Ladies who lift - Quick question

Sarie_Bronish
Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
in Success Stories
Im doing cardio, but everyone says I wont really lose and lean out unless I lift. I do not have a gym membership, and its not in the cards for me. How can I "lift" with my own body weight? I have kids and the daycare at the gym in this small town cost's more per week than the membership does per month. My thighs have GOT TO GO. They are huge compared to my waist. please help! :)
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Replies

  • granitendirt
    granitendirt Posts: 76
    I use a gym, but when I started I did some body weight routines I found on Nerd Fitness. I think sometimes he recommends using something heavy, but it's something easily found around the house.

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/workouts/

    Good luck :)
  • minijuggernaut
    minijuggernaut Posts: 98 Member
    Google: "You are your own gym"

    Should be exactly what you need.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    You can also keep your eye on craigslist and try to pick up some cheap dumbbells, barbell and other strength training equipment and use those at home. That's what I did/do.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    You can also keep your eye on craigslist and try to pick up some cheap dumbbells, barbell and other strength training equipment and use those at home. That's what I did/do.

    This! I have kids, I lift at home
  • georgina1970
    georgina1970 Posts: 333 Member
    There's heaps of body weight exercises out there. I workout at home and use a combination of bodyweight and dumbell lifts. Try looking at the app 'FitnessBuddy.' It has a combination of bodyweight, swissball and dumbell lifts/exercises.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    Insanity or P90x would be good.

    Or a jump rope, a pair of dumbbells, and a stability ball is all you need for a killer body weight workout.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    You've gotten great advice. Also please be sure to consider the fact that your thighs might be genetically larger than you would like. See my pics for my legs. I will never have small thighs.
  • CAME1
    CAME1 Posts: 21 Member
    You can also keep your eye on craigslist and try to pick up some cheap dumbbells, barbell and other strength training equipment and use those at home. That's what I did/do.

    This! I have kids, I lift at home
    I do the same, I haven't spend over $20 on the equip. I got: a pair of 4, 8, and 12lbs dumbbells, a yoga mat, some dvd's on basics. I too recently started lifting at home, while two pretty entertained kids laugh at me......I'm getting pretty good results so far. Good luck!!
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    Lunges, squats, planks, wall sits, push-ups, Burpees...they're all strength training based on weight. Any exercise you do on Insanity that makes your muscles shake :). There are lots of stregth training you can do with out weights and a gym membership!
  • astrovivi
    astrovivi Posts: 183 Member
    You can make great progress starting with BW and some home props/weights :)

    Get yourself a copy of New Rules of Lifting for Women

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/nrol-for-women

    It's a great book and shows you how to do each exercise as well as providing quite a few workouts with progressions.

    It's a really good investment and a great start.

    Good Luck!
  • weightlossdiva1219
    weightlossdiva1219 Posts: 283 Member
    Body weight training is great!

    1. Jump squats
    2. Plyometrics-(Jump Training)- high knee jumps, long jumps
    3. Pushups
    4. Yoga
    5. Lunges
    6. Situps
  • weightlossdiva1219
    weightlossdiva1219 Posts: 283 Member
    Body weight training is great!

    1. Jump squats
    2. Plyometrics-(Jump Training)- high knee jumps, long jumps
    3. Pushups
    4. Yoga
    5. Lunges
    6. Situps

    Invest in some resistance bands and weights. Maybe 3 lbs, 5 lbs, and 8 lbs until you're stronger
  • newblue95
    newblue95 Posts: 53 Member
    I love my cheap dumbells! I have a set of 4 pound and a set of 10 pound. Honestly, the 4 pounds are pretty useless. Feel the burn!
    I highly recommend the 30 day shred for working out at home. Its mostly bodyweight (just one set of dumbells, but you could use 2 bottles of water) and its mostly strength training. I love it so far, been doing it for 8 days!
  • peggymdellinger
    peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
    Google bodyweight circuit.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvhHhDNjtxM (they also have an advanced circuit)
  • tatasmagik
    tatasmagik Posts: 185
    Tiny 8lb dumbbells are useless IMO. Use your body weight - push-ups, planks, squats, pull-ups, etc.
  • crystalfisher89
    crystalfisher89 Posts: 196 Member
    Try squats (with or without weight, so there are so many varieties of squats!), pleis, lunges, push ups, and kettlebell workouts are killer. The few times I have done kettlebells, my butt and thighs were sore for DAYS. I lift twice a week for 12-15 reps usually doing two sets and rotate 3 arm set, 3 leg set, do the circuit again. After the second time I usually jog a mile or do some sort of cardio to get my heart rate going to combine lean fat burn and cardio burn. Then I start a new set of 3 arms and 3 legs. You can mix some abs in there as well! core is just as important as the rest of your body! You can always check Craigslist for dumbells and/or kettlebells for a better price than what Walmart or local fitness stores would cost.

