Well, my freebie 3-month Bally’s membership ends at the end of this month, and since they want an arm and a leg and my firstborn child to continue on, I have no plans to do so.
I also find the whole working out indoors/lifting weights on a machine boring as hell, so while I can force myself to do it for a few months at a time, I’m already seeing myself getting there only to rush through the workout to get it over with, which isn’t extremely productive anyway.
However I DO very much like what it’s done for my strength and the tone of my arms, tummy, and legs, and would, at a minimum, like to find a cheap way to maintain my current level of tone/fitness at home. I’m thinking that significant improvement over my current level without weight machines is probably too much to ask for, but if not, I’ll take that too.
So what are some ways I could do this at home? I leg press around 100 to 130 pounds (depending on which machine I was using… another reason I hate machines), so is, say, a resistance band going to give me a significant workout at all? I’m thinking that barbells/hand weights, especially the kind where you can switch out how much weight you use, are probably going to be too expensive for me. Would calisthenics be enough? etc. etc.
For the record I’m also looking into certain classes to help me maintain tone/fitness (there’s a specialized actors’ school not far from here which teaches circus arts and other things) but the next session doesn’t start til Sept., and whether or not I’ll be able to afford the class anyway is very much up in the air.
Barbells are NOT expensive!
I got my first set at Wal-Mart back in 1992 for around sixty bucks. You can find them dirt-cheap at garage sales and such, too. Look in the newspaper classifieds… somebody’s always unloading exercise equipment that they impulsively bought, then never used.
Various “old-school” methods can be quite effective, too:
Pushing a car is good, especially if you have somebody ride in it and lightly nudge the brake.
Make a sandbag. Put sand (check Home Depot, etc.) into a couple layers of heavy trash bags, duct tape these shut, and place them in something like an old military-surplus duffel bag. You can do all sorts of challenging exercises with one of these.
Chin-ups, of course. Tie weights of some sort to yourself, and try to work up to doing them with a friend on your back.
Push-ups, same deal with the friend.
Get a sheet of plywood, box, etc, and attach ropes. Pile anything you have handy onto it until it’s too heavy to drag… then drag it. With a little imagination, you can invent a bunch of exercises for this.
Anyway, you get the idea. People were exercising LONG before Nautilus machines came along… even before Alan Calvert invented the plate-loading barbell. I met a guy once who started out with lifting his children, and worked up to lifting his wife over his head!
I heard George Foreman (in his prime) did only 3 sets of 10 push-ups every day. He also worked out punching a heavy punching bag a lot too, along with some other boxer-training techniques. Do you remember how big Foreman was back then too? Geez, he never actually weight-lifted either.
I personally have a cheap weight bench with enough weight to make it weigh 165 lbs. and i have 3 sets of dumbells weighing 10, 15, and 10 lbs. This is all u really need, and more if u a girl probably.
Heh. Perhaps I should clarify. Too expensive = more than $30. I’m on an extremely limited/unstable income for the forseeable future.
Chin-ups… from what? I live in an apt., I’m not allowed to drill holes anywhere to install a chin-up bar.
I’ve tried making “weights” from old orange juice bottles, filled with water or sand, but they were awkward to lift and put a lot of stress on my wrist. Which also doesn’t address leg work – do I really NEED anything more given that I run or bike pretty much every day? Or will I begin to backslide even with that?
And what about resistance bands? They seem like the easiest option, but if they’re not going to work me at the level I’m used to, is there any point? Should I look for something else?
Push-ups. Start at 3 reps of 20, gradually build up until you can do 50 (will take a long time to get there, something to aim for). You can do them with your hands level with your shoulders, further apart, or closer in so your hand are together. These all work different muscles. Far apart works your triceps more, close grip works your pecs.
Crunches. There are lots of different types of crunches and sit-ups you can do, they all put emphysis on slightly different areas. Dont forget the side ones, they are important too.
Squat thrusts. I hate doing these cos they’re so tiring.