Home Workouts?

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
What do your home workouts consist of? I used to go to training and the gym but I also used to have a bench and weights here that I got some use out of. I won't be going back to training because its too hard on my old body and for now I don't want to do the gym. Low impact is my goal but I do want to gain back some upper body muscle. My work is cardio filled and has plenty of leg work, I think I just need to supplement the upper body. Plus I have PT exercises for my recent hamstring injury last year along with the ever lasting back stretches and core strengthening. I have no equipment anymore so I'm thinking a simple bench and weights. I'm not going to buy an apparatus such as Peleton. I may consider a stationary bike at somepoint for low impact cardio. What do y'all do?
 
Resistance bands…bought a set that can go to 150lbs for like $50 at Dick’s. Curls, tri dips and shoulder presses. I find them significantly easier on the joints than free weights or kettle bells.

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Walmart dumbells and a home made wooden FID bench. I also have a pull up/chin up bar in my shed. That is all I used for 2.5 years when I was WFH due to Kungflu. You can do a LOT with dumbells if you get creative. Check YouTube.

Threw this together thinking I would use it for 3 months, until i went back to the office. Used it last weekend, lol.
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Adjustable bench, adjustable dumbbells (powerblocks), one 15lb and two 30lb kettle bells, jump rope, pull up rings, ab roller, and one big hill from the lake to the top of the drive for sprints (if I'm feeling spicy, it's not often),
 
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This workout that @justjeepin86 posted in the other thread has been great for me.
experiencelife.lifetime.life

The Easy-Strength Workout

You don’t have to sweat and strain to get strong. This two-month, field-tested strength-training program will show you another way.
experiencelife.lifetime.life experiencelife.lifetime.life

I do it every week night and take the weekends off. I can knock it out in 15 minutes if I'm in a hurry, or stretch it out to over and hour with 30+ minutes on the bike and extra sets. All it requires is a few dumbbells and a little creativity. Like @Wes I have a set of Powerblock adjustable dumbbells that go from 10-50lbs. I started at 30lbs about 2 months ago, and now do it all with them maxed at 50lbs. Except on the kettlebell swing I have to use 35lbs to be able to access the handles (and 35lbs kicks my ass on those anyway).

I also have a full power rack with bar and a few hundred pounds of plates, but that only gets used a few times a month.

Also, I'm not a good person to take exercise advice from because it clearly doesn't work. :D
 
jeepinmatt said:
This workout that @justjeepin86 posted in the other thread has been great for me.
experiencelife.lifetime.life

The Easy-Strength Workout

You don’t have to sweat and strain to get strong. This two-month, field-tested strength-training program will show you another way.
experiencelife.lifetime.life experiencelife.lifetime.life

I do it every week night and take the weekends off. I can knock it out in 15 minutes if I'm in a hurry, or stretch it out to over and hour with 30+ minutes on the bike and extra sets. All it requires is a few dumbbells and a little creativity. Like @Wes I have a set of Powerblock adjustable dumbbells that go from 10-50lbs. I started at 30lbs about 2 months ago, and now do it all with them maxed at 50lbs. Except on the kettlebell swing I have to use 35lbs to be able to access the handles (and 35lbs kicks my ass on those anyway).

I also have a full power rack with bar and a few hundred pounds of plates, but that only gets used a few times a month.

Also, I'm not a good person to take exercise advice from because it clearly doesn't work. :D
Click to expand...
I need to give that workout a try.
 
Young or old. Stronglifts 5x5 is an ideal program for building useable strength in your life, and improving yourself.

Workout A: Squat, Bench, Barbell Row. Start at 45lb bar only
Workout B: Squat, Overhead Press, Deadlift (5x1)

Week 1
Monday Workout A
Wed Workout B
Fri Workout A

Week 2
Monday Workout B
Wed Workout A
Fri Workout B

Each workout, add 5lbs more than the previous (thats 2.5 each side).Continue on indefinitely, adding 5lbs each week to the workout (thats 2.5lbs each side). If you fail to get the 5x5, then no adding lbs next time. No matter how "strong" and "he-man" you are now, actually start with the 45lb bar and do the program. Youll be surprised at the results. I got to over 400lbs squat, and 400lbs deadlift very quickly. And a 300lb bench. Thats 5 sets of 5 reps.... Its the best program I have ever done. Having been on sabbatical from the gym for the past 3 years, I am now restarting it.

