If you had no equipment and £100 to spend...

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  • donna_do_good
    donna_do_good Posts: 161
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    +1 Pull-up bar and 2 x kettlebells.......

    add in a skipping rope and various body weight exercises and you can have a varied and killer workout everyday.

    Want a really killer/simple workout? Go to the bottom of a steep hill with a decent weight kettlebell, do 10-20 swings (depends on weight you can swing) drop the kettlebell and sprint the hill then walk back down. Rest 30 seconds then repeat (see how many times you can). That comes from Dan John's excellent "Never let go" so give him the credit when your lungs are in a bucket! It's amazing what you can achieve with limited equipment and this is a great example that most people wouldn't think of with just two simple exercises. He has other great ideas involving carrying large rocks, making slosh pipe from pvc tubing, etc

    I'm laughing my head off picturing me doing this at the end of the street and the kids all trying to race me and lift my kettlebell lol. It sounds like a good workout but
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Running shoes
    Pullup Bar
    Pair of moderately heavy (for you) dumbbells

    - If you don't have shoes, that is priority #1.
    - Bodyweight based workouts by far require the least equipment. However a pullup bar is vital.
    - Dumbbells can really help to fill gaps in a bodyweight program and make progressions easier (for example DB rows if you can't yet do a pullup, and dumbbell OHP if you can't yet do a handstand). Could use kettlebells instead, but I personally prefer dumbbells to kettlebells.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    +1 Pull-up bar and 2 x kettlebells.......

    add in a skipping rope and various body weight exercises and you can have a varied and killer workout everyday.

    Want a really killer/simple workout? Go to the bottom of a steep hill with a decent weight kettlebell, do 10-20 swings (depends on weight you can swing) drop the kettlebell and sprint the hill then walk back down. Rest 30 seconds then repeat (see how many times you can). That comes from Dan John's excellent "Never let go" so give him the credit when your lungs are in a bucket! It's amazing what you can achieve with limited equipment and this is a great example that most people wouldn't think of with just two simple exercises. He has other great ideas involving carrying large rocks, making slosh pipe from pvc tubing, etc

    I'm laughing my head off picturing me doing this at the end of the street and the kids all trying to race me and lift my kettlebell lol. It sounds like a good workout but

    He has a variation where you have a sled tethered to you. You do the swings and drop the kettlebell and sprint with the sled. If you want to kick it up a notch you drop the kettlebell onto the sled and do the sprint with the lot..... I don't own a sled, so that's my excuse why I haven't tried this..... Honest!

    Another great exercise using the tabata protocol: hold the kettlebell upside down with two hands in front of your chest, feet shoulder-ish width out, knees tracking out over your toes. This is called a goblet squat. Squat continuously for 20 seconds full range of motion (thighs below parallel) - try to get as many as possible! Stop for 10 seconds only, then repeat. Done 8 times like this should take 4 minutes..... You might want to stop, or puke, or pass out, but it's important you wait until you've finished before you do any of these things!
  • donna_do_good
    donna_do_good Posts: 161
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    I'm still debating in my head wether to go down the path of getting the equipment mentioned above, the bike& epplical as well as kettlebells as then I could do spinning on the bike or just use it in the cross trainer mode in front of the tv, decisions like this are much harder when you're skint lol
  • donna_do_good
    donna_do_good Posts: 161
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    +1 Pull-up bar and 2 x kettlebells.......

    add in a skipping rope and various body weight exercises and you can have a varied and killer workout everyday.

    Want a really killer/simple workout? Go to the bottom of a steep hill with a decent weight kettlebell, do 10-20 swings (depends on weight you can swing) drop the kettlebell and sprint the hill then walk back down. Rest 30 seconds then repeat (see how many times you can). That comes from Dan John's excellent "Never let go" so give him the credit when your lungs are in a bucket! It's amazing what you can achieve with limited equipment and this is a great example that most people wouldn't think of with just two simple exercises. He has other great ideas involving carrying large rocks, making slosh pipe from pvc tubing, etc

    I'm laughing my head off picturing me doing this at the end of the street and the kids all trying to race me and lift my kettlebell lol. It sounds like a good workout but

    He has a variation where you have a sled tethered to you. You do the swings and drop the kettlebell and sprint with the sled. If you want to kick it up a notch you drop the kettlebell onto the sled and do the sprint with the lot..... I don't own a sled, so that's my excuse why I haven't tried this..... Honest!

    Another great exercise using the tabata protocol: hold the kettlebell upside down with two hands in front of your chest, feet shoulder-ish width out, knees tracking out over your toes. This is called a goblet squat. Squat continuously for 20 seconds full range of motion (thighs below parallel) - try to get as many as possible! Stop for 10 seconds only, then repeat. Done 8 times like this should take 4 minutes..... You might want to stop, or puke, or pass out, but it's important you wait until you've finished before you do any of these things!

