Gaining Strength

[mrose_s]

So... I really want to gain some strength back but seeing as I am totally poor atm I don't really know how to go about it.

I used to go to personal training, was great but I can't afford $80 a week, I wouldn't mind going back to obstacle course running but again, it's too much $$.

I am scared of the gym because I have no clue how to use anything, how to decide what to do etc.

I am jogging a few days a week, I could check out a local rock climbing gym thats just opened and see how much it costs.

Any advice? Is there any easy to use/versatile equipment that I could buy for home?

 

[Ozfozz]

I've been using a video game for the X-box kinect that has actually been providing some pretty great results.

But of course if you don't already have the X-box and everything, that's going to be pricey as well....


Training against your own body weight can increase strength as well. Push-ups, Chin-ups, Squats, Planks, Lunges, Crunches. It may not involve any sort of fancy equipment, but I've found if you've got the discipline, it does the job more than just fine.

Dumbells have a variety of uses as well. Combining them with squats helps with a back, arm, and ab workout along with the legs and glutes.
Can use them for lateral rowing as well to work out the arms and back.

 

[Barb04]

I found a few sites showing how to train with household items:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhK6YcigKtQ

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-artic...gth-training-with-common-household-items.html

 

[AllieMackie]

I don't use a gym or equipment. You don't really need those things to work out. They can help, but you don't need 'em.

I run, bike, snowshoe, skate, take brisk walks with Finn... for cardio I just find things to do outside and do them.

For strength and home workouts, I use free stuff on the internet. FitnessBlender is a recent favourite of mine. They're a husband and wife team who make simple, awesome workout videos of all kinds. Beginner to advanced, cardio, strength, target areas... love their variety and the fact that they're a small startup.

BeFIT is another one. They're a bit of a behemoth but I use their videos sometimes too.

I tend to do cardio at least three times a week and strength training of different areas of my body three times a week. Ideally I'm working out almost every day.

Hope that helps!

 

[Beanie]

You can do body weight exercises, absolutely. The problem is your own body weight will only take you so far. Of course, it depends on what your goals are if body weight will be enough.

If you want equipment, a great resistance band set and a set of handheld weights (please buy something more than two pounds. please. 5s, 10s, and 15s. please.) will get you going. You can also buy a barbell set if you're interested in doing a low weight/high rep workout... if you want heavy weight/low rep, it will get very expensive and also unless you have plenty of space to store them it's kind of a PITA. The bar I own was $20 and the plates were anywhere from $3-8 depending on the weight.


If you want to build serious strength, though... a gym is the way to do it. You don't need anything fancy or expensive. I don't know if you have them there, but here we have a lot of cheap gyms that are like $10/mo. You don't need a lot of cardio equipment or anything like that. You need access to barbells, dumbbells, a power rack or squat rack, and a bench. That's really all you need. And a lot of the cheap gyms have that and it's all good!
How to pick a gym:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/03/18/strength-training-101-finding-the-right-gym/

And what to do when you're in the gym:
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Another one:
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Rules...tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1391701796&sr=8-1

If you don't want to buy a book (you have to sign up for it, you get everything in e-mail, then you can unsubscribe if you like, because you will get pretty frequent sales-y e-mails from him afterward if you don't):
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/


Don't be scared of the gym. YouTube is full of resources on how to use the equipment. And part of picking a good gym, IMO, is picking one where the staff is awesome. I know if I'm at my gym and I wanted to ask how to do something, I could go ask one of the staff and they would help me. I also know if I'm at my gym, there are SO MANY guys I can just turn around and look for and say "oh, hey - can you help me do X?" and they will be happy to help out. When you're a regular, you get a feel for who is in there to do serious work and who knows what they're doing... who you can trust for help and won't lead you down a poor path.


Also barbell training just makes you feel like a badass. Fact.