Strength Training for Dummies

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lulu113
lulu113 Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Or, at least for this dummy :)

From the jillion posts I’ve read about strength v. cardio, I think I’d like to spend some time working on muscle tone. However, I do not belong to a gym therefore do not have access to fancy equipment. Can you offer suggestions for exercises at home? Or, maybe DVD suggestions?

Thanks!

Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Easy starter - 2 sets of 20 each push ups and squats.

    Once a day to begin with, but if you like, do that twice a day. Add weights to the squats if they're too easy. You can use filled water bottles or cans of soup if you don't have weights.
  • MoonSapphire
    MoonSapphire Posts: 57 Member
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    I was just about to start a new post asking this same question!!! I dont have the money for a gym or anything, the only weights I have are 3lbs!!!

    any videos would help so I'm not doing them wrong, lol with my luck I would hurt myself, so a video would be nice =)
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Google "You Are Your Own Gym" and/or "Convict Conditioning".
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/1/muscle/chest

    I only entered "chest" into the search to get you a general link. You can select any/all exercises for virtually every muscle group. In addition, you can select to only view bodyweight exercises, or you can also select resistance band or dumbbell or whatever equipment you have at home.


    eta: They also have videos of all the exercises.
  • MoonSapphire
    MoonSapphire Posts: 57 Member
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    Google "You Are Your Own Gym" and/or "Convict Conditioning".

    So is the app for "you are your own gym" worth buying??
  • brwneyedbrndi
    brwneyedbrndi Posts: 24 Member
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    bump
  • HarleyQuinn1774
    HarleyQuinn1774 Posts: 62 Member
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    Go to bodyrock.tv...They have pretty awesome workouts that use only your body weight. =)
  • SecretAgent27
    SecretAgent27 Posts: 57 Member
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    Resistance bands are fairly cheap and most exercises that you do with weights, you can do with bands.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    Kettleworx. Awesome programme! X
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
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    nerdfitness.com <~~~GO NOW
  • k1200s
    k1200s Posts: 16 Member
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    http://hasfit.com/
    Almost no equipment and it is free. YouTube videos.
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
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    You can do all sorts of body weight workouts. One of the most well-known programs is 'You Are Your Own Gym'. I checked it out and seems like a solid program. You might have to invest in some equipment (like a doorway pull up bar) but most of the stuff you can just get creative with google and whatever is in your house.

    You can also get a pair of dumbbell handles and some 2.5lb and 5lb weight plates to start (I recommend 4 of each) and follow something 'Stronglifts 5x5' or 'Starting Strength' but modified for dumbbells only (or you can also invest in a barbell to go with the plates and dumbbell handles).

    I just started a dumbbell only variant of Stronglifts with 2 pairs of dumbbell handles and plates. I have one pair loaded with the 2.5lbs plates (for warm up sets) and the other with the 5lbs plates (working sets). Have a couple of 10lbs plates but definitely need more and also some 25lbs ones. The nice thing about going this route is you can buy more weight as you need and it takes up minimal space (as opposed to the equivalent weights in dumbbells). Another thing I am modifying with SL is the weight increases: I am only increasing every 2 weeks...1) because I want to spread out expenditure on additional weights 2) I want to spend time building endurance as well as strength (might be silly to do it this way but for someone who is still very much a lifting n00b, it works for me). I am also adding in some yoga for additional strength, stretching and flexibility.

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