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Working out at home?

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by nelloJ, Sep 29, 2017.

  1. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Hey guys, last time I feel like one of the reasons why I relapsed was because I was because I didn't spend my energy on anything, and that led to too much testosterone that my body really wanted to use? So I'm looking for some home exercises I can do daily. It doesn't have to be anything excessive, just something that can get me tired and busy for about 30 minutes. I'm 175cm (about 5"7) and weigh a measly 56kgs (123 lbs). I used to be 63kgs (139lbs) last term but I had a fever for a week and a half and lost a lot of weight. I can do 20 proper (I hope they're proper) push-ups before my arms die out and I have to rest them for about a minute or two before going for another 20. Any fitness-enthusiasts here that can help me develop a schedule I could try for this week? Thanks guys!
     
  2. Got to Overcome

    Got to Overcome Fapstronaut

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    What kind of equipment do you have? If you don't at least have a pullup bar, I'd recommend going out and buying one. The Iron Gym pullup bar is a good option. It's only thirty dollars or so, easy to set up, and won't have much (or any) impact on the door frame. If that's not going to be possible, just head out to a local park.

    With that said, one of my favorite body weight programs is a simple 30/60/90. Basically, you do 30 pullups as quickly as you can. You might do one set, rest thirty seconds, do another set, rest 45 seconds, do another set, rest a minute, etc. Alternate hand position each set (overhand, underhand, neutral). Next, drop down for pushups. You'll do sixty of them. I'd recommend using normal hand position the first set, wide hand position the next, narrow for the third, then cycle back through them until you've done 60. Finally, body weight squats. Make sure hips get below your knees.

    Be sure to keep track of your time, and aim to improve upon by it at least five seconds each time. Do this at least two days a week, perhaps even three if you're up for it. If you find it too easy, buy a weight vest.

    An excellent workout for cardio/kickboxing is a 3 minute round which consists of 30 seconds of shadowboxing followed by thirty seconds of a bodyweight exercise such as burpees. Repeat this three times, rest thirty seconds, then do it again. A sample round might look like this:

    30 seconds of shadowboxing (punches, kicks, knees, sprawls, etc.)
    30 seconds of burpees
    30 seconds of shadowboxing
    30 seconds of high knees
    30 seconds of shadowboxing
    30 seconds of push-up jacks (kick your legs out wide on the descent, bring them back together on the ascent)

    Rest thirty seconds, then do it again. Aim for at least three rounds.

    I picked that workout up from a guy named Shane on Youtube. He's got a lot of good stuff, so look him up on FightTips.

    Speaking of Youtube, FitnessBlender has a lot of good cardio/ab workouts which require little to no equipment.

    If you let me know what equipment you currently have, I might be able to come up with a few other ideas.

    Anyhow, I hope the workouts go well.
     
    nelloJ likes this.
  3. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    What the heck hahaha, I doubt I could do 60 push ups. I would love to try the sets you recommend though, except I'll probably scale down the amount of reps to fit my body strength.

    Thankfully yes I do have a pull up bar, but I can only do 15 underhand and probably less overhand.

    As for the cardio, I reckon I'll just stick to my jogging back from the library. I'm not very knowledgeable about fitness though, what's the difference between those 30 second sets and a 2 kilometer jog? Also, is it really advisable for someone as skinny and lightweight as me to do cardio? LOL

    I have a fitness ball that my mother bought for herself but never used (that big Blue bouncy ball). I also have these weird press up/push up handle bar things? They make push ups a lot harder.

    Thank you very much for your advice, I really appreciate it mate.
     
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  4. Got to Overcome

    Got to Overcome Fapstronaut

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    It's not necessary to do 60 in a set. Take as many sets as you need. If you can do 20 in a set, it might look something like this: 20 pushups with hands in standard position followed by a 30 second rest; 12 pushups with hands in a wide position followed by 45 seconds of rest; 10 pushups with hands in a narrow position followed by 1 minute rest; 10 pushups with hands in a standards position followed by 1 minute rest; 8 pushups with hands in a wide position.

    So again, don't worry that you can't complete them all in a single set. As long as the total time required is reduced each session, you're getting better, and that's what's important. As mentioned, once this gets easy, you might consider buying a weight vest, which makes all body weight exercises significantly more challenging.

