(no subject)

[to_love_a_rose]

Aside from rock climbing and hiking and roller blading, all of which are not options for me right now for reasons that I don't feel like going into, weight lifting is probably my favorite form of exercise. I'd like to get into a sort of routine, and I was hoping to get some community feedback on setting one up.

Me: I am 26 and relatively healthy. I can't tell you my BMI because I refuse to know my weight, but I consider myself to be at a good weight for me. I'm female, if that matters, but I get the feeling that in this comm you aren't going to give me different advice just because I'm a girl. (That's why I'm here.)

My equipment: I have three sets of dumbbells (8, 10, and 15 lbs), a resistance band that's probably not worth much, and my own body weight to work with. I have zero money to spend on this, so that will have to do. I don't have access to a gym (see above re: money). All exercise will take place on my bedroom floor.

My abilities: The other day I did 20 bicep curls with the 8lb weights. I also did 10 lateral raises and some triceps kickbacks. I did 12 hands and toes push ups this morning, and probably could have squeezed out one or two more, but I have some anxiety issues that can be triggered by physical activity. I tend to back off before I've pushed myself all the way to the limit.

Other stuff: I have enough time to exercise, but not a lot of time. I'm looking for a routine that will cover the basics, and takes 15 to 20 minutes, or maybe a half hour. I have some moderate weight issues, so please no advice relating to weight or nutrition.

Here's what I've got so far:
Pushups, biceps curls, triceps kickbacks, triceps extensions, lateral raises.

What I'm looking for:
Lower body stuff, abs, balance, general advice on getting started, suggestions for staying interested in a routine, anything else that you guys think I should know.

Great community, by the way! :)

Comments

[cereta]

For lower body, I found squats and lunges do 90% of the job, and three sets of 8-10 reps will take you about 10 minutes. You can find lots of videos online for basics.

For abs, I favor the elbow planks, which accomplish a LOT in a short period. I am constrained from crunches by back issues, though.

Welcome!

[daedala]

Do you have access to a sturdy desk or table for horizontal pullups?

Krista Scott-Dixon has an awesome site, and her All Dumbbells, All the Time workout may be helpful. (Horizontal pullups are described lower on the page, btw. I suggest them rather than one-arm rows because I suspect the weights you have aren't heavy enough for rows, if you're using 20 lbs for curls.)

What cereta said about squats and lunges is great. If you get to the point where weights you have aren't enough, you can start working on single-leg squats.

[daedala]

Another thing I would add is that compound exercises (like pushups, pullups, shoulder press, rows, squats, lunges, etc.) are overall more helpful than multiple isolated exercises (like curls or lateral raises or calf raises). I did the singe-leg calf raises in hopes of helping my shin splints. If you have rotator cuff issues, some of the isolated exercises for that are helpful, and so on. Standing exercises challenge more stabilizer muscles than seated exercises than lying exercises.

This...probably means your weights aren't heavy enough for most exercises -- compound exercises can usually take more weight than isolated -- but there are a lot of bodyweight exercises that can challenge you.

[ponderosa]

If you've got a sturdy box or something to step up on, I find shoulder presses + step ups to be good for both arms and legs, and also for getting my heart rate up. I tend to alternate the sets with something like lunges or corework like a plank/pushup combo.

As far as staying interested in a routine, I tend to need variation so I usually don't have strict upper/lower body days. I also completely forget what I've done a couple days back, so I like to work up a plan on paper. If you've got things written down you'll have a good idea of how much to aim for and how much to rest between sets, and then you can mark down what you've done. This way if you get stronger/get anxious/don't have time to finish/tire too quickly you can adjust or make up for it as needed.

I found sets/reps the hardest thing at the beginning in terms of planning and also learning to only do a few of something rather than always working to failure. Only doing 12 of something then 12 of something else then resting and repeating seemed like nothing, but it adds up and if you aren't feeling anything by the end of three sets you'll want to add more weight next time or find a more challenging form of the exercise.

[rydra_wong]

What they said. Nothing beats squats and planks for the lower body and abs.

If they start getting too easy, I found this fun sequence of plank variations, and this is a nifty little video demonstrating all the bodyweight squat variations you can try.

For pure balance, I've found yoga balancing poses very useful -- there's a sample here, and I love this free video class centred on balancing poses. They're also good for strengthening and stabilizing the ankle joints, and in my experience yoga can sometimes also be good at taking anxiety down a notch.

If you want to mix in some balance with your strength training, you could try learning an odd-ball exercise like Turkish get-ups.

(This is where everyone else gets to laugh at me, because I always rec Turkish get-ups. *g* But they are wonderful, they work your whole body, and they demand a lot of focus so they never get boring.)

I have zero money to spend on this, so that will have to do.

I started this post on bodyweight exercise and other forms of free strength training -- there's lots of awesome stuff in the comments. Resources, we haz dem!

[martinemonster]

This.

I love turkish getups. I even bought a kettlebell so I could do them at home (I call him pumpkin because he's orange).

Planks and onelegged squats (or pistols as they are sometimes called) as others have mentioned.

Other great once are burpees (you've gotta google them yourself. My interned decided that it was too good to load youtube).

I like to jump on things. In my backyard there's a rock that's about knee high. I jump on top of it over and over again. Great exercise. (It's my low-budget version of box jumps).

Mountain climbers are pretty good (you've gotta google them yourself. My interned decided that it was too good to load youtube).

I also do a running/burpees routine. (500m run, 30burpees, 1000m run, 20burpees, 1500m run, 10 burpees).

You could consider buying a skipping rope as well. Aside from my pumpkin, I have one of those and an ab roll wheel as my only workout equipment at home. It works well.

[rydra_wong]

Planks and onelegged squats (or pistols as they are sometimes called) as others have mentioned.

One day, I want to be able to do a pistol ... *dreams*

Moar

[rydra_wong]

general advice on getting started

Hmm. Don't work the same muscles on consecutive days; they need recovery time to get stronger (and remember that push-ups are a pretty intense exercise for the arms and chest).

suggestions for staying interested in a routine

Don't be afraid to vary it when you get bored. Find a different exercise that works the same muscles and swap it in. Or switch from exercises that work specific muscles to exercises that work the whole body (or large parts of it), or vice versa. Speaking as someone with a painfully low boredom threshold.

There are a huge number of different exercises you can do with bodyweight and the dumbbells you've got (a lot of which are quite challenging to learn), so there's infinite potential for keeping things interesting.

Also, find a YouTube video to watch or a song to listen to while you do planks. Watching the seconds tick away is tedious and grim and makes you give in much sooner.