Exercisng at home

[ginkgo]

The purpose of gyms is to make money. It is like renting their equipment to you. It is cheaper to own a computer or TV than to rent one. I have weights at home in a tiny apartment in a great location one block from a creek and 2 blocks from a river. At home, you can open up all of your windows. Here is a thread with problems going to the gym. Timecosts of going to the Gym?

Weights (dumbbells and barbells) are cheap and dirt cheap at yard sales. Many years ago I bought the Total Gym at a yard sale for like $30. Chuck Norris sells it. They are great for bodybuilding-- building muscles.

Note they now say that the best exercises for health are the following: Some resistance training for muscle tone. For circulation do cardio/aerobic for like 40 minutes and do anaerobic-- maximum heart-rate for 1 minute at a time. So you can do the max heart rate for a minute a few times while doing the 40 minute work-out.

Power walking is great for cardio with very low impact. That is walking as fast as you can. But not much fun if it is 25 degrees outside. Two months ago I bought the Gazelle at a yard sale for $55 with booklet and videos. It had hardly been used by the obese owner of it. She got a job at a gym hoping that will help her.

This is my favorite exercise for cardio. Tony Little with the ponytail sells it. It is like cross country skiing. Your legs glide back and forth and you push and pull on bars to simulate skiing poles. It also incorporates some resistance training.

On the videos (which you can watch while doing it) it showed that besides doing it standing straight up, you can do it leaning forward or leaning back but did not say what the benefits are.

I figured them out and it is too bad Tony never did so he could tell the viewers. When standing straight up, you do a pushing/pulling with your arms. When leaning backwards, it stops the pushing and it is all pulling. So you are mainly using the biceps and back muscles like with pull ups and chin ups.

Then when you lean forward it stops the pulling and it is all pushing. So you are using the triceps and chest muscles like with push ups and bench press. Unlike the weights, this would be more for the endurance (long twitch fibers) of those muscles. Whereas the weights are used more for the explosive power/short twitch muscles.

Note that the governor of CA has mostly short twitch fiber muscles so he would not be great at running marathons. Whereas the marathon runners have mostly long twitch (endurance) muscles so they are not great lifting heavy weights which require explosive power.

The Gazelle and Total Gym fold up. Open they could easily fit in a prison cell so space is not an issue. Does anyone else have any at home equipment that they like to use regularly? Is there anything that people do not like about the above equipment?

[Orecle]

depends what you are after. If you just want to get toned and fit, then its cool. If you are going for maximum muscle mass. You are not going to beat a gym, by a long shot

[aggie]

i am with you for home exercising...i tried a gym near by...wasted money because i just couldn't make the time to go...it was hard to get motivated mostly because of the kind of snobby attitude the real gym rats had...that is ok for them, but sometimes they and even their trainers would make you really uncomfortable waiting for machines or getting in your space while you were exercising...some gyms are not all that conducive to good exercising for all people...i did not like what the weighted machines did for my body...treadmills are ok...i do better with a dvd player and a variety of different exercises from pilates to latin dance cardio...sometimes you can get these really cheap and a pair of light dumbells and an exercise balance ball are not all that expensive...you can choose your time...i am a little cramped...can't always leap as far as i'd like....but it gets the job done!

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

[SIZE="2"]

Weights (dumbbells and barbells) are cheap and dirt cheap at yard sales. Many years ago I bought the Total Gym at a yard sale for like $30. Chuck Norris sells it. They are great for bodybuilding-- building muscles.

Then when you lean forward it stops the pulling and it is all pushing. So you are using the triceps and chest muscles like with push ups and bench press. Unlike the weights, this would be more for the endurance (long twitch fibers) of those muscles. Whereas the weights are used more for the explosive power/short twitch muscles.

Note that the governor of CA has mostly short twitch fiber muscles so he would not be great at running marathons. Whereas the marathon runners have mostly long twitch (endurance) muscles so they are not great lifting heavy weights which require explosive power.

total gyms are good for putting on a bit of muscle, but crap if you want to get as big possible. You are limited by the the total amount of weight given to you. For maximum muscle a normal gym has way more variety and poundage to be rival to a home gym.

I think you mean fast twitch and slow twitch fibres.
every one has a mixture, with some people being dominant in both. However i do know many sprinters who are good marathoners. Arnold use to jog, cycle and swim long distances, according to his book. He was in the army as well so I bet they would have forced him to run long distances.

[invisiblehouses]

I've never once managed to make a habit out of any piece of home exercise equipment. The spiders spinning webs all over the weight bench in the basement would back me up on that one.

I sort of need the gym at this point in my life. When I get into the habit of going (which I haven't done lately), I like the ritual of getting up at 5:00 or 5:15 and lifting weights, without really talking to other people.

I guess walking could be considered "exercising at home," insofar as you don't need to join anything to do it. I was successful at that around age 17-18 for about a year and a half. But as far as a piece of equipment? It's never once worked for me.

Then again, that doesn't mean I couldn't make it happen if I really wanted to. I've just never made the decision to make it work.

[aggie]

i know if i had the time and the money....maybe at least i'll have the time when i retire....i would love to seriously do weight training or have a trainer...right now i just do what i can...i like to think of exercise as a hobby...i would like to explore what i can really do though, some day....