Reg Park used the 5x5 method on Arnold

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jeepinmatt said:
This workout that @justjeepin86 posted in the other thread has been great for me.
experiencelife.lifetime.life

The Easy-Strength Workout

You don’t have to sweat and strain to get strong. This two-month, field-tested strength-training program will show you another way.
experiencelife.lifetime.life experiencelife.lifetime.life

I do it every week night and take the weekends off. I can knock it out in 15 minutes if I'm in a hurry, or stretch it out to over and hour with 30+ minutes on the bike and extra sets. All it requires is a few dumbbells and a little creativity. Like @Wes I have a set of Powerblock adjustable dumbbells that go from 10-50lbs. I started at 30lbs about 2 months ago, and now do it all with them maxed at 50lbs. Except on the kettlebell swing I have to use 35lbs to be able to access the handles (and 35lbs kicks my ass on those anyway).

I also have a full power rack with bar and a few hundred pounds of plates, but that only gets used a few times a month.

Also, I'm not a good person to take exercise advice from because it clearly doesn't work. :D
Click to expand...
Easy Strength is great. I have followed Dan John's work over the years, and he knows what he is talking about. It's very adaptable to most situations or equipment restrictions. You can use barbells, dumbells, sandbags, kettlebells, bands, machines, bodyweight... you get the point. The options are endless as long as you essentially cover the basic movement patterns: push, pull (and you can think horizontal or vertical, or both) squat, hinge (slower like a deadlift or powerful, like a power clean or kettlebell swing), an ab movement, and bonus points for a loaded carry (db, kb, sandbag, etc for time or distance). And you really just need to do 2 set of 5, or 3 sets of 3, or 1 set of 10 at a manageable weight, lighter than you think, because the higher frequency means a significant amount of weekly total volume. And it plain works.

I usually do a few runs of some variation of easy strength a year when I'm busy or don't have a specific goal. Otherwise I usually follow a more progressive strength program (like ckruzer's 5x5 and similar) using barbells mainly, with some dumbbells and kettlebell stuff as needed. I compete in highland games, so aside from technique improvements, the stronger I am, the farther/higher the weights will fly.

The best program is the one you will actually do, and so there's nothing wrong with trying things and switching it up after 6-8 weeks if needed. Main thing is to keep doing something. The older we get, the harder it is to maintain strength, mobility, and balance without working at it.
 
Did a bit of research in the fall and settled on this stationary bike for zone 2 and intervals when the weather is bad. Trainers are expensive for what we needed and we have at least three of us that needed to use it. It's adjustable and stable enough, display is helpful but we are also using an app on our phones or our bike computers to track heart rates.
 
Me and my older son do workouts at home with dumbells mostly. We do a few laps around the neighborhood to get warmed up first. Also we have a pull up bar/knee lift crunch setup and a bench press. We often only use dumbells and a walk or run around the neighborhood only and gets the job done well!
 
I ran SUPERSET workouts for years. Push and pull. Weight 3 days, cardio 3 days. MWF weights, TTS cardio (cardio was speed for distance, intervals, then the day after legs was a 5 mile recovery run. I built my own gym here at the house. I have 1500 pounds of weights, 3 benches, pull up bars, squat rack, elliptical, lat machine, and a Concept 2 rower.

Now, at almost 50, I use kettlebells and sandbags more than weights. I routinely use 50 and 80 kettles. Along with a 60 and 150 pound sandbags. The sandbags will humble you.

I still train Taekwondo 3 days a week also.
 
Update:
Since my original post I've bought some dumbells, workout mat, exercise ball, and a simple bench. I've been supplementing my PT exercises with push ups, crunches, many ground exercises I used in my old routine, and some steps from the Easy Strength above. I have cut back my beer tremendously and have lost over 20 lbs. 235-212. I also stopped eating out as much mainly because I'm tired of the drunks at my local spots but also staying away from all of the fried crap. I've lost a lot of gut and am seeing some definition in my arms now. Now that the heat is on outside I'll be sweating off more pounds with my daily outside work. I've all but stopped using my blood pressure meds because its stable, I check it every day.
 
The pulmonary re-hab is still kicking my butt.
For the rest of the day after a session ,I'm exhausted.
The next day I'm absolutely miserable .... hurting and sore.
It has brought out the need for an ortho visit. I DON'T want to hear what he's probably gonna say.

After 2 years of dealing with Long Haul Covid ....... I'm reduced to this ........

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