Body weight strength training ideas?

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JosieRawr
JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone know of a bodyweight strength plan(or primarily body weight based at least)?

If there are programs like the strong lifts, but for body weight.. the name of the program would be excellent!

Otherwise here's some background/ availability of equipment

I do some strength training at the gym, but my upper body is so weak that I'm pretty sure I can't use a legit bar so I stay outta the actual weight room because I'm shy and don't do well in situations that I don't feel confident in and don't want to get in anyone's way.

I do some work with dumbbells(I have 5s n a 20 and I use the ones that are set aside upstairs at my gym that range from 3-20lb-I usually use between the 10-15 depending on what I'm doing)

I use the stationary machines at the gym about once a week lately.(the reason I'm looking for at home/body weight strength workouts)
My gym has about 15 different ones, I mainly use the leg press, back flexor(works the lower back), one where you reach above your head and pull a bar down to ~eye level, over head press, chest press and something row( but it's not full motion)

I'd like some sort of routine for at home to ensure I'm not leaving anything out... a combo of mostly body weight with a touch of dumbbell work outs would be great!
(I do bw squats, working on pushups, modified dips, and what ever I can think of doing with my limited hand weights... and I usually do jumping jacks and running in place or pseudo jump roping to warm up, my abs usually feel the burn from my cardio dancing so I'm not really looking to do extra ab work at the moment)

Any ideas would be welcome, just gets a bit boring. Constructive criticism is highly welcome. :)

And Thank you for your time, regardless if you have something helpful to contribute or if you feel that I'm just wasting your time. :)

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    First, do not be afraid of the weight room. Second, you cand lift more than you think. Think about your daily life and what you lift regularly. I bet it's more than 5 pounds. Nerd Fitness has some good blogs you might be interested in. There's also a book called Your Body is a Gym, or something like that, that might be worth checking out. Bodybuilding.com probably has some good stuff, too.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    You mean Mark Lauren's 'You Are Your Own Gym''
  • tacguy
    tacguy Posts: 196
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    Hi Josie,
    Have you considered a DVD program?
    Programs like 10 Minute Traininer, Power 90, P90X, ET use many body weight excercises along with some dumbbells excersies. Bands can also be substitited.
    The good thing about body weight exercises is that they can help you with your nutrition. You know that whatever you eat today, you will have to lift tomorrow!! LOL!

    Good luck!
    Joe
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    First, do not be afraid of the weight room. Second, you cand lift more than you think. Think about your daily life and what you lift regularly. I bet it's more than 5 pounds. Nerd Fitness has some good blogs you might be interested in. There's also a book called Your Body is a Gym, or something like that, that might be worth checking out. Bodybuilding.com probably has some good stuff, too.

    Thanks! I'll try to look up that book.
    I know I can lift more than five pounds(I have a five year old), I mostly use them to increase the intensity of my cardio(dancing) lol. I'm slowly adding things to my fitness equipment, I was just stating everything I have. My main issue with free weights is stability(without having my body to brace the weight against) as I'm hypermobile-AKA "double" jointed(but as long as I don't try to up the weight too fast I have had NO problems outta this concerning strength/resistance training. :)
  • Amazing1985RSD
    Amazing1985RSD Posts: 280
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    If you don't use a barbell you are limiting yourself a lot.

    Though the best exercises I can think of for you are Chin-ups, dips, back extensions or glute/ham raises and power yoga.
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    Hi Josie,
    Have you considered a DVD program?
    Programs like 10 Minute Traininer, Power 90, P90X, ET use many body weight excercises along with some dumbbells excersies. Bands can also be substitited.
    The good thing about body weight exercises is that they can help you with your nutrition. You know that whatever you eat today, you will have to lift tomorrow!! LOL!

    Good luck!
    Joe

    Thanks Jo, I thought p90x was super cardio? I have done minimal DVD work-usually via borrowing this disc or another from my sister or mom, but I find the super intense push leaves me needing more recovery time for not much of a work out? Maybe it's just the ones I tried may have to look into them more.
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    If you don't use a barbell you are limiting yourself a lot.

    Though the best exercises I can think of for you are Chin-ups, dips, back extensions or glute/ham raises and power yoga.

    It's not that I never plan on using a barbell, I do similar motions with dumbbells. though mostly only go up to 15lb per hand so a 45lb bar isn't really too idea for me at the moment and I do have a fear of embarrassing myself, but when I build up some strength n feel ready I'll deal with that fear. :)

    Thanks for the suggestions!
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
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    You mean Mark Lauren's 'You Are Your Own Gym''
    thx for the specific name :) Looking it up now
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    (I do bw squats, working on pushups, modified dips, and what ever I can think of doing with my limited hand weights... and I usually do jumping jacks and running in place or pseudo jump roping to warm up, my abs usually feel the burn from my cardio dancing so I'm not really looking to do extra ab work at the moment)

    Nothing wrong with that list. You could do it in circuits or supersets to make things more interesting.

