back Squat 1RM).0 -
Thank you so much everyone.
It's deff something to think about :-)
I love the links to the websites.
I'll be busy this weekend :-)0 -
But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.
In the upper body it is near impossible to run out of low rep resistance using bodyweight alone.
You will eventually run out of low rep resistance in the lower body with bodyweight alone, however you can load exercises like Pistol Squats and Glute Ham Raises with apartment/pocketbook friendly weights (weight vest/dumbbells) in the low rep area up to extremely high resistances (a 0.5x BW Pistol 5RM is roughly as difficult to achieve as a 2.0x BW Back Squat 1RM).
On upper body: Totally. How many people can do hand stand push ups?
I think the most challenging part of a pistol squat is just balance. I can bang out 5 pistol squats, but I can't barbell squat my own bodyweight.0 -
But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.
In the upper body it is near impossible to run out of low rep resistance using bodyweight alone.
You will eventually run out of low rep resistance in the lower body with bodyweight alone, however you can load exercises like Pistol Squats and Glute Ham Raises with apartment/pocketbook friendly weights (weight vest/dumbbells) in the low rep area up to extremely high resistances (a 0.5x BW Pistol 5RM is roughly as difficult to achieve as a 2.0x BW Back Squat 1RM).
On upper body: Totally. How many people can do hand stand push ups?
I think the most challenging part of a pistol squat is just balance. I can bang out 5 pistol squats, but I can't barbell squat my own bodyweight.
All things considered, handstand pushups are pretty easy. The handstand press varieties are all a significant step up in difficulty from handstand pushups.
Pistol difficulty is highly form dependant. With a forward lean you move your center of mass closer to the knee and are better able to engage the posterior chain and drive the hips. If you maintain the forward lean throughout you can't go as deep as well. Sticking with a very vertical torso and keeping your other leg perfectly parallel throughout is a good bit more difficult. Your center of mass is further from your knee and you can't use your posterior chain as much, plus you can go super deep. These differences are greatly magnified when you weight a pistol, depending on how you weight it. Holding DB's in a front rack position on your shoulders is far more difficult than holding them out in front of you (either straight armed or in a hammer curl type position).
The back squat is a very different exercise though. A pistol is closer to a leg isolation exercise than a back squat, which uses the whole chain shoulders to feet where a weakness in one part is a weakness in all parts (hence the reason people can leg press so much more than they can squat). A pistol can almost be through of as a cross between a leg press and a squat, done while balancing on one leg.0 -
But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.
In the upper body it is near impossible to run out of low rep resistance using bodyweight alone.
You will eventually run out of low rep resistance in the lower body with bodyweight alone, however you can load exercises like Pistol Squats and Glute Ham Raises with apartment/pocketbook friendly weights (weight vest/dumbbells) in the low rep area up to extremely high resistances (a 0.5x BW Pistol 5RM is roughly as difficult to achieve as a 2.0x BW Back Squat 1RM).
On upper body: Totally. How many people can do hand stand push ups?
I think the most challenging part of a pistol squat is just balance. I can bang out 5 pistol squats, but I can't barbell squat my own bodyweight.
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weights to lift less than body weight.
When you add weight to your back and squat it becomes one of the best full body compound lifts. I just dont see a way to get the same benefits from body weight. Even doing one leg at a time you are still not adding weight to the back.
I love body weight exercises but they are just not the same and cant really replace weights. They are just different.0 -
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weight to lift less than body weight.
A handstand pushup is easier than a 1x BW overhead press due to the decreased ROM. A regular handstand pushup is similar to doing an overhead press with the bar never going lower than the top of your head. It is a good bit easier and isolates the deltoids more.
Doing them with elevated hands, with space for your head so that your hands can go all the way to your shoulders, is as hard as a 1x BW overhead press.When you add weight to your back and squat it becomes one of the best full body compound lifts. I just dont see a way to get the same benefits from body weight. Even doing one leg at a time you are still not adding weight to the back.
The bodyweight equivalents of full body compound lifts are front lever variations, back lever variations, and planche variations.
While there is no BW equivalent of a back squat in terms of full body loading, there is no weighted equivalent of levers/planches in terms of full body loading.
Though a glute ham raise loads the whole back-glutes-hamstring posterior chain.0 -
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weight to lift less than body weight.
A handstand pushup is easier than a 1x BW overhead press due to the decreased ROM. A regular handstand pushup is similar to doing an overhead press with the bar never going lower than the top of your head. It is a good bit easier and isolates the deltoids more.
Doing them with elevated hands, with space for your head so that your hands can go all the way to your shoulders, is as hard as a 1x BW overhead press.
And if you cant do 1xBW even as a partial rep then weights are a good way to build up to it. My over head press is no where near 165lbs especially not for reps. :happy:0 -
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weight to lift less than body weight.
A handstand pushup is easier than a 1x BW overhead press due to the decreased ROM. A regular handstand pushup is similar to doing an overhead press with the bar never going lower than the top of your head. It is a good bit easier and isolates the deltoids more.