    Hope this helps!! Feel free to add me too if you'd like too. :)
  • AbbeyDove
    AbbeyDove Posts: 317 Member
    The book Body By You is all bodyweight exercises specifically written for women.

    See: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345528972

    It's an excellent program.
  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
    Thanks everyone! I am going to do almost all of those suggestions :) I really need to tone my thighs and shrink them also but cardio is not doing it alone lol.
  • mittencat77
    mittencat77 Posts: 137 Member
    Lunges, squats, planks, wall sits, push-ups, Burpees...they're all strength training based on weight. Any exercise you do on Insanity that makes your muscles shake :). There are lots of stregth training you can do with out weights and a gym membership!

    that
  • Flagirlof3
    Flagirlof3 Posts: 86
    Walmart has a wide variety $10 work out DVDs. If you have dumbbells you can do walking lunges, squat and dead lifts Take a kitchen chair and put it against a wall and do step ups. Make this a circuit workout. take the kids for a 30 minute walk in the morning and in the evening. Good Luck :)
  • ladybuggprincess99
    ladybuggprincess99 Posts: 142 Member
    Im doing cardio, but everyone says I wont really lose and lean out unless I lift. I do not have a gym membership, and its not in the cards for me. How can I "lift" with my own body weight? I have kids and the daycare at the gym in this small town cost's more per week than the membership does per month. My thighs have GOT TO GO. They are huge compared to my waist. please help! :)

    I do legs by lifting my 7 year old (60 pounds) in the air. It's fun bonding time. :)
    I've also used her heavy backpack to do random arm movements. :D

    Just pick stuff up. You'll figure it out. :)
  • kellysam1
    kellysam1 Posts: 24 Member
    you can always make your own weights if you don't want to by any
    for example 2 liter bottles filled with water will work or a back pack filled with items for weight
    www.bodyrock.tv
  • jennusf
    jennusf Posts: 6 Member
    Check out FitnessBlender.com and on the workout search, tweak it for just lower body workouts. If I feel like my legs haven't been punished too much in my workout that day, I do the 5 minute booty blast. It's a combination of leg lifts and squat variations that will make your legs scream--but you will feel like a million bucks when you're done!

    I have big thighs--even when I've been super skinny with little stick arms (loooong time ago) my thighs have been thick. I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and I've been doing lots of the lower body workouts on Fitness Blender. My legs are never going to be skinny, but they are getting to be rock-hard and are definitely smaller. Even though I've only lost 17 lbs, it looks like more I think.
  • sukiwabi
    sukiwabi Posts: 221 Member
    I have two 50# bags of sand that I keep in the backyard. I pick them up and put them down when I can't get to the gym or want to completely exhaust my legs after a run. I do squats with them, throw them around, put one on each shoulder and do modified lunges, etc...
  • teachmom32
    teachmom32 Posts: 183 Member
    If you have an ipad or a smart phone get the app for You Are Your Own Gym. It costs $2.99 and is THE BEST app I've ever purchased. There are 10 week workouts sorted by levels with videos and timers for rest incorporated right in. The videos are demonstrations of every single move. So worth it!
  • Lattegurl
    Lattegurl Posts: 67 Member
    Bump for later
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    Google: "You are your own gym"

    Should be exactly what you need.

    ^^This, I have the app on my phone also
  • kita_254
    kita_254 Posts: 34 Member
    The Nike Trainer app is great! It gives u excercises that u can do at hone with no equipment and minimal equipment. They also have their workouts sectioned off. So, you would go to the "get lean" section. Hope that helps and best of luck to u!
  • peggymdellinger
    peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
    Tiny 8lb dumbbells are useless IMO. Use your body weight - push-ups, planks, squats, pull-ups, etc.

    Definitely planks... they are my nemesis right now. Must defeat the plank!
  • hypatia67
    hypatia67 Posts: 12
    bump

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