Working Out Without Equipment? - how do i get buff as hell without equipment

[shibbolethal]

I don't own a treadmill or weights or anything. I'm unable to leave my house regularly to go on runs or walks because :powerlevel: and I don't have a gym membership because I thought I could just get in shape by having a routine at home. The regular pushups and stuff don't seem to be working for me at all, even though I've upped my workout time from 30 minutes to an hour and a half a day. Does anybody know how I could make my workouts more efficient without any equipment? Should I be doing anything differently? Should I just give in and get a gym membership or something? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[timecop]

off the top of my head i'd say you should just get yourself a weighted jump rope and some dumbbells

 

[Fallensaint]

Vary your push ups, by changing the position of the hands you can seriously alter the difficulty as well as the targeted area of the chest.

Dips

Pullups (invest in a pullup bar)

Chinups

Squats

lunges

Abs (There are a billion core exercises and you will need to include a few in your routine, bicycle crunches, double crunches, planks and regular crunches are great starters).

It's important to realise it is not always very efficient to try and include every muscle group in one workout. Bodyweight is actually great for beginners but you need to know what you are doing. Doing the same 3 exercises over and over is not enough.

 

[LegoTugboat]

If you don't have your own cat, feel free to catch a stray cat and use it instead.

 

[OtterParty]

If you've done enough regular push-ups that they don't seem to have an effect, consider switching to decline push-ups (hands on the floor, feet on an elevated surface)

 

[RG 448]

Mix your routine up and make sure you're getting enough protien.

 

[Lats of Peace]

I don't own a treadmill or weights or anything. I'm unable to leave my house regularly to go on runs or walks because :powerlevel: and I don't have a gym membership because I thought I could just get in shape by having a routine at home. The regular pushups and stuff don't seem to be working for me at all, even though I've upped my workout time from 30 minutes to an hour and a half a day. Does anybody know how I could make my workouts more efficient without any equipment? Should I be doing anything differently? Should I just give in and get a gym membership or something? Any input would be appreciated.

How much time your spending exercising doesn't say much. How many pushups (reps/sets) are you doing?

 

[Flowers For Sonichu]

get a kettleball brah

 

[HG 400]

fill a plastic bag with water and do curls

 

[cypocraphy]

shadowbox

 

[Wallace]

 

[Ntwadumela]

I don't own a treadmill or weights or anything. I'm unable to leave my house regularly to go on runs or walks because :powerlevel: and I don't have a gym membership because I thought I could just get in shape by having a routine at home. The regular pushups and stuff don't seem to be working for me at all, even though I've upped my workout time from 30 minutes to an hour and a half a day. Does anybody know how I could make my workouts more efficient without any equipment? Should I be doing anything differently? Should I just give in and get a gym membership or something? Any input would be appreciated.

Better to purchase some Dumbbells and barbells with weights yourself if you wanna work out at home TBH

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

Dumbbells with removable weight plates. You can easily do a full body workout with them and get more or less the same results as a workout at a gym.

You shouldn't need more weight plates than around 40 lbs per dumbbell. I would suggest 2 x 10lb plates and 4x 5lb plates.

You can "bench press" laying on the floor (just doesn't quite give you the full range of motion). Curls and such. Shrugs. Single dumbbell clean and presses. Goblet squats. Calf raises while standing on a 2x4 board or something on the floor. Turkish get-ups with a dumbbell. Military presses.

In short, there's plenty of exercises you can do with just dumbbells and they will be more effective at building muscle than bodyweight stuff in most cases.

How much time your spending exercising doesn't say much. How many pushups (reps/sets) are you doing?

Absolutely this. If you're taking 10 minute breaks between sets of 10 pushups and you end up doing like 30 pushups total, yeah, it's not going to do shit.

If you are totally dead-set on doing bodyweight, you need to do HIIT supersets and do a LOT of them, like starting with 5 supersets and work your way up to 10. We're talkin like 100 pushups or so minimum, a total of 10 minutes spent planking, like 100 leg lifts, 150 lunges, etc.