    Well, the steady-state cardio vs. high intensity cardio is quite a debate. I'm sure there are plenty of places you could get really in-depth on it, but these are main points: High-intensity cardio is generally considered better for fat burning. It's also much better if you perform a sport in which explosive movement is necessary (boxing, American football, rugby). Steady-state cardio is generally considered better for your aerobic system. So if you're interested in lowering your heart-rate, steady-rate cardio is probably the way to go.

    With that said, a lot of trainers recommend periodized training such as six weeks of steady-state cardio (swimming, running, cycling) followed by six weeks of high intensity cardio (sprints, jumps and the like).

    Cardio training is incredibly important. Strength is great, but if you can only maintain your strength output for a few seconds, you're not going to get very far. Of course, cardio can be taken to an extreme (running 10+ miles a day, cycling 40+ miles per day kind of training) but as long as you're doing it in moderation and eating more calories than are necessary to maintain your current body weight, you'll get bigger.

    Yeah, those push-up bars are great. In addition to allowing you to get lower on your pushups, they're excellent for L-sits. To do these, hold yourself upright on the bars and push your legs straight out. Try to hold the position for at least thirty seconds. It's a tremendous core exercise. This, along with the other static holds they do, are a big reason for the incredible ab development of gymnasts.

    Another ab exercise well worth learning is toes to bar. To do them, grab hold of the pullup bar. Using as little momentum as possible, bring your toes up to the bar without bending your arms. Once this has been done, lower your legs to the starting position as slowly as possible. A lot of people start using momentum to get as many reps as they can, but this isn't the best approach. For maximum ab development, keep your movement slow (at least a 2 count on both the ascent and descent).

    Ah, I haven't used an exercise ball in a lot of years. I hate to defer to Youtube, but unless someone else here has some experience with them, that might be the best option :)

    For your next piece of training equipment, you might consider a medicine ball. Medicine ball throws and smashes are excellent for developing explosive power and can easily be done in backyards and the like.
     
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  5. Temujin

    Temujin Fapstronaut

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    its easier to do 60 or 100 push ups in a day if you don't set any time limits for yourself. Spreading them out over the whole day.

    I`ve been aiming for 100 push ups a day for a while now. I often end up doing some in the morning and then spread the rest over the day whenever i remember, keeping a tally on my computer
     
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  6. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Oh wow good thinking! Alright then, guess I'll start with core and arms tonight. And if I can maintain this kind of basic commitment I'll do add some more exercises over time. Are rest days necessary? Is it bad to exercise everyday? Those L-slits sound hard but I wanna get a six pack so I'll definitely add that to the list
     
    Got to Overcome likes this.
  7. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Good idea. And as you improve slowly you'll eventually be able to do 100 push ups?
     
  8. Got to Overcome

    Got to Overcome Fapstronaut

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    Rest days are definitely important. I personally work out five days a week (3 days on/1 day off/2 days on/1 day off).

    A lot of people exercise daily, but I think it's advisable to take at least one day a week off. If you choose to exercise daily, try not to hit the same muscles two days in a row (don't do pullups two days in a row, for example. If you must, make sure to change up your grips).

    They are tough, but you should be able to do them relatively soon. If you search Youtube, you'll find some good L-sit progressions. Work through them, and you'll soon find yourself able to hold the full L-sit. And after that, you'll get to try V-sits (similar to the L-sit, but you hold your legs at about a 45 degree angle). So you'll always have something to look forward to :)
     
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  9. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Ah right that makes sense. LOL looks like I have some goals to work towards. So in theory I should be exercising one muscle group per day? So for example, arms, then chest, then legs, abs, cardio and repeat?
     
  10. Got to Overcome

    Got to Overcome Fapstronaut

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    Well, that's going to depend on your goals. If your goals are primarily bodybuilding-related, a split like you suggested makes sense.

    Here's an example of a common bodybuilding split: Monday-Chest and Triceps; Tuesday-Back and Biceps; Wednesday-Rest; Thursday-Legs; Friday-Calves/Abs/Cardio; Weekend-Rest

    *A lot of people would take issue with this training split, as they would argue that each body part needs to be trained at least two-three times per week for maximum muscular development. However, I'm not here to argue training methodologies but just giving an example of the type of split which has worked for many bodybuilders.