    1x10 squats followed immediate by
    1x6 push ups (knee or whatever)
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    1x6 dips followed immediately by
    1x10 dumbbell side raises
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    1x10 lunges followed immediately by
    1x10 db shoulder press
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    When you get bored of that, make up your own stuff. YT is a great resource for all kinda of exercise.
  • Angelikajohnston
    Angelikajohnston Posts: 39
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    the best idea for you to do exercise that you can do at home that is chinups, pushups and squats. if you are lifting weights, just add 5-10 kg more as you can lift more than you can imagine.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    You mean Mark Lauren's 'You Are Your Own Gym''

    This or Convict COnditioning.

    However if you're already a member of a gym I'd suggest a heavy lifting routine.
  • jaquwa
    jaquwa Posts: 99 Member
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    I had little upper body strength and couldn't do push ups, once I'd finished Insanity level 1 I was able to do them. This programme really increased my upper body strength
  • tacguy
    tacguy Posts: 196
    Options
    Hi Josie,
    Have you considered a DVD program?
    Programs like 10 Minute Traininer, Power 90, P90X, ET use many body weight excercises along with some dumbbells excersies. Bands can also be substitited.
    The good thing about body weight exercises is that they can help you with your nutrition. You know that whatever you eat today, you will have to lift tomorrow!! LOL!

    Good luck!
    Joe

    Thanks Jo, I thought p90x was super cardio? I have done minimal DVD work-usually via borrowing this disc or another from my sister or mom, but I find the super intense push leaves me needing more recovery time for not much of a work out? Maybe it's just the ones I tried may have to look into them more.

    P90X is a pretty tough program, but they show how the exercises can be modified for those who may struggle at first. Power 90 is less extreme and 10 Minute Trainer even easier than that. These are all well rounded programs with combinations of resistance training (weights and body weight), cardio and yoga/stretching.
    Remember, no matter what kind of workout you do, it's only as intense as you want it to be. You control how hard you work.


    Good luck!
    Joe
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    You mean Mark Lauren's 'You Are Your Own Gym''

    This or Convict COnditioning.

    However if you're already a member of a gym I'd suggest a heavy lifting routine.

    Thanks :)

    I plan to eventually do a heavy lifting routine, but I want to be confident that I can lift the bar first and right now it'll be good for me to have some stuff to do at home between my visits at the gym
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    Hi Josie,
    Have you considered a DVD program?
    Programs like 10 Minute Traininer, Power 90, P90X, ET use many body weight excercises along with some dumbbells excersies. Bands can also be substitited.
    The good thing about body weight exercises is that they can help you with your nutrition. You know that whatever you eat today, you will have to lift tomorrow!! LOL!

    Good luck!
    Joe

    Thanks Jo, I thought p90x was super cardio? I have done minimal DVD work-usually via borrowing this disc or another from my sister or mom, but I find the super intense push leaves me needing more recovery time for not much of a work out? Maybe it's just the ones I tried may have to look into them more.

    P90X is a pretty tough program, but they show how the exercises can be modified for those who may struggle at first. Power 90 is less extreme and 10 Minute Trainer even easier than that. These are all well rounded programs with combinations of resistance training (weights and body weight), cardio and yoga/stretching.
    Remember, no matter what kind of workout you do, it's only as intense as you want it to be. You control how hard you work.


    Good luck!
    Joe

    Very true(about the intensity) but I feel like I'm slacking if I'm not giving it my all! Thanks again!
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    I had little upper body strength and couldn't do push ups, once I'd finished Insanity level 1 I was able to do them. This programme really increased my upper body strength


    Thank you for the suggestion!
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Options

    (I do bw squats, working on pushups, modified dips, and what ever I can think of doing with my limited hand weights... and I usually do jumping jacks and running in place or pseudo jump roping to warm up, my abs usually feel the burn from my cardio dancing so I'm not really looking to do extra ab work at the moment)

    Nothing wrong with that list. You could do it in circuits or supersets to make things more interesting.

    1x10 squats followed immediate by
    1x6 push ups (knee or whatever)
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    1x6 dips followed immediately by
    1x10 dumbbell side raises
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    1x10 lunges followed immediately by
    1x10 db shoulder press
    count to 30 then repeat another 2 times.

    When you get bored of that, make up your own stuff. YT is a great resource for all kinda of exercise.

    Thanks for this

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