 

[Jerk Sauce]

off the top of my head i'd say you should just get yourself a weighted jump rope and some dumbbells

I would add a chin up bar to that and your pretty much set, imo gym memberships are unnecessary. The chin up bar would also allow you to do ab exercises [I use mine for dragon flags & oblique crunches] and incline push ups. All in all it really doesn't take much equipment to get a very effective workout.

 

[UVA CWCValiers]

As others have said, vary your exercises . . . and do something that is weight-bearing (other than just body weight). Also, what kind of gains do you want? Do you want to increase strength and general well-being? Do you want to add mass? Do you want to be cut? Different plans apply to different goals. I personally think the first one is the best and most-important.

One of my favorite "do-at-homes" is with a sandbag. You can purchase a 60lb bag of sand at a local garden center or hardware store for cheap. If you have an old duffle bag with a handle, your possibilities are endless. You can use various increments of weigh - put 5-10lbs in ziplock bags - and pop them in the duffle. You can do curls, front squats, regular squats, dead lifts, Bulgarian dead lifts, and Turkish Get-Ups (my favorites) for a combined cardio and lifting plan. TGUs work EVERY muscle in your body and are great for non-muscle-burning quick cardio.

Diet/nutrition (and a normal sleep schedule) is also VERY important. Make sure you are getting enough protein and managing your micros and macros. Simple carbohydrates - like raw veggies and fruit - are great; complex carbs (like refined sugars) or "empty foods" (like bleached or "refined"/"enriched" wheat flour) are bad. Creatine can help for mass-building and may be purchased on the cheap online - just make sure you are buying unadulterated, pure creatine with no additives from a reliable source - i.e., no "mixes" and not from China or another dubious origin. Creatine should also be in powder form and not in a sports drink - it loses its effectiveness soon after being mixed into liquid. Don't listen to what the wahoos (who are often fatties and have no idea what they are talking about) at health supplement stores say.

Form and not hurting yourself are also very important. If you can afford it, research a good personal trainer and invest in a few sessions. If you cannot, there are some good ones on youtube. Use your douche-dar to make that determination. Likewise, the most aesthetic body types are formed from things people are supposed to be doing - i.e., physical activities like sports, running, cycling, rock climbing, etc. - rather than just gym time. I can't tell you the number of "bros" I see in my gym with weird, disproportionate bodies (think: chicken legs and weird shoulders). I don't know any women who are into that body type . . . or at least quality women. I'm assuming the same goes for dudes who are into dudes. If this isn't the case, mea culpa!

Do routines you enjoy and that make you feel good. Nothing is more anathema to your fitness goals than just working out to "look good." You'll hate it and will soon quit.

Be "smart" about your workout. 30 minutes of effective training will do a LOT more good than 2 hours of ineffective training - you'll actually lose muscle (e.g., if you are doing really high intensity cardio all the time) if you don't plan it right.

Keep a journal and log your workout so that you have a physical record of your improvement - either in reps or weight. It is also an easy way to ensure you actually are mixing things up enough.

If you live near a public park, many (at least in the U.S./Canada, Europe, and Oz) have fitness equipment you can use in the middle of a walk, run, or jog - e.g., a pull-up bar, olympic rings, etc. Don't feel embarrassed to use them - everyone looks like a dork when they do, and, who cares, right?!

Be able to detect broscience BS on forums - like bodybuilding.com - there is a lot of misinformation out there. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to detect. Even for someone who may be new to the game.

Good for you, brotha, for getting serious about your health and fitness. Hope this helps, good luck, and have fun.

 

[UVA CWCValiers]

If you don't have your own cat, feel free to catch a stray cat and use it instead.

Love the second pic of the cat when she's doing the "deadlift." He's like, "dafuq?!"

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

Love the second pic of the cat when she's doing the "deadlift." He's like, "dafuq?!"

That looks less like a "deadlift" (even with air quotes) and more like the prototypical "never lift anything like this because you'll get a hernia" maneuver.