Possible to put on a little muscle without Gym?

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I am loathed into going to the gym as i always feel out of place and uncomfortable however i need to make some life changes so my question is this.

Is there a home routine documented somewhere that i could follow? I dont mind buying some basic equipment like chin up bar etc and maybe even some dumbells but i also am led to believe you can use your own bodyweight to acheive decent results?

I have had a look via google but am a little lost with it all now so i ask on the learned folks of ocuk.

So to summerise. I want to gain some muscle but not beefcake amounts and get rid of my beer belly etc. If there was an accompanying diet sheet that would be great too.

Cheers
 
I went for this website http://hundredpushups.com/ . It's pretty self explanatory, although I found it got a little tough at around Week 4. Since doing it, I generally keep up my level at around the Week 4/5 level, but have found it's given me a lot more upper body and core strength.
A good chinup bar is also useful though - I'm looking for a cantilever based version myself right now.
 
I wouldn't focus a fitness effort soley around pushups.

It's good you mentioned diet, as diet is critical in not only loosing fat, but gaining muscle.

Good gains can be made with body weight exercises, such as dips using chairs, chinups etc.

Some basic equipment such as dumbells and a barbell will be very useful and can be picked up cheaply second hand.

Choose wether you want to loose the fat or build muscle first. Doing both at the same time is not impossible but will be difficult for a novice.

Good luck :)
 
Im always most impressed by the physiques those guys have who you see at the olympics etc where they are hanging from those rings. Not that i realsitically expect to achieve anything like that they do look immensely strong!
 
Im always most impressed by the physiques those guys have who you see at the olympics etc where they are hanging from those rings. Not that i realsitically expect to achieve anything like that they do look immensely strong!

Trust me, those guys spend long hours in the weights room, same as everyone else.
 
I box and don't go near a regular gym.

I do somethin we call ton-ups, you do 10 of 10 exercises.

Exercises include pressups, inverted pressups, knuckle pressups, widearm pressups, snake pressups. Situps, crunches, elbow-knee situps, V-ups. Star jumps, burpees, squat jumps and knees-up jumps. You need to put your maximum effort into everything and do it as fast as you can like you were in a fight though.

Only takes a few minutes to do, do it every night and you will soon notice a difference.
 
Take a look at the stronglifts 5*5 program. 9 exercises over two rotating sessions and all you need is a barbell, weight plates, bench for bench press. Squat rack would help but not 100% needed and the reverse rows could be done with the barbell between two stable high supports (chairs / stools).

A number of people on here do or have done this program and the feedback is very good.

As for diet, have a look around in GordyR's sticky (first two pages to start with). Have a look at my fitness thread and some of the new 'starting to get fit' threads as many people are asking about diet and there is lots of good advice from many people here within the first 3 pages of forum threads.

Any confusion the just ask and I am sure you will get a number of people happy to help. 11pm here now so just checking in before sleep hence not copying out all the diet stuff from my other posts.

Oh and second hand is the way to go for basic weight sets and bench press benches. So many give up after just starting.

Also take a look at doing some cardio like jogging / running / cycling / swimming as these will help no end is speeding up the weight loss.

Have fun and keep us updated.

RB
 
Expensive, but have you looked at getting a TRX? It's gonna cost you around £100 off the Bay, or £150 from the uk supplier if you include the door mount, but you can do all manner of exercises wherever you are. You regulate the amount of work you do, by adjusting the pace and angle of your body.

http://www.trxfitness.co.uk/about-us/

Not saying it will give you bulging biceps or owt mind ;)

One of the benefits is that it takes up next no space at all (I took mine on holiday with me - saddo!! ). Much easier to store than a dumbell set/weights bench and bars
 
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seriously just join a gym. dont feel out of place, people who go are focused and what they're doin not what you're doin/look like/whatever
 
Is there a home routine documented somewhere that i could follow? I dont mind buying some basic equipment like chin up bar etc and maybe even some dumbells but i also am led to believe you can use your own bodyweight to acheive decent results?

If you are only using body weight then you will reach a limit very quickly in terms of muscle building.

Take a look at the stronglifts 5*5 program.
RB

I really wouldnt want to do 5x5 routines unless you have significant equipment at home or goto a gym.

seriously just join a gym.

this.


I think one of the biggest problems you are having is a mental one, get over it and get to the gym.
It takes a different type of person to be able to workout from home all the time, even those who pay lots of money to have a good setup at home.
 
Ill be going to uni in 6 days now and ive already got my gym membership. Im fairly weedy but looking to change all that and looking into this 5x5 stronglifts a guy earlier mentioned. I also however am wondering like the other guy if ill look totally out of place starting off on just a bar as they suggest.

Also ive only just started reading about it but when it says 5 sets of 5 reps do they mean you are effectively doing 25 lifts on each of the 5 exercises in each of the A/B routines or do they mean 5 lifts on each of the 5 exercises . Thanks.
 
I would go to the gym but im embarressed to. Im too skinny and dont have much muscle I dont know where to start :( Any ideas?

I guess I would say I'm the same almost mate, I'm quite skinny but not embarrassed as such to go to the gym. Much prefer to any home based exercises so any ideas they throw at you I would take too.

I've started doing sets of Push Ups, Crunches and some Bicep Curls with my weights at the moment as a starter along with 3-4mile runs in terms of keeping the fitness up.

I also followed scoobys workshop as a guide for form etc.
 
I would go to the gym but im embarressed to. Im too skinny and dont have much muscle I dont know where to start :( Any ideas?

Have a look at GordyR's sticky;
Do compound exercises and work all your muscle groups
Eat big.
Sleep.
As long as you're not continuously coming into the gym to do bicep curls or sitting and taking up equipment whilst chatting to your friends you have no reason to be embarrassed, they're the only type of people that annoy me and most others in the gym everyone has to start somewhere =/.
 
Learn the exercises before you go, start slow and concentrate on form. Honestly anyone serious at the gym you visit will be worrying more about their own performance than your own.

how do you learn exercises without either buying equipment for home or going to the gym?
best way to learn is to be shown properly, unless you have some very good friends i would rather have that done by a trainer in a gym tbh :]
 
how do you learn exercises without either buying equipment for home or going to the gym?
best way to learn is to be shown properly, unless you have some very good friends i would rather have that done by a trainer in a gym tbh :]

By reading and watching videos, practising form in front of a mirror. Doesn't take much imagination to learn form before even setting foot in a gym, if you think it'll help your confidence.

Regarding being shown by a trainer in a gym, that entirely depends as to whether or not his gym has anyone that knows what they're talking about. Certainly at my gym I've seen 'trainers' teaching people to pause at the bottom of the leg press, going down about 30 degrees above parallel, repping far too quickly, etc.etc. but that's a decision he'll have to make.
 
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