Poor Mans Workout

[TKD_McGee]

Are you like me or most people in the US? You see those stupid infomercials or ads for pils on TV that want you to spend hundreds of dollars on a stupid product!? You don't need the Chuck Norris Bow Flex or the Jackie Chan Rope Stretch.. you just need your body. All you really need is a good imagination, ambition and time. You don't even need free weights to perform difficult tasks. You don't need ancient chinese meditation secrets either!

 

At one time I had nothing with which to work out with. (Now i have some free weights and a small bench center (250$ total)) There are many forms of the Push Up that can keep you in shape if done in a regular routine. Push Up, Military Push Up, One Arm Push Up, Clap Push Up, Kung Fu Push Up just to name a few. If you do these things daily and eat correctly anything is possible. How do you think ancient Romans got buff? With a Bowflex? I think not!

 

Running and Biking is possibly the cheapest way to get into shape and gain the most stamina without spending hundreds of dollars a year. You don't need a bunch of neat equipment to look trendy or feel better!

 

You can also do lots of abdominal exercises with no equipment. The common crunch is easy if used daily. If you want to make it more difficult put your rear end against the wall and try to do sit ups touching your feet up the wall. You can all do steam engines, which is a combination of moving side to side with your torso and moving your legs back and forth rapidly. If you incline any of your exercises they can be twice as difficult keeping you from feeling hopeless. (put your feet on top of chairs or put your arms closer together) I used to do all of these things daily and was in good enough shape to excel in Martial Arts. You need to push yourself, the equipment can't help you as much as you can help yourself.

 

 

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for real,

 

i believe in that completely

 

i never would probably get admission to a gym, cuz firstly i think its pointless and secondly i cant afford it

 

a gym is pointless cuz you can do whatever you would want to at a gym at home, plus its cheaper and doesnt take as much time,

 

dont think that by eating constant chocolates and going to the gym every other week, that you can count yourself as being healthy,

 

in my view the gym is a just a gimic just to rip the average paid person off,

 

even bruce lee trained at home

[rabid hamster]

Yep I agree. But still I think some training equipment like a heavy bag or a few weights would really help in training.

 

Cya

 

Hiya

[Bon]

Ain't that the truth, man!

 

bench press, incline and decline can easily be replaced with weights on your back, or someone applying pressure on your back.

 

Legs can be trained with dumbells, just do squats holding the dumbells in your hands. The plyometric exercise AnonymousOne posted is also awesome for working your legs, that can be done with dumbells in your hand.

 

Dumbells can be used for the biceps, triceps, deltoids.

 

chin ups can be easily done if you find somewhere you can jump up and grab onto.. The swings in the park are probably good for this.

 

 

[Taikudo-ka]

Hehe Yeah this is all true...

 

I think some people just want to "buy" fitness or strength, like they'd buy a coke, and approach gym membership this way...

 

I guess when it doesn't work they try to "buy" a little extra training in the form of steroids or whatever...

 

Nothing beats hard work and determination.

 

Some people can't "work out" without the latest trendy equipment and gear and a lot of hoo-ha. Some people will spend hours just hitting a stone around with a stick or something, and end up famous sports heroes. Or run 20 miles each day to school and back, barefoot, and end up famous marathon runners.

[chh]

Saying a gym membership is completely pointless is quite the sweeping generalization. Sure, some people (maybe even most, I don't know) use a gym in the way you described, but that doesn't mean they should all be bulldozed. I just got a membership to a gym down the street because they offer classes I can take once or twice a week when I feel like it, and to me that's worth 20 bucks a month. I train at the dojo 3 times a week, and like to do a variety of other workouts to supplement that. I do work out at home, but classes appeal to me because I have no trouble getting my butt off the couch and showing up for a class at a set time, but for some reason remembering to step out into the garage for a workout is tough for me.

 

That said, I don't think I'll ever use anything else they offer at this gym, lots of weights/rowing/stair-climbing/etc machines and such. I sure wish they had a lap pool, though.

[TKD_McGee]

20 a month is a very good price, hard to believe even.. usually its 70+

 

 

[chh]

Yeah, I got kind of a weird deal, I'm not sure if it's something you can do at most clubs. I can only go on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (the only days I don't train at the dojo), and there's no contract. I did have to pay a one-time $69 "processing fee," which is silly but pretty average from what I've seen. They also have a $100 "enrollment fee" that they waived for me; I get the feeling that's a fake fee they waive for everybody to make them feel like they're getting a special deal. Regular memberships are more like 60 or 70/month, I think.

 

Actually when you put it like that I kind of agree with the above posts. If they had a pool, a jacuzzi, raquetball & basketball courts, maybe a nice indoor track, I might be interested in paying that much to go there, but for As Seen on TV machines and a tanning bed? Nah, you're right, it's a rip off. And if they did have all that stuff it would probably more like 100+ per month.

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hey go for it if you feel if the gym is what you want, if you aint got no room in the house, then i guess a gym is the best solution for you,

 

for me though, i just taxed a spare room not used in the house, and its now its my private gym

 

 

[tigerstyle18]

I like going to the gym. It allows for more varieties of exercises when I target my different muscle groups. I see a gym as very beneficial. While at home you may have only a few different routines for each muscle group, at a gym you may have dozens. Besides for me gym membership is free because I live on campus so I might as well. Even if it wasn't fee I would still do it.