Strength Training for Beginners - Advice?

For beginners I recommend doing either 5x5 or something like "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe.

Also full body workouts are good for beginners.

you can get an EXCELLENT, resistance work-out doing purely bodyweight exercises (you could even add a $10 stability ball for a little more spice). some ideas...

1. go to youtube and put in "bodyweight exercises". you will find several.

2. go to bodyrock.tv and you will find some EXCELLENT (and relatively short) workout routines. many of the exercises are bodyweight only and you can modify the other exercises as a bodyweight only exercise since you're beginning (i.e., you don't need the added weight of a sandbag).

3. Craig Ballantyne has a whole series of bodyweight exercise workouts...he publishes a manual that will give you a 6 month routine. It costs money to get the manual, but you can get some ideas by putting "Craig Ballantyne" or "Turbulence Training" into youtube.

4. if you really want to make it exciting, add a 10-20 second sprint before doing each bodyweight exercise. so sprint, exercise, rest 30-45 seconds, and repeat with another exercise.

Another Bodyweight Culture article, this one courtesy Cheesedog at:

http://www.bodyweightculture.com/forum/showthread.php?11058-Bodyweight-Strength-Training

Bodyweight Strength Training

People are always asking about strength training using only bodyweight. This is nothing new or revolutionary. I am borrowing HEAVILY from Rippatoe, Bill Starr, and lots of other great authors and trainers. This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set.

Workout A 1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5 1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5 1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5 2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5 2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

Workout B 1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5 1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5 1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5 1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5 2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5 2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols. 2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups. 3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row. 4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise. 5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge. 6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup. 7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise. 8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well. 9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers. 10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/resistance-training-foundation-19725

I have similar problem of basically not being able to get too/afford a gym membership right now.

I have been doing pull ups on the tree in the garden, close arm pushups, tricep dips using the edge of my bed, planking and various other no equipment needed type exercises.

I have to say its been super effective, and to keep things challenging I now do these things with a rucksack on with 4 milk jugs full of water in it.

I honestly don't miss the gym at all. I even beat my buddy in an arm wrestle who goes down the gym religiously 4-5 times a week and has a pretty impresive physique

Where there is will and determination, there is a way!