Weight days without a gym

[hncary]

I've been doing a lot of cardio lately, but I know I need to have weight days as well. What are some good weight exercises to do from home as I am not currently enrolled with a gym.

[Craig]

This is one that you may get  many different responses. For myself I am not wanting to bulk so my weight use is a set of the golds dumbbells that you sit the bar on and add weight easily. I also love using resistance bands. These I use for rehab and they are great for strength training. Basically what you will find in the boflex gym systems. Sorry I am at work tonight and cant show a photo of the dumbbells. Hope this helps

[Heybales]

BYOG - Be Your Own Gym

Google it, got website, plans, apps, ect.

And don't worry about bulking - as a woman, you basically can't unless you feel like doing a bunch exactly right and drugs.

Especially in a diet you can't, which applies to anyone frankly.

[Malpeg]

There are a lot of body weight strength training programs out the that use a minimum of equipment. http://www.mensfitness.com/training/workout-routines/best-bodyweight-workout-all-time

[Becca_in_Denver]

Bodyweight exercises are your best choice for weight days.  Think pushups, pull-ups (great if you can find a park or a tree limb to do this from), tricep dips, air squats, etc.   All of those are "weight" exercises that don't require additional weights.

If you want to do more traditional weight lifts like bicep curls or tricep kickbacks, you can use cans of beans as your weight.  As you get stronger, you can use jugs of liquids (like the big jugs with handles of barbecue sauce that you see at Costco) to add more weight.  In this case, you can do a classic circuit:

1.  Butterflys (pecs)

2.  Bicep curls

3.  Tricep kickbacks

4.  Air squats

5.  Leg extensions (hold the can against the front of your calf) or one legged squats

6.  Straight legged dead lifts

7.  Lat pull downs

8.  Upright rows or rows

9.  Overhead press / shoulder press

10.  Sit-ups (cross your arms/cans over your chest) 

[slysam · Accepted solution]

hncary, what equipment do you have? Right now I go to a gym, but for a few years I worked out mainly at home and actually got fitter than whe I previously exercised in the gym. If you want to do weight lifting, I would suggest looking into getting a pair of adjustable dumbbells. I got a pair from Amazon that had free super savor shipping and allowed up to 45 pounds. At first that was fine, but I outgrew it while following a progressive strength training program and bought a second set of the same and that gave me more options. My dumbells easily disemble and fit into a small tool box-like case when not in use. After I bought mine, I visited a local "Play it Again Sports" and notoced they have a lot of adjustable weights and weight plates for an inexpensive price. Apparently they are items commonly bought, not used then sold. So when I need more weight plates, I will look there.  I don't have any large, expensive workout equipment at home (mainly due to expense and lack of space in my apartment I just want equipment that can be stored in a closet). Another option I find useful for home workouts... I have a set of bodylastic resistance bands. These are good quality resistance tubing that have a "weight" associated with them (i.e. one may say 10 pounds meaning if streched to a certain tension it is equivalent to 10 pounds of resistance, another might say "20 pounds", etc). They came with a door anchor and wrist cuffs and handles and I can combine, mix and match the tubing to create  whatever resistance I want. This allows me to do most exercises one might do with a cable weight machine in a gym, so it makes it easier to follow programs from books/videos having this option.  You don't need to have all the equipment at once, but what you have or can get may indicate what type of workotus you can do at home.

There are also a lot of good bodyweight training options, I do a fair amount of bodyweight work at home or I did. I usually did a mix of bodyweight, tubing and weight work to get a good all round strength workout. The problem with bodyweight training is if you are losign weight it becomes easier. And you also need to make the exercises harder as you get stronger, at a certain point it can take a lot of skill and creativity to get a progressively increasign challenge. The common thing is to just do more reps and that is great for endurance but may hit a ceiling in terms of strenght improvements. There is a good book, app, and dvds about bodyweight training called "You Are Your own Gym". The book does a nice job in explaining ways to progress with bodyweight exercises. 

[TandemWalker]

Hi @hncary - I use resitance bands, not the tube type, but the elastic bands. I like the There Band brand in particular, not only for the quality of their bands but also because of all the accessories they provide. There is a circuit training routine that I do every second day or so.  A key advantage to using bands is that you can user them pretty much anywhere; and there is practically no limit to the amount of resistance you can add. If you're looking at toning up and gaining strength as opposed to building muscle bulk, I think you will like what resistance bands can do for you.

[hncary]

Thanks for all the tips. Currently I don't have any equipment at home so I was just looking for some guidance on here as to what I should get. Everyone has been very helpful 🙂

[alexruns4fun]

Al Kavadlo has a great website with tons of information on bodyweight exercises and lots of tips about how to adjust them if you're just getting started as many of them can be quite challenging.  Squats, push ups, pull ups, and lunges can all be done with no equipment and tons of variations.  Good luck.