Doing them with elevated hands, with space for your head so that your hands can go all the way to your shoulders, is as hard as a 1x BW overhead press.
And if you cant do 1xBW even as a partial rep then weights are a good way to build up to it. My over head press is no where near 165lbs especially not for reps. :happy:
The easiest way to get a handstand pushup is the stack of books method. Start with a handstand and stack of books under your head, doing pushups to the stack. Progressively remove books until you can do them on the ground. Then get some hand holds, put a stack of books in the middle at even level, then work your way down hands to shoudlers.
You don't need weights to build up to it. The book method works like a charm. It'll take some time to get from a handstand to a hands to shoulders pushup, more than a year (possibly a good bit longer), but the same can be said for building up to 1x BW OHP.0 -
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weight to lift less than body weight.
A handstand pushup is easier than a 1x BW overhead press due to the decreased ROM. A regular handstand pushup is similar to doing an overhead press with the bar never going lower than the top of your head. It is a good bit easier and isolates the deltoids more.
Doing them with elevated hands, with space for your head so that your hands can go all the way to your shoulders, is as hard as a 1x BW overhead press.
And if you cant do 1xBW even as a partial rep then weights are a good way to build up to it. My over head press is no where near 165lbs especially not for reps. :happy:
The easiest way to get a handstand pushup is the stack of books method. Start with a handstand and stack of books under your head, doing pushups to the stack. Progressively remove books until you can do them on the ground. Then get some hand holds, put a stack of books in the middle at even level, then work your way down hands to shoudlers.
You don't need weights to build up to it. The book method works like a charm.
Again assuming someone can do a handstand.0 -
OP, when you are just getting started, it will be a very long time before you will *need* to use free weights to increase your strength. Most of us women are very weak on upper body strength. I have also ventured into my husband's tools/garage to find things to lift. You can use a bathroom scale to determine their weight. (to check your progress) Weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the weight and subtract the difference to get the weight of larger objects.
Best of luck!0 -
A hand stand push up is no longer a chest pressing exercise. It would be a shoulder press. Shoulders presses are one of my weakest lifts so I need weight to lift less than body weight.
A handstand pushup is easier than a 1x BW overhead press due to the decreased ROM. A regular handstand pushup is similar to doing an overhead press with the bar never going lower than the top of your head. It is a good bit easier and isolates the deltoids more.
Doing them with elevated hands, with space for your head so that your hands can go all the way to your shoulders, is as hard as a 1x BW overhead press.
And if you cant do 1xBW even as a partial rep then weights are a good way to build up to it. My over head press is no where near 165lbs especially not for reps. :happy:
The easiest way to get a handstand pushup is the stack of books method. Start with a handstand and stack of books under your head, doing pushups to the stack. Progressively remove books until you can do them on the ground. Then get some hand holds, put a stack of books in the middle at even level, then work your way down hands to shoudlers.
You don't need weights to build up to it. The book method works like a charm.
Again assuming someone can do a handstand.
Plain ol pushups will get you strong enough to do a handstand.0 -
Again assuming someone can do a handstand.
I've never known *any* obese person that could do a handstand. And most of us struggle at a single push-up.0 -
I love these body weight threads. They always end the same way. :happy:
person1: Weights have their place.
person 2: You dont need any stinking weights.
:laugh:0 -
Plain ol pushups will get you strong enough to do a handstand.
Except the whole balance thing. Handstands will get you better at handstands. Im a push-up machine, cant hold a handstand. Up against a wall, yeah. But not free handstands out in the open.
Bodyweight exercises are great. This isnt a this or that thing. Both would be optimal
Weight training is great for your bones!!! The ability to continually strengthen your bones it one of its best benefits. Hell with muscles size, thats not going to be an issue, if your afraid of getting huge and bulky dont be. Look at the female olympic lifters, most are not muscularly bulky at all and can lift huge weights over their heads.0 -
I just bought that book. (quoted below). Been using it with my high school sons. We are adding small weights to some of the legs/core stuff. and even if you don't have 'real weights', you can use heavy things. Maybe, eventually, we'll need BIG HEAVY weights , but for now, bodyweight with a couple dumbbells is working great.But get a book like Your Body is Your Gym for some effective bodyweight strength training ideas. While there is only so much you can do with bodyweight work, you most definitely can progress from beginner status to a moderate/intermediate status using only bodyweight, especially if you're willing to go out to the park and use some of the jungle gym equipment there.
In the upper body it is near impossible to run out of low rep resistance using bodyweight alone.
You will eventually run out of low rep resistance in the lower body with bodyweight alone, however you can load exercises like Pistol Squats and Glute Ham Raises with apartment/pocketbook friendly weights (weight vest/dumbbells) in the low rep area up to extremely high resistances (a 0.5x BW Pistol 5RM is roughly as difficult to achieve as a 2.0x BW Back Squat 1RM).0 -
I just bought that book. (quoted below). Been using it with my high school sons. We are adding small weights to some of the legs/core stuff. and even if you don't have 'real weights', you can use heavy things. Maybe, eventually, we'll need BIG HEAVY weights , but for now, bodyweight with a couple dumbbells is working great.
