Has anyone "transformed" their body WITHOUT lifting heavy?

what would you all consider "heavy"? just out of curiosity.

Deadlift
6 sets x 1 rep
1 set: 350lb
2 set: 400lb
3 set 425lb
4 set 450lb
5 set 475lb
6 set 500lb

If you are limited to home gym and can't afford substantial investment, check out a TRX. Lots of bodyweight exercises can be done with this system and get you a great workout.

And "heavy" is progressive. You should be regularly increasing your weights. What was heavy to me six months ago is no longer a challenge.

I've had two periods in my life where I transformed myself, one initially doing cardio only, the other nothing but heavy lifting.

I've always been strong, and I did not like myself at all doing just the cardio. And really that's not fair to say just cardio as I maintained some of my muscle mass from prior heavy lifting to allow me to end up 5'10" 178 and about 10% body fat. I'm sure that looks and sounds good to some, but I felt like an absolute piss ant and a weakling then. I spent the next two years gaining 30 lean pounds.

This time I just hit the weights and calorie restricted. It's taken me about 1/3 the time to get to the same point as cardio, and then weights (as I see some say I want to lose weight and THEN "tone"). Well, you get " there" faster by lifting as you lose IMO.

Doing cardio only will just burn calories, and if you're not giving your body a reason to maintain muscle, a lot will be the muscle that you so long to see when you get leaner. This makes you have to lose even more weight/fat/muscle to look "toned".

Here's some advice from a broke post-college student who never joined a gym:

Good advice. There's always DIY / cheap ways to make expensive things. Like there's squat rack using saw horses http://www.ehow.com/how_10055870_use-saw-horses-squat-racks.html

Also buying used on craigslist could save you a lot of money - often cheaper than cost of materials making something yourself; you just need to be willing to wait for a good deal to come by

Do not understimate the use of body weight only exercises for building strength & muscle.

People have already pointed out nerdfitness.com & you are your own gym. You can go as far as you want and may never run out of bodyweight exercises. There is always a way to make them more difficult.

Yes! I have been lifting more lately because 1) my goals have changed and 2) I have the resources, but I've been shredded using nothing more than consistent body weight exercises (and the use of a sandbag -- priceless!) You don't need weights if you don't have them. There are so many body weight exercises that can shred you if done correctly.

Also, please keep in mind that not everyone has the same fitness goals, so people who lift heavy (while it is certainly good for your physique) may not be trying to accomplish the same things you are. They are going to try to sell you their fitness plan like its the only way -- runners, cyclists, P90x-ers, Crossfit-ers, and anyone else who has found success in their program -- will too, but every body is different, and we are all trying to accomplish different things.

Jillian Micheals DVD's usually have a lot of body weight exercises, but do a little research on your own and supplement if you are really trying to increase strength.

Good luck!

I want to make my own sandbag. That just sounds so freakin' awesome, and I've seen them used on youtube. GRRRRrrrrrr.

As several folks have already mentioned, check out You Are Your Own Gym. He has a great app that allows you to pick your fitness level and choose the amount of time you have to workout. Once you enter that info, a timed workout starts (including rest periods). You can also create and save your favorite workouts. Good luck!

bump, because I am starting to explore lifting as an option for me

Bump...interesting...

Awesome story and sorry to hear about your stay in hospital.

Totally agree with your approach to bodyweight exercising. There is no comparison between doing Donkey Calf Raises with your wife sitting astride your hips compared to being stuck under a Cafl Raise machine staring at the wall!

Welcome back!

would anyone else like to share their experiences ?

I've done heavy lifting when I've had gym access, pure bodyweight exercises and a mix of the two. I get more of a "buzz" from heavy lifting, which I can't really explain, and strength gains feel more measurable, so I like that aspect. But bodyweight exercises were much easier to incorporate into my weekly routine, and obviously, great when I wasn't going to the gym. When I was doing a bodyweight programme, I finally managed to do full pushups, as an obese, middle-aged woman. That felt like a great achievement for me.

Several people have recommended You Are Your Own Gym, but I actually preferred Body By You by the same author (Mark Lauren) and that was the programme I used. I would recommend it. It felt simpler than YAYOG: basically, full body exercises three times a week. You do the same exercises, but increase the difficulty in small increments as you get stronger. It was hard work, but only takes about 20 minutes.

However, I can't really talk about "transforming" my body. I seem to be managing to maintain LBM, which was my aim, but I don't know how much of my change in looks is down to either the bodyweight exercises or the lifting. Most of it is probably down to weight loss.

And to confuse things, I also do ballet, which DID change my body when I was younger, so I don't know if any of the changes are due to ballet rather than the other two things. Actually, having said that, ballet is almost ALL bodyweight exercises. So there you go - I did transform my body without a gym, during purely bodyweight exercises. Maybe "transform" is too strong, but there was a noticeable difference in terms of muscle size and definition.

As others have said, "lifting heavy" is relative.

If you want to lift heavy using just your body, it can easily be done - I think one of the best bodyweight progressions is to be found in "Convict Conditioning". Ignore all the macho prisoner story stuff if you like and just look at the progressions. They go from exercises my granny could do all the way to one arm handstand pushups.

Edited to add: if you google it, one of the first hits is a download of the entire book.

Hellzyeah! The overwhelming group think here is if you don't lift heavy, you're a moron who worries unnecessarily that she'll get bulky and/or that you're destined to be a mass of jelly if you're not pushing out a loaf at the gym while squatting heavy heavy heavy.

I lost my weight a few years back with Jillian Michaels dvds which is suppose to be all wrong :laugh: even though I looked and felt great. I tried upping to heavy weights this year because I bought into all the hype. I was injured within a week which set me back months. So while it works great for many, it may just not be the end all be all for some. Don't let anyone tell you that's what you have to do. :drinker:

What if I told you I do Jillian dvds and lift heavy? Mind, blown?

And injuring yourself is a totally separate issue from Heavy Lifting and certainly doesn't reflect upon it's effectiveness or usefulness in the least. It just means you got hurt.

OP: When I was in the military I didn't lift heavy. I ran, I did body weight stuff, and I swam. I looked good and felt good; I'm lifting now and I feel amazing. I'm sure I'll look amazing at some future point (Though certainly I'm always 'looking good'.) Everyone's ideal is different and so you should work towards what you yourself are looking for, not what anyone else is looking for.