Training WITHOUT Weights

[Andrew6666]

Does anyone have any exercise tips for someone wanting to train at home WITHOUT using weights?

My goal is to pick up some exercises/training tips that will help me to turn fat into muscle, even put on some muscle but WITHOUT using weights.

I realise that exercises such as sit ups and press ups can be done but how many and which sort (Wide armed press ups, narrow arm press ups). Also I would be looking at trying different muscle groups over different nights.

[baldy]

any reason you are so anti weights?
Add pistol squats and plank to your list.
Best place for that kind of thing is here -> http://www.bodyweightculture.com/

[ninearms]

Konstantin put together a booklet of exercises for prisoners - PM him for info. Just remember, these people have no weights because they're in prison and don't have a choice.

[FAQ]

Never Gymless by Ross Enamait

RossTraining.com Forum

Baldy already mentioned BodyWeightCulture.com Forum

BodyWeightCulture on Youtube.com

[Talyn]

You can get chin-up bars that you attach to a doorframe really cheap. Easy to find, might be worth considering...?

[Andrew6666]

I can never be bothered with the gym, prefer to be excercising on the move, playing sports. I would howevr prefer some exercises for chest, abs etc that will get to muscle groups not associated with sports.

Thanks for the help guys.

[james79]

I hate gyms too. There is a thread below related to this topic.

If you don't have weights try these:

1. sit ups
2. half sit ups
3. press ups
4. ski sits (lean against the wall and sit on an imaginary chair)
5. leg raises (lie on back and lift legs 4-5inches off the ground)
6. squat thrusts
7. burpee (squat thrust then stand up)
8. Press up then stand up
9. Press ups with thumbs touching
10. lunges
11. backward lunges
12. crunches
13. sit ups touching alternate knees
14. step ups (if you have a small chair)
15. dorsal raises (lie on your front, lift your arms and legs off the ground for a few seconds, relax, repeat)
16. Plank

etc etc

Do each exercise for 30 or 40seconds.

This will get you strong and works on a wide range of muscle groups.

Check out 'Solitary Fitness' by Charles Bronson too.

[xJimx]

You can train without a gym but some thought is required. Seems like some people make the mistake of thinking that endless push ups & air squats will pack on muscle; sadly not the case.

My current routine is gym-based but could easily be done in the park - I just like having somewhere warm to work out! For the type of routine I follow you will need access to bars of varying heights that you can use for chins, rows & dips etc. If you don't have any such bars available then your best bet is to purchase a set of gymnastics rings (best £50 I've ever spent) as these will allow you to workout anywhere with a swing set or football/rugby goalposts.

In my view there are 6 key areas to cover:

1. Legs - pistol squats, jumps & sprints
2. Core Work - planks, bridges etc.
3. Horizontal Pull - body rows
4. Vertical Pull - pull ups
5. Horizontal Push - push ups (rather than normal push up try to do more difficult variations e.g. legs elevated, use rings to decrease stability)
6. Vertical Push - dips

How you divide the above into regular workouts is really down to personal preference.

Remember that the principle of progressive overload applies to bodyweight exercises just as it does to weights. In other words you need to keep modifying your workout to make sure it never becomes easy.[/url]

[Andrew6666]

Thanks guys.

Thanks Konstantin.

[Redbeard the Scruffy]

any reason you are so anti weights?

Personally, it doesn't seem natural. Besides that, a home gym takes up a lot of space and get pricey, and when you're already a bit on the chunky side, you get a bit self-conscious working out around people who clearly don't need to be in the gym as much as you do.

[Enhydra Lutris]

any reason you are so anti weights?

Personally, it doesn't seem natural. Besides that, a home gym takes up a lot of space and get pricey, and when you're already a bit on the chunky side, you get a bit self-conscious working out around people who clearly don't need to be in the gym as much as you do.

I quite like body weight exercises, so don't get me wrong now, but surely working with "weights" can be as natural as without. Lifting, carrying, dragging, flipping over etc are all part of what humans have always had to do to get by. It's only recently that we got machines to help us with most things. Maybe strongman stuff would be more for you than normal weights? The problem with no weights what so ever, is that once you've progressed a bit, you need to increase your BW (for instance by hanging a weight around your waist) to improve. Maybe a happy middle ground could be getting a medicine ball and once you've got "too" strong add on some weighted exercises?

[Konstantin]

Hindu Squats
Hindu Press ups
Pulls and chin ups
Power overs
Tabatas
Decks of cards

Sorted!

[Fruitbat]

Although I love the weights I spend a lot of my time these days training without them and also have a past in gymnastics which concentrates mainly on maximum strength to bodyweight ratio. My husband and I have a large garden and we have set up a circuit around it with about 30 stations mixing up cardio and bodyweight and exercises with a bungee.

Dips
Squats
Shoulder press with bungee
Lat raises with bungee
Tricep exgtensions with bungee
Skipping rope
Press-ups
Plank
Situps
Lunges
Burpees
Obliques
Dish hold
Superman
Sprints
Running circuits of the garden
...

can't remember what else!!!

[jemmyducks]

No one has mentioned:

Handstand Press-ups
Clapping/Jumping Press-ups
Jumping Squats

By increasing your power output (force per time), the muscles are trained in an equivalent way to using heavy weights, but with the same resistance (ie your bodyweight).

[Cardio-Freak]

You could try the basic cardio exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, etc that you can do at home.