Training Without Equipment?

[GelbyKelplin]

I'm quite a newblood to the routine of shapin' my physique, and I simply want to ask if anyone here knows of a training regimen that can help build some mass in the absence of a gym, or any kind of weights.

I realize that won't get you very far. Your own body mass can only do so much, but until I find a gym that I can afford, or buy weights of my own, I don't have much choice. And I'd rather not let the enthusiasm go to waste.

So, to all those that know of anything, what exercises can I do with just my own body that will give me a kick-start? I'd be much appreciative. :]

[monstermusclebe]

I'm not going to take the time to research a workout routine for you, but obviously there are:

- Push Ups
and
- Sit ups and Crunches

Using a small chair ~ or anything of small or medium size that has some weight to it ~ the size you might find in a hotel ballroom, you can perform :

- Bicep curls
- overhead tricep curls
- Overhead presses (for shoulders)
- Squats (placing the chair in the overhead press position)
- Bent over rows (possibly, depending on shape of chair)
and possibly others. Be creative.

A small set of dumbbells is not usually very expensive, FYI, and you can sometimes get them for no or little cost on sites such as Craig's List.

Take each set to failure. That is to say, keep doing reps until you just can't do any more, then do 1/2 reps and 1/4 reps until your muscle burns and it totally feels exhausted. Once your muscle is warmed up, do fast reps as long as you can, then slow reps, then the 1/2 and 1/4 reps. There is new evidence showing that it may not be the number of reps that matters, but rather how intense you do the set, especially how close you take the muscle to total failure. With the pushups, you can do regular pushups until failure, then lower your knees to the floor and continue doing pushups from that position.

Don't workout any one body part more than once every three days.

You might also get some bands, like these.

That should be enough to get you started.

Good luck!

Get BIG, man!

All the best,
MonsterMuscleBe

[GelbyKelplin]

Thank you very much for the help! :]

And yes, I realize there are cheap alternatives for weights. I've been using bags of sand for the moment, and looking for those that wouldn't mind lending a gift, but just assume that where I stay isn't my own pad, and that I'm completely broke constantly. Which I am. I won't into why, but with my current situation, that's not likely to change any time soon.

Which is why I put so much emphasis into alternatives that cost nothing. Haha. I don't mind using chairs, bags of sand/rocks, buckets of water, anything I can get my hands on. I just want to do so knowing its effective for the risk involved (I'm a butterfingers, you see).

I suppose my greatest fear is that this will do little to nothing for me in the long run. Resistance is resistance of course, but the amount of folks I see advocating body-weight workouts are so dismal, it causes me to doubt their value. Even if it's all I have to rely on for the moment.

[mewletter]

Here's another advice. Check if your park has pull-up & dip bars. Most parks have them and often under-rated too, so you hardly have to wait to use them like some stuff in the gyms.

[Aielyn]

Originally Posted by GelbyKelplin

Your own body mass can only do so much

You'd actually be surprised how far you can go with body weight exercises, if you are clever with them.

For instance, for legs, try one-legged squats. Effectively doubles the weight that the leg has to move, and trains a few extra muscle groups at the same time.

For chest, if the various normal pushups aren't doing enough for you, try one-handed pushups, for instance.

Back can be the hardest, if you don't have access to any sort of bar to do pullups on. As monstermusclebe mentioned, using a chair as a weight is possible.

One alternative is to get a gym bag (somewhat appropriate) and some bottles. Fill the bottles with sand or dirt, and then add water until no more water will be absorbed (this should roughly double the weight compared with if you filled it only with water - if you use metric units, it's even easier - a 2L milk bottle will net you roughly 4 kg). Close the bottles and put into the gym bag, along with other fairly heavy, non-breakable things you have around. With the broad base and the handle, it can work well as a weight for things like bent-over rows, deadlifts, or even curls (although you're better off using a smaller bag for curls).

Since nobody has specifically mentioned it, I'll also point out that, with two chairs/beds/whatever, you can do bench dips, which are quite good for your triceps. Works like this: http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Triceps/WTBenchDip.gif - a good choice as an alternative to close-grip pushups if you don't want to use your chest for whatever reason (such as, you trained chest too recently).

If, by any chance, you have access to a swiss ball, or something resembling one, you can also do hamstring curls using them - lay with your back on the ground and your calves on the ball. Straighten out your hips, letting the ball roll back and keeping your shoulders on the ground and your calves on the ball; from your shoulders to your heels, your body should form a straight line. This is the starting position. Now, slowly bring your heels towards your body, making sure that your hips and torso remain locked in their position - from your shoulders to your knees should remain straight at all times. The ball will roll towards you. The top of the movement, you should basically have your knees almost straight upwards, and your heels not far from your arse. Now slowly reverse the movement, until your body forms a straight line again. That's one rep. Add a bit of extra weight, if you're finding it too easy (you won't, at first, unless you have remarkably strong hams), by putting something between your knees (I use a medicine ball, but a bottle filled with dirt and water will do the trick, too).

If you don't have access to a swiss ball, there is one purely body-weight alternative - you just need something heavy to weigh your ankles down. Start in a kneeling position, plenty of weight on your ankles, and the rest of your body upright. Slowly (as slowly as you can manage) lower yourself down, keeping your body straight except for the bend at the knees, until you catch yourself with your hands (to keep from breaking your nose). That's one rep. Feel free to bend at the waist while returning to the starting position - it's a negative-only exercise, unless you have extremely strong hams. If you don't have something heavy, try someONE, instead - another person should be more than enough weight, just have them put all of their weight on your ankles and calves.

[GelbyKelplin]

This was extremely helpful! THANK YOU! I honestly never considered combining both sand and water. A little chemistry can go far it seems, haha! That little tip might just solve my weights dilemma for quite some time!

You seemed to perceive my automatic concern for close-grip pushups, given a regular pushup is my current chest exercise, heh. I'm no expert on bodily exercises, as you see, so again, very useful. That Ex-RX website is a wonderful resource!

I do not have a swiss ball, or anything like it, but I WILL be keeping this post documented in case I ever come across one. The Glute-Ham raise will have to do for now (I researched the name on the site you provided). Though I am concerned about how effective the exercise will be if I can't necessarily let my torso drop down below my waist, like here. http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Hamst...eHandsHead.gif

But I'm sure you wouldn't have recommended it were it not useful, so I'm addin' it to my regimen regardless, hahaha. Again, thank you, very much! You've really made my day.