    So anyhow, such a split would be fine if your primary goal is muscular development.

    However, my training goals are a little more complex. One of them is to become strong in the five main barbell movements (Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Bent Over Row). These are all compound movements which place a good strain on your body. I therefore wouldn't want to do all five movements in a single workout. I find it best to divide these five lifts over a three day period. So I typically lift weights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

    Another goal of mine is to increase muscular endurance. One of the ways I do is through workouts like the 30/60/90 mentioned above. I'll typically try to do these twice a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays make sense, though I often do them on days on which I lift weights.

    I also want to increase my explosiveness and cardiovascular output. I'll therefore do workouts such as as the three minute rounds described in my first post two times per week. I'll typically do them after lifting.

    I'm not currently doing any steady state cardio, but when I resume, I'll aim to do it one day per week.

    Anyhow, the reason I wrote all that is to say that it's difficult to predict how your body's going to react to training. Can you do pullups five days per week? Probably not, but some people can, and you might be one of them. Can you run 5+ miles six days per week without developing any ankle/knee/back injuries? Most people couldn't, but you might find it's no problem.

    So it is good to determine your goals and listen to your body. Once that's done, it'll be much easier to determine the proper training split.

    But since you asked, I'll provide a sample for general fitness goals.

    Monday: Bodyweight exercises such as pullups and pushups done in a manner which allows you to track your progress

    Tuesday: High intensity cardio and Abs

    Wednesday: Steady state cardio such as cycling, running or swimming. As always, be careful to track your time and distance and seek to improve upon it each session

    Thursday: Off

    Friday: Bodyweight exercises such as pullups and dips. When pullups are done, be sure to use grips which weren't utilized during Monday's session. Perhaps substitute dips for pushups during Friday's workout. Another alternative is to purchase either a dip belt or weight vest. You can then make Friday's session weighted, which will be better for muscular development.

    Saturday: Either high intensity cardio or steady state cardio. Perhaps for six weeks, aim for two high intensity cardio sessions per week and one steady state cardio workout per week; For the next six weeks, aim for two steady state cardio sessions per week and one high intensity cardio session per week.

    Sunday: Off
     
  11. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Alright, this looks good. I don't think I'll be able to keep this up 100% because I've got exams in months. But I'll definitely give it a shot - aiming for 1 week. I'm still going to make my studies my number 1 priority, but this will be something on the side that I can do to keep my fitness up, so that after exams maybe I can invest more into this. Thanks a lot mate, I'll be using this as a check-list kind of thing from now on
     
  12. Got to Overcome

    Got to Overcome Fapstronaut

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    No problem at all. I'm glad I could help, and I hope it all goes well.
     
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  13. SupBruh

    SupBruh Fapstronaut

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    What's wrong with going to a gym?

    More gains and more fun than just the same two exercises

    Plus you're more motivated to actually work out cause you are already there
     
  14. pmotina

    pmotina Fapstronaut

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    i'd highly recommend the plank challenge
     
  15. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Wish I could but I'm a povo kid whose exams are a month away. My other shitty excuse is that I don't feel comfortable in the gym because I'm stick as fk....and I feel like I'm being a hindrance haahaha. Good thinking though, can't procrastinate at the gym.

    yeah can't help to add planking to my list of ab workouts. What's the plank challenge?
     
  16. SupBruh

    SupBruh Fapstronaut

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    High school exams are not an excuse, you can literally study two hours before and get a 100% they're piss-easy
     
  17. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Not these exams. They're basically entrance exams to university. And they don't give you credit according to your effort. It's now you rank against the state according to the exams. Say I only drop 10 marks across both maths methods exams, I'd probably only get a study score of 40 (the highest being 50). That's because the exams rank you based on how well everyone else did, with 30 being the mean study score.
     
  18. SupBruh

    SupBruh Fapstronaut

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    Study hard my nig, I believe in you

    For real though gym would be good for you, study for a few hours with some short breaks, then go for the gym as your 'relaxation', then back into the grinder (or school, gym then study).

    Would mean no video games/Internet/Skype sessions with friends though, gotta keep it real G

     
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  19. nelloJ

    nelloJ Fapstronaut

    Aye that would be a really productive dream. It's a shame I can't juggle so many commitments. Atm I'm struggling to study hard while keeping fit hahaha
     

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