    Lol you're funny. I hate exercise tbh but I'm trying
  • johann71
    johann71 Posts: 1
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    Buy some good shoes,
    Everything that you need to start is your own body, but good shoes are a must.
  • polo571
    polo571 Posts: 708 Member
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    My buddy hates the gym and he got a product called the rack. I was impressed how tone he was getting.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    An oly weight set off of craigs list and new rules of lifting for women.
  • itgeekwoman
    itgeekwoman Posts: 804 Member
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    I am in the same boat. I have a gym membership though and am looking to put in a home gym. Here's what I would get.
    A good bench .. adjustable, - that's my first spend.
    Weights - dumb bells, barbell and kettle bell set up.
    Heavy bag

    I have a stability ball.

    The last thing I would look at, and it's way over budget presently are the ropes. I'm looking for good core and strengthening/muscle building workouts. Burn fat the easy way :)

    The last thing would be an elliptical and that puts me over what I want to spend, but I can avoid a gym membership next year if I can get this sorted out.
  • claremillerphoto
    claremillerphoto Posts: 31 Member
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    some 2kg hand weights, a mat, a kettle ball (8kg) and a few Jillian Michaels DVDs. The best toning I've ever done! If you have good shoes start some gentle running on a C25k program. There you go - sorted!!
  • summer8it
    summer8it Posts: 433 Member
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    I'm amazed that no one has mentioned a yoga mat. To me, it's an absolute must-have basic. I use mine for yoga, but also for basic warm-up/cool-down stretches, pilates, crunches, and floor work of all types. I even like to use it for push-ups because then I don't have to worry about my hands and feet slipping on the rug or floor.
  • jothekid
    jothekid Posts: 230 Member
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    push-up handles
    pull-up bar
    dumbell of your choice
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    I would buy this book:

    http://www.rosstraining.com/nevergymless.html

    I would spend the rest of the money on beer.

    And possibly strippers.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    If you can pick up a secondhand olympic barbell/weights/bench, chin-up bar and a decent sized kettlebell - you would be set for life.

    Things like elliptical machines are a waste of time - you can torch far more calories in a shorter time doing kettlebells, barbell complexes, dumbell exercises and pulls/chins. Why go through the motions strapped into a piece of equipment when you can be alive with the sweat and the pain of doing it right? Blowing the budget on something like an elliptical will just be a waste IMHO. Smart second-hand shopping instead could get you some key pieces of equipment
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    Hi everyone,

    I'm looking for a bit of advice, if you had £100 to spend and no equipment at all what would you buy. It's needs to give me a good overall workout and something I would use often at home. What's your reccomdations? I know it's not a lot of money but its all Santa has in the budget for me

    A set of handweights (often you can find a kit with 3 different weights); a Bosu ball or stability ball; a yoga matt (for planks, abs...or yoga!); and I would look for free workouts online or check something out of your local library prior to investing in DVDs (though I keep hearing about this Jillian Michaels lady so I may be slow on the uptake). My television also has fitness channels with free workouts so you can sample different things. Good luck!

    Ah and should have added one more thing that's a real cheapie. If you get a plain old rubber ball, you can do abwork and place the ball between your thighs and combine crunches with squeezing on the ball to get extra legwork in when you do your abs. I do this. It can also help to keep your legs the same distance apart so you have stability and aren't squirming. Perhaps google this for some ideas and techniques.
  • repmlrs
    repmlrs Posts: 154
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    jump rope and dumbbells. thats all u need
  • breezedaze
    breezedaze Posts: 357 Member
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    Heavy weights(dumbells and barbells) bench, pull up bar and the New Rules of Lifting for Women. That is all.
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
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    Exercise mat and a set of dumbbells
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    jump rope and dumbbells. thats all u need

    for what you want to achieve..^^ this ^^
  • sunshine_gem
    sunshine_gem Posts: 390 Member
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    Most things you need can be found in the house. You can make your own dumbbells by getting empty water bottles and filling them with sand or even just water, or by getting something heavy that you can grip well and lift that (tins of food or anything else in your cupboards). There's also loads of bodyweight exercises you can do. I use this site www.blogilates.com which has tons of free workout videos that are really, really hard (you will sweat but it's still fun) and mostly require nothing more than bodyweight. The most you'll need is dumbbells which can be homemade as aforementioned and a yoga strap and she offers alternatives that can substitute like a belt or a t shirt. As some other posters have mentioned I would suggest a mat for floor work and a balance ball. Oh and invest in a good sprts bra if you haven't already. I use a shock absorber to hold the ladies in (F cup) and it works brilliantly. Just make sure you enjoy whatever you do decide on. Good luck!

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