can i lift heavy/strength train at home?

Options
jigglyone
jigglyone Posts: 410 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
so im on my way to lowering my body fat so i can get a flatter, leaner belly. Now i cant get to a gym, so is there a way i could train at home?

Replies

  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    Options
    Of course. You just have to buy the equipment if you're talking about seriously pursing strength gains. You're looking at about $500 and a bit of time digging through Craigslist, most likely.
  • wilmnoca
    wilmnoca Posts: 416 Member
    Options
    Buy some heavy dumbells and start there. You don't need 500$ worth of equipment to build muscle. There are literally HUNDREDS of exercises you can do with a pair of heavy dumbells. I have been saving for a membership at the beginning of the year b/c I need to be lifting heavier now. I got my dumbbells at a sporting goods thrift store. Hey, you do the best with what you have right? Get creative! I have been known to do push-ups with a 20lb jug of cat litter on my back????. And I I do say so, I'm gettin pretty jacked!
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Options
    I started with body weight strength training using Nerd Fitness (http://www.nerdfitness.com/workouts/). It was awesome. I then progressed and bought a bench, barbell and plates. I do Stronglifts now and LOVE IT! Start where you can. If you have the space for your own equipment, great. If not, maybe after a few months you will have the funds for a gym or YMCA membership.

    Good luck!
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Options
    I do. I have a little gym in my garage with a bench, squat rack, barbell, plates, and dumbbells. Everything came from either Craigslist or Amazon.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    Options
    I've always trained @ home & love my home gym. If you truly want to lift heavy invest in a good Olympic bar, weights, bench, & Squat Rack or stands
  • gojodster
    gojodster Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    Resistance bands are a great inexpensive way to go. or get the weights as you work up to them. I Follow the Chalean Extreme Workout program by beachbody.com and love it. you can get a great workout (heavy lifting strength traning) in about 35mins a day. and I just clear a little spot in my basement about 4ft square is all you need. I dont live close to a gym either and this works great for me. :)
  • gojodster
    gojodster Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    all you need is a set of Dumb bells to start or Resistance bands, no need to get all that and set up an entire gym to start.
  • Leaping_Lemur
    Leaping_Lemur Posts: 121 Member
    Options
    I bought a bench for $50, and a few dumbbells (bought them new, but wish I'd poked around craiglist). Not quite sure what I've spent in total but I'm sure it's under $150 (which is less than a few months' gym membership). Since you're starting out, just buy a few of the lighter dumbbells (5, 10, 15, and 20 will suffice -- you might want to skip the 5, depends on how strong you are, and you probably won't need the 20, or maybe even the 15, for a couple of weeks or even longer). That will suffice for a couple of months, certainly. I do all my weight training at home, and I'm fairly cautious about increasing too fast because I don't want to injure myself. It's amazing how much strength I've gained over the past four months.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    Options
    I started with body weight strength training using Nerd Fitness (http://www.nerdfitness.com/workouts/). It was awesome. I then progressed and bought a bench, barbell and plates. I do Stronglifts now and LOVE IT! Start where you can. If you have the space for your own equipment, great. If not, maybe after a few months you will have the funds for a gym or YMCA membership.

    Good luck!

    Pretty much what I did. Body weight exercises until I got to a certain level, then some dumb bell work. Over the summer, I bought equipment (bench, barbell/plates, and power rack) to do Strong Lifts at home.
  • Fatman_Fitness
    Fatman_Fitness Posts: 10
    Options
    You can buy a used olympic bar with weights and do a ghetto squat rack or bench press. You can use saw horses or those grey double holed cement bricks on each side stacked up as a safety catch for your squats. You can set up your own bench with something that can support your weight and do the same with the bench press. Buy some 1,2, and 5 gallon jugs and fill them with water, another set with sand or dirt and another with rocks or something to use as your dumb bells.

    If you have money, I would recommend buying a used squat power rack and olympic bar and a used bench, not necessarily a bench press. You can place a bench of some sort in the squat rack and place the safety bars on the side as a catch if you fail your bench. You can deadlift with the olympic bar, don't need anything special. You can use the ghetto dumbbells or eventually buy some later.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    Options
    a cage, Olympic bar and plates and an adjustable bench is all you need. Look for it used locally, you can get the whole setup for a couple hundred bucks. The investment pays for itself over a gym membership pretty quickly.

    I've had a setup in my basement that I used while being a competitive powerlifter, and now use just to train and stay healthy. You don't need a lot of extras, the setup above will allow you to lift heavy and most importantly, safely.
  • progressnotperfection84
    progressnotperfection84 Posts: 122 Member
    Options
    Bumping for future reference.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Options
    if you mean strength training without lots of equipment, then yeah.

    get the book "you are your own gym." it's totally body weight stuff.

    get a kettle bell. they're amazing, and very versatile. a 20lb one is probably a good weight to start.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    Options
    I strength train at home.
    You will need equipment : Bench
    Power rack or squat stand
    Barbell
    Adjustable dumbbells
    Various plates of weight

    You can start off with dumbbells or body weight but eventually you will need to get equipment
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    You absolutely can. I've done all my training at home. I have a second-hand bench and dumbbells. I've been at this for a while, and use weights from 8 to 55 lbs at this point, but started with 5 to 25lbs - that could be a good initial investment for you. Definitely look for used equipment; there's really no point in buying new.
  • xDita89
    xDita89 Posts: 6
    Options
    You could also look at buying adjustable dumbbells. I think they are brilliant as you only buy one set and can always adjust them to your needs as you get stronger. They can be a bit pricey though. Good luck!

Categories