Strength training with no gym

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klappeh
klappeh Posts: 49 Member
So..I really enjoy strength training but I can't afford a gym membership right now. Does anyone out there know if it's even possible to do this way? (eg: using household items, bodyweight, etc.) Any and all tips are appreciated!

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  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    I'm sure it's possible, but you may need to be creative for adding resistance. There are lots of bodyweight exercises you could do, but eventually you'll need to somehow add weight to that. If you were doing pushups, you could try putting something on your back (cinder block? ha...).
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Yes it is definitely possible to do. Bodyweight can provide all the resistance you'd ever need. You can make things easier by adding ways to weight your body.

    At the elite levels of bodyweight strength training are male olympic gymnasts, who are pound for pound as strong as anyone.

    Lifting heavy things that are not weights is not the way to go. You can do things here and there, but building a cohesive program would be impossible.

    One can build a great program using bodyweight.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I'm sure it's possible, but you may need to be creative for adding resistance. There are lots of bodyweight exercises you could do, but eventually you'll need to somehow add weight to that. If you were doing pushups, you could try putting something on your back (cinder block? ha...).

    Or do one arm pushups.

    The OP is a female, chances are a one arm pushup will never be too easy for her. Can happen with males (though plyometric one arm pushups are always the bomb, no better exercise exists for punch power).
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    I've heard a lot of good things about the You Are Your Own Gym app. There are probably a lot of videos for bodyweight exercises on youtube, and you can put bags of rice or sand in a backpack to add weight to push-ups and pull-ups, or buy a weight bench/dumbbells. I've been doing New Rules of Lifting for Women using dumbbells at home because I can't join a gym right now. I just order extra plates when I need to increase my weights.
  • candacefausset
    candacefausset Posts: 297 Member
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    Yes it is definitely possible to do. Bodyweight can provide all the resistance you'd ever need. You can make things easier by adding ways to weight your body.

    At the elite levels of bodyweight strength training are male olympic gymnasts, who are pound for pound as strong as anyone.

    Lifting heavy things that are not weights is not the way to go. You can do things here and there, but building a cohesive program would be impossible.

    One can build a great program using bodyweight.
    Yep,
    I can't afford a gym membership either. We are fortunate to have some beginners equipment including some weights and such but I have still been using a lot of body weight resistance until I get strong enough to bypass that step and hopefully by then I can mention I want a gym membership for my birthday or Christmas lol. Also resistance training bands are a good help. They are inexpensive, easy to store and can be used to do a large variety of different exercises.
  • klappeh
    klappeh Posts: 49 Member
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    Yeah I am a complete n00b too so even a regular pushup is impossible for me at this point lol...gotta start on my knees. Thank though, yall! I will look up bodyweight exercises now.
    I'm sure it's possible, but you may need to be creative for adding resistance. There are lots of bodyweight exercises you could do, but eventually you'll need to somehow add weight to that. If you were doing pushups, you could try putting something on your back (cinder block? ha...).

    Or do one arm pushups.

    The OP is a female, chances are a one arm pushup will never be too easy for her. Can happen with males (though plyometric one arm pushups are always the bomb, no better exercise exists for punch power).
  • sunnmuun
    sunnmuun Posts: 76 Member
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    Check out Nerd Fitness - they advocate non-gym workouts. One of the things they suggest is milk jugs that you fill with different amounts of water to act as weights. As you can tolerate more you add more water into the jug. They have exercises you can do at a playground also. Excellent source of ideas.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    There are books on bodyweight workouts (?you are your own gym - cant remember te exact name).

    Also it would be worth buying a pull-up bar that fits in a door frame. They're pretty cheap and pull-ups can give a good full body workout.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    44 best bodyweight exercises

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POdzasJklxw

    and 44 best bodyweight exercises for women, although you don't have to do women-only workouts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutF8wPlk4Q
  • ebr250
    ebr250 Posts: 199 Member
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    Gold's Gym makes an adjustable dumbell that starts at 5 lb goes up in 5 lb increments to 25 lb. If you are just starting out this may be enough weight for you at the moment. They are pretty reasonable and a nice compact shape (as opposed to the heavier adjustables which can get long). Get an exercise ball and/or a step to fill in for a bench and you can start a weight lifting regime at home :)
  • klappeh
    klappeh Posts: 49 Member
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    oh good lord that man is amazing lol..
    thanks for these!
    44 best bodyweight exercises

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POdzasJklxw

    and 44 best bodyweight exercises for women, although you don't have to do women-only workouts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutF8wPlk4Q
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    oh good lord that man is amazing lol..
    thanks for these!
    44 best bodyweight exercises

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POdzasJklxw

    and 44 best bodyweight exercises for women, although you don't have to do women-only workouts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutF8wPlk4Q

    He is, isn't he?! I can't watch that enough. I'd never seen the other one until I went to get the url for the first one. She's pretty badass, too!
  • crista_b
    crista_b Posts: 1,192 Member
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    I agree with the others that have posted here; I'd go with bodyweight exercises or try to get some adjustable dumbbells. If you have a friend with a gym membership, see if you could occasionally "tag along" as a guest (some gyms let you bring in a guest for free) if you still want to get some different kinds of exercises in using machines, barbell, etc.

    ETA: Here are some links with suggestions for household items you can use for weights:
    http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-household-objects-that-work-as-weights/
    http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/no-equipment-strength-training-with-common-household-items.html#b
    http://www.veganfitness.net/viewtopic.php?t=15510
  • Annerk1
    Annerk1 Posts: 372 Member
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    Use bands and your own body.
  • momzeeee
    momzeeee Posts: 475 Member
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    I absolutely love Mark Lauren's book, Body By You. It's a strength training program geared towards women and you don't need any extra equipment besides things like a chair. It's only three times a week for 30 minutes. His other book, You Are Your Own Gym, is also highly recommended in the body building community (geared more towards guys or more advanced women)

    In the 6ish weeks that I've done it my body has noticeably changed-

    upper arms have muscle definition and I've lost the 'chicken wing' flap underneath yay!
    shoulders and upper back look amazing-can't believe they belong to me lol
    starting to see some definition in my stomach area
    butt is tighter
    I'm stronger-can lift things that I used to struggle with.

    Got it at Barnes and Noble for $16 :)
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,154 Member
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    I'm sure it's possible, but you may need to be creative for adding resistance. There are lots of bodyweight exercises you could do, but eventually you'll need to somehow add weight to that. If you were doing pushups, you could try putting something on your back (cinder block? ha...).

    Or do one arm pushups.

    The OP is a female, chances are a one arm pushup will never be too easy for her. Can happen with males (though plyometric one arm pushups are always the bomb, no better exercise exists for punch power).

    Resistance in pushups can be changed first by changing the lever angle. Doing them at an incline will make them easier, doing them at a decline will make them harder. Moving to one arm will increase the difficulty even more as will removing some of the stability with rings or straps or even doing them with one hand or both on a volleyball or the like. Moving your feet to a stability ball or putting them in TRX straps will also increase the difficulty. When all those options are finished and something more is needed, a semi-planche or planche pushup will be needed.