Thats perfect. Exactly how it should be done. I dont think anyone is knocking bodyweight as not being "real weights" just saying its different and eventually adding weight or resistance might be needed on some of the exercises.0 -
Start with body weight then progress as needed. A couple dumbbells are cheap. If you can't even afford that then how about some milk jugs with water in them? Infinitely variable how much weight you want in them. As others have said look around the house for things to lift. There is a ton of free workout's online. Youtube has lots of video's. Craigslist and garage sales always have weight benches and weights. Often for ridiculously low prices.
There are also books and videos for sale cheap. Many for less than the cost of one month at a gym.
Suspension training is another option. You could cheaply make your own straps.
I belong to a gym, I love my gym. I'm glad I joined, it got me to where I am. I'm working my way away from the circuit training machines and into free weights. I always thought I needed the fancy machines but now I'm finding out that I don't. I've got 6 months to go on my gym membership. I'm already thinking about investing that money into some home gear instead of renewing when it comes up.0 -
I love these body weight threads. They always end the same way. :happy:
person1: Weights have their place.
person 2: You dont need any stinking weights.
:laugh:
Well there is always the root question that is not really addressed when discussing. Why on earth are you doing this in the first place?
The answer profoundly impacts your POV.
I would wager the vast majority of people strength training want to look better naked and generally get stronger. If those are your goals, it really doesn't matter. Heck even if you want to bulk up, you don't need weights to get close to your natural genetic potential. Now if you want to be competitive in bodybuilding or powerlifting, you're going to need some weights.0 -
I think you would be very happy with this one if you want a strength routine you can do at home. It seems easy - and you just keep doing circuits of it til you die LOL
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/
I thought it would be easy but after 2 circuits I almost fell over - i love being terrible at something- it gives me tons and tons of room to make progress!! (unlike at the end when youve almost mastered something and you dont really get sore or make big progress jumps anymore! - Im a sucker for my own progress motivating me!)0 -
Well there is always the root question that is not really addressed when discussing. Why on earth are you doing this in the first place?
The answer profoundly impacts your POV.
I would wager the vast majority of people strength training want to look better naked and generally get stronger. If those are your goals, it really doesn't matter. Heck even if you want to bulk up, you don't need weights to get close to your natural genetic potential. Now if you want to be competitive in bodybuilding or powerlifting, you're going to need some weights.
You dont need weights to get to your genetic potential? How so? If I do enough BW squats one day ill be able to squat 400lbs? Im confused. And probably looking at what you said the wrong way0 -
I love these body weight threads. They always end the same way. :happy:
person1: Weights have their place.
person 2: You dont need any stinking weights.
:laugh:
Well there is always the root question that is not really addressed when discussing. Why on earth are you doing this in the first place?
The answer profoundly impacts your POV.
I would wager the vast majority of people strength training want to look better naked and generally get stronger. If those are your goals, it really doesn't matter. Heck even if you want to bulk up, you don't need weights to get close to your natural genetic potential. Now if you want to be competitive in bodybuilding or powerlifting, you're going to need some weights.
I think for this thread it was the OP question that started the discussion.Will my own body strength excersises like squats and crunches give me similar results as using machines in gym??
And my answer was the same as yours...but only to a point.
I have no idea how push ups are going to get me to my genetic potential. I am already chest pressing more than body weight for all of my sets. What about squats? How on earth are you gonna push way over your body weight and continue to get the same befefits of strength training?
You really lost me on that one.0 -
Well there is always the root question that is not really addressed when discussing. Why on earth are you doing this in the first place?
The answer profoundly impacts your POV.
I would wager the vast majority of people strength training want to look better naked and generally get stronger. If those are your goals, it really doesn't matter. Heck even if you want to bulk up, you don't need weights to get close to your natural genetic potential. Now if you want to be competitive in bodybuilding or powerlifting, you're going to need some weights.
You dont need weights to get to your genetic potential? How so? If I do enough BW squats one day ill be able to squat 400lbs? Im confused. And probably looking at what you said the wrong way
This is what I mean when I say genetic potential:
http://www.weightrainer.net/bodypred.html
You don't need weights to get fairly close to that.I have no idea how push ups are going to get me to my genetic potential. I am already chest pressing more than body weight for all of my sets.
Do a harder variation then.
If you can bang out planche pushups for reps (the real kind, feet off the floor, going to a lockout hold each rep), I agree, you need weights. Few people on this earth are strong enough (relative to their BW) to do planche pushups for reps, and almost noone that has bigger than a miniscule frame (who can get to very high relative strengths).
If you can't do them, there is a suitable exercise for your strength level that will be difficult enough that you will reach failure in only a few reps.0 -
Thats website you posted is for weight training...0
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