Weights- Toning

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Soo I've cut back on cardio with the advice of some people on here :) and now I'm lifting. Lifting, as in not heavy weights, because I don't have access to a gym (neither can I afford it).

I bought two of those eight pound weights from Walmart and I do exercises every day with them from this site http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/articles/the-full-workout-library-of-the-free-30-day-dumbbell-challenge/

I do thirty five reps of some exercises, and for others I can only muster strength for around 20 reps total.

If I do this every day for thirty days will I really be able to see a difference? And followup question: if I keep doing this forever, will it let me *stay* toned? Tips on strength training with the resources I have access to are much appreciated. Thank you everyone :)

Oh, and also I know lifting heavy won't make me bulk up- I just want to lose the last few pounds by incorporating more strength training. (At 131.2 lbs now-want to get to 124 but with a toned flat tummy)
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Replies

  • Winston1717
    Winston1717 Posts: 184
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    Hi.. good start. There are work outs you can do at home without having a gym membership or equipment. These work outs use your body weight and little rest between sets. High intensity etc. You don't have to be a fitness guru either to do the work outs. I ound a lot of good work outs on my Men's Fitness Twitter account. I believe there is Womens Fitness twitter account as well.lso Shin Ohtake was a great life changing investment for his work out programs. Cost at the time $40.00. Good Luck!!!
  • Valerielynbruno
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    If you look up HASfit on YouTube, they have a ton of strength training videos so you can mix up your routine. Some use dumbbells and some just body weight. No need for a gym or anything fancy. I've been doing some of their workouts and really like them. Best part, it's free!
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
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    really you need to be lifting heavy or there will be little or no effect.
    if you can do 35 reps the weight are too light, you need to be struggling on the 8-12th rep
    Weights are very cheap to buy if you're on a low income as you can buy the plates as you progress
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    If you aren't going to lift heavy, you should find a more productive hobby.
  • kristarablue2
    kristarablue2 Posts: 386 Member
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    Body weight exercises can do wonders! Lots of push ups, pull ups, planks, dips, squats...ect. There are ways you can lift even though you don't have weights. I have even added water bottles to a backpack to give me some extra weight to workout with, when you become proficient in the push ups and pull ups (you can do pull ups at most playgrounds thanks to monkey bars) put the back pack on and make it more difficult. You don't need a gym membership or lots of weights to do this, it does open options but not a requirement.

    Also, don't know where you live, but I know when I started to workout I joined planet fitness at $10 a month because I could not afford anything else and cut my budget elsewhere, but I know that is not always an option.

    Good luck!!! Try body Rock as well, love their videos and they are free!
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    Some places don't have cheap gyms, but, if you can't afford $10, your dedication is lacking. If u want to workout at home u can do a lot with body weight and resistance bands. Then again. a used barbell is like $40 and plates are .50 cents a pound or less.
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
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    Some places don't have cheap gyms, but, if you can't afford $10, your dedication is lacking. If u want to workout at home u can do a lot with body weight and resistance bands. Then again. a used barbell is like $40 and plates are .50 cents a pound or less.

    Haha I can very well afford $10, but I'm not lacking dedication. I'm a student and my schedule is rather busy, but I'm giving equal importance to my studies and health/fitness, so it's kind of time-consuming. But thanks for the good part of the advice anyways. =)
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
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    Body weight exercises can do wonders! Lots of push ups, pull ups, planks, dips, squats...ect. There are ways you can lift even though you don't have weights. I have even added water bottles to a backpack to give me some extra weight to workout with, when you become proficient in the push ups and pull ups (you can do pull ups at most playgrounds thanks to monkey bars) put the back pack on and make it more difficult. You don't need a gym membership or lots of weights to do this, it does open options but not a requirement.

    Also, don't know where you live, but I know when I started to workout I joined planet fitness at $10 a month because I could not afford anything else and cut my budget elsewhere, but I know that is not always an option.

    Good luck!!! Try body Rock as well, love their videos and they are free!

    Thank you very much for your helpful info. I'll check out the website for that gym!
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
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    If you aren't going to lift heavy, you should find a more productive hobby.

    :huh: Is taking care of your health a HOBBY? It isn't for me. It's something I expect myself to do on a daily basis.
  • janetdungan
    janetdungan Posts: 14 Member
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    use your body weight if you cant go to the gym. get your hands on heavy weights, that will burn calories and make you lose weight fast. but dont cut back on cardio. dont take advice from amateurs
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
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    If you look up HASfit on YouTube, they have a ton of strength training videos so you can mix up your routine. Some use dumbbells and some just body weight. No need for a gym or anything fancy. I've been doing some of their workouts and really like them. Best part, it's free!

    Thank you so much for your advice- I will look that up!
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
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    use your body weight if you cant go to the gym. get your hands on heavy weights, that will burn calories and make you lose weight fast. but dont cut back on cardio. dont take advice from amateurs

    Thank you. I won't cut back on it TOO much :)
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
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    Since you don't have any other weights than the 8 pounds ones, I think you would benefit more from doing bodyweight stuff. Look into programs like You are your own gym or Convict conditioning.
    I agree that lifting progressively heavier would be the best thing to do, but I would not go as far as to say that anything else is useless.
  • brandon0523
    brandon0523 Posts: 516
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    So wait.. let me get this straight.. you wanna tone so you cut back your cardio??? OK.. weird??? But yes. I'll agree no need to lift "heavy".. using your own body is very good and very helpful.. you can always make bw exercises harder by changing a few simple things.. check out the hasfit. And do no more than 2 hours of cardio a week.
  • brandon0523
    brandon0523 Posts: 516
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    If you aren't going to lift heavy, you should find a more productive hobby.
    says the guy with no muscle tone
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
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    If you aren't going to lift heavy, you should find a more productive hobby.

    As much as I personally believe that heavy lifting is the best thing since sliced bread, advice like this is discouraging. Not everybody can, should or wants to be lifting heavy. To imply that anything else is a waste of time is silly.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Can you do 35 pushups? If not, then doing that (or aiming to eventually) will be much more beneficial than doing light weights.

    Other ones to look into, 100 pushups, 100 pullups,

    Simple "program". Pushup, pullup, lunge.

    Day 1: 1 rep of each
    Day 2 2 reps
    Day 90: 90reps of each

    It's hard.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    Soo I've cut back on cardio with the advice of some people on here :) and now I'm lifting. Lifting, as in not heavy weights, because I don't have access to a gym (neither can I afford it).

    I bought two of those eight pound weights from Walmart and I do exercises every day with them from this site http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/articles/the-full-workout-library-of-the-free-30-day-dumbbell-challenge/

    I do thirty five reps of some exercises, and for others I can only muster strength for around 20 reps total.

    If I do this every day for thirty days will I really be able to see a difference? And followup question: if I keep doing this forever, will it let me *stay* toned? Tips on strength training with the resources I have access to are much appreciated. Thank you everyone :)

    Oh, and also I know lifting heavy won't make me bulk up- I just want to lose the last few pounds by incorporating more strength training. (At 131.2 lbs now-want to get to 124 but with a toned flat tummy)
    You're exchanging one form of cardio for another. Reps over 12 are considered "muscle endurance" training and NOT strength training. And endurance training usually means cardio type workouts. Try learning pushups.....one of the best ways to get some strength started.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    You Are You Own Gym (there is also an app) and Convict Training as others have said.

    Walmart and Amazon have dumbbell/barbell sets w/plates up to 50lbs for $25-$50. You can also look into Iron Gym Pull Up Bar- about $25.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I agree with the body weight crowd... 8 lb weights are really aerobic weights.... You can also use heavier objects around the house to help increase strength training.