Lifting Heavy on a Budget

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badtastebetty
badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am interested in starting to lift heavy, but I would like to do so without joining a gym, as I am trying to save money.

What would you recommend for must have at home equipment. Also, any tips for how to do this cheaply?
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  • badtastebetty
    badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
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    bump?
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    You should try posting in the "Eat Train Progress" group.
  • sray30
    sray30 Posts: 97 Member
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    Bump
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
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    You can make an awesome adjustable "sandbag" for lifting for relatively cheap. http://youtu.be/OIIuvdW6IXE That will walk you through it. I think they have videos for other DIY workout equipment. Good luck with it!

    ETA: For an example of what kind of workout you can do with a sandbag, check out http://youtu.be/J4KtudiUT7o
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    To be perfectly honest, your best bet is to join a gym. Find one that is running a special and sign up. My gym is normally $19/month and I signed up for $9/month. It is by far worth it to have access to all the equipment and have a place you can focus.
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
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    I once lifted my neighbor's TV. Carried it all the way to the pawn shop. I got my workout in, made some money too..
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    What budget do you have to work with? That determines what your options are.

    And yeah, what whierd said. There are a lot of gyms using the ~$10/month and no initiation fees business model (because they have concluded that people are less likely to cancel at that price...brilliant, actually).

    My recommendation for a decent starting setup would set you back ~$600 (for a cage $400 and a set of cheap oly plates and a cheap bar (~$200))...which is 3-5 years at a budget gym that will have all of this and much more.
  • badtastebetty
    badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
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    You can make an awesome adjustable "sandbag" for lifting for relatively cheap. http://youtu.be/OIIuvdW6IXE That will walk you through it. I think they have videos for other DIY workout equipment. Good luck with it!

    ETA: For an example of what kind of workout you can do with a sandbag, check out http://youtu.be/J4KtudiUT7o

    Awesome!
  • badtastebetty
    badtastebetty Posts: 326 Member
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    To be perfectly honest, your best bet is to join a gym. Find one that is running a special and sign up. My gym is normally $19/month and I signed up for $9/month. It is by far worth it to have access to all the equipment and have a place you can focus.

    All the gyms in my area require contracts - so gyms are not my best bet. Maybe when I move to a different area I can look into other gyms.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    If you are that price restricted, I would recommend doing body weight exercises for awhile until your financial situation improves.
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
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    If you are that price restricted, I would recommend doing body weight exercises for awhile until your financial situation improves.

    This is also a good option. You can check out http://www.nerdfitness.com or http://www.marklauren.com/
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    No need to join a gym if you don't want to. You have everything you need with your own bodyweight and a pull-up bar. Some folks will tell you that bodyweight exercises will get to a point then stop, but that is only if you don't know how to make the exercise more intense by changing it up - for example push-ups, close hand push-ups, etc until you are doing one arm push-ups. There is no more limitation in bodyweight exerciese than there are in weights.

    Your choice. I would recommend to you a workout manual called Convict Conditioning showing progressive bodyweight exercises from easy to unbelievable. That and some kettlebells and good form and your all set.

    I think it's superior to weights, but then I'm hooked!
  • redscylla
    redscylla Posts: 211 Member
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    I use this great app called You Are Your Own Gym to do body weight exercise.
  • craigmandu
    craigmandu Posts: 976 Member
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    Convict Conditioning is pretty good...I'd start with that, if you can master that, you may not need any "equipment" at all.

    But if you really want some "equipment' the first question is do you have the room for it? If you do, you can get an "olympic" 300lb set of weights with bar at D1cks sporting goods for about $200. This would let you do everything you needed except squats if you followed Stronglifts or a similar program.

    You can also build your own Squat/Bench Rack for about $80 from wood instead of buying a station ($3-400)...if you do some googling you can find out how... (Depending on your ability to build things safely, you may need some help with that).

    You would need a bench, and those can be bought second hand or off of craigslist for dirt cheap (just make sure you research what you are buying to make sure it's sturdy first)...You may be able to get everthing rather cheaply on craigslist if you search it for a while.

    I've also seem some real good buys at yard sales. Especially this time of year, people do their spring/summer yard sales and the stuff they bought at christmas that they aren't going to use they sometimes sell real cheap.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Convict Conditioning is snake oil --- stick with material from Ross Enamait, he's at least got credentials.

    But for bare minimum equipment other than bodyweight, I'd suggest a kettlebell. Get a single 35# and you'll grow in to it.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I've been keeping my eye on Craigslist...you can find weights & equipment pretty cheap. Also Goodwill & second hand sporting goods stores. I bought two used 20lb dumbbells for $22 the other day. Not bad.
  • auteurfille22
    auteurfille22 Posts: 251 Member
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    I asked something similar to this recently and I got a lot of good responses and ideas:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/979566-weight-training-that-can-be-done-at-home-w-o-much-equipment
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Convict Conditioning is snake oil --- stick with material from Ross Enamait, he's at least got credentials.

    But for bare minimum equipment other than bodyweight, I'd suggest a kettlebell. Get a single 35# and you'll grow in to it.

    So CC is bogus...

    ...but a single KB is legit?
  • Shr3dded
    Shr3dded Posts: 232
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    It costs less for a gym membership than it does for all the equipment needed to "lift heavy".

    Also going to a gym gives you options to have a spotter on hand and machines for isolations. No use in trying to squat a 2 plate if you're just going to hurt yourself.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Convict Conditioning is snake oil --- stick with material from Ross Enamait, he's at least got credentials.

    But for bare minimum equipment other than bodyweight, I'd suggest a kettlebell. Get a single 35# and you'll grow in to it.

    So CC is bogus...

    ...but a single KB is legit?
    Problems with CC:

    1) We don't know who Paul Wade is.
    2) The programming is horrible according to anyone familiar with the basics of strength training.
    3) The one-arm handstand pushup is merely theoretical.
    4) The one-arm pushup progression doesn't lead to a straight-body one-arm pushup.
    5) Uneven squats.
    6) Weightlifting is not inherently bad for your joints.
    7) The amount of people that have gained a lot of strength on it could've gained the same amount of strength in like two months. I mean, I got my one-arm straddle pushup within a month after I had started working in the lower rep ranges with a better progression.
    8) The concept of slow reps to build 'real strength' is nonsense.
    9) The concept of slow reps to build joint strength is nonsense.
    10) Unless you have shoulder issues, there is no problem in relaxing your shoulders in a dead hang.
    11) Doug Hepburn lifted weights.
    12) Bert Assirati lifted weights.
    13) In fact, everyone that's displayed in the book lifted weights.

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