[Orecle]

The problem with people that do home gym, is they generally look the same year in year out, besides a drop in bodyfat here and there. Its like they are doing it for maintenance. But I have never seen any one build a really muscular physique on home gym equipment. If anyone has pictures to the contrary, it would be a good motivator for people wishing to do it.

[buttercup]

I stopped paying for the gym years ago. I do a lot of walking and hiking. My dog is my personal trainer now, lol

[tsjechov]

Hi Gingko, i like your gear. I also think it is totally possible to work out everything with a home gym and also stuff for outside activities.
Outside you can:
- jog
- walk
- kanu
- stepbike (this is something fantastic for your body, most muscles)
- swim in a lake
- beachvolleyball, basketball etc with friends
- walk stairs and hills in a park
- use the playground to do excercises

And at home there is enough you can have.
- Rowingmachine.
- Thing you can put under your bike
- Other fitnessequipment.

I do think you can become strong and muscled too at home. Have you seen those prisonguys? Most of the time they have only a little gym but they are BIG. There are loads of Prison-excercises they do in a very small room.
Also training for Martial Arts can make you big. What you can also use are KETTLEBELLS. Or elastic cords.

Well the list goes on and on.
So with- and without stuff you can become a lean and mean fitt machine.
But, most often, with most people the willpower fails and that is the most important thing to work on. But i don't think you have to pay for a gym to get a good workout.

(As the topicstarter of 'Timecosts of going to the Gym' i still want to go to the gym because it has advantages but i doubt i will ever go again...)

[tsjechov]

Originally Posted by buttercup

I stopped paying for the gym years ago. I do a lot of walking and hiking. My dog is my personal trainer now, lol

Then we have the same kind of personal trainer!! Haha!
Yeah, but really my dog made me so much more sportive it is amazing. I do also dogagility in the woods with her, i run with her (crossrunning is the plan), i bought a Stepbike/DogScooter to get fanatic in the woods...

[Eric Roosevelt]

Originally Posted by Orecle

The problem with people that do home gym, is they generally look the same year in year out, besides a drop in bodyfat here and there. Its like they are doing it for maintenance. But I have never seen any one build a really muscular physique on home gym equipment. If anyone has pictures to the contrary, it would be a good motivator for people wishing to do it.

I think most people just need to associate the location that they're exercising in really strongly with exercise. If you just have a piece of equipment that you pull out into the same room that you watch TV in or sleep in, chances are you'll lose motivation.

I personally have too many distractions in my home for me to exercise well there. Or I lack the self-discipline, I should say.

The good thing about a gym, of course, is that you can't do much else there apart from exercising. Exercising outdoors is a better alternative as well, in my opinion.

[sk8joyful]

Originally Posted by buttercup

I stopped paying for the gym years ago.
I do a lot of walking and hiking. My dog is my personal trainer now, lol

Good for you!

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by Orecle

total gyms are good for putting on a bit of muscle, but crap if you want to get as big possible. You are limited by the the total amount of weight given to you. For maximum muscle a normal gym has way more variety and poundage to be rival to a home gym.

I think you mean fast twitch and slow twitch fibres.
every one has a mixture, with some people being dominant in both. However i do know many sprinters who are good marathoners. Arnold use to jog, cycle and swim long distances, according to his book. He was in the army as well so I bet they would have forced him to run long distances.

The Total Gym is not marketed to the people that want the biggest muscles possible. It does not have a selling point of massive muscles. I have a question for you. Do you think that most of the people who want the biggest muscles possible take steroids?

The Total Gym sells it on being convenient and taking up little space. I mentioned that I also have weights (barbell and dumbells) at home. I do not think that their market is people going to a gym. Going to a gym can also be a good way of meeting sex partners. Their market are people not doing any resistance training since they do not have the money to pay for going to a gym or the time to travel there and the other things mentioned on that other thread that I gave a link to.

Someone that is wealthy like the governor of CA can have a better home gym than a public one. Don't you think that people can build big muscles with weights whether they are home or in a gym? The science of physics is not different at home than at a gym. They are not trying to con anyone. You can see that Chuck Norris is not very muscular at all.

Thanks for pointing out that it is slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers intead of long and short. I was writing it from memory from years ago. Having massive muscles is great for someone that wants to eat like an elephant and not be overweight. Well not quite, since an elephant eats 200 pounds of food a day.

But having massive muscles takes a lot more money to be spent on food. In fact on my website on losing weight, I explain how building muscles causes you to burn a lot more calories 24 hours a day so it is great for losing weight. It says "With more muscle you burn more calories 24/7 even while you are sleeping as long as you have it. A pound of extra muscle burns an extra 40 calories per day according to Wockhardt Hospital and Mass Builders Newsletter, June 1998."

But if people want to spend less on food, they cannot afford to have massive muscles. Being thin compared to having massive muscles is like a car getting 30 miles per gallon compared to a car getting 3 miles per gallon. I know an extreme athlete with massive muscles and he has to wake up during his sleep time to eat a meal then go back to sleep otherwise he would be losing weight everyday. Michael Phelps, who won 8 gold metals at the Olympics, had to eat 12,000 calories per day. This article says that is 6 times what the normal person eats.

[Orecle]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

The Total Gym is not marketed to the people that want the biggest muscles possible. It does not have a selling point of massive muscles. I have a question for you. Do you think that most of the people who want the biggest muscles possible take steroids?

I am not talking massive muscle. I am talking a complete physique, for which you will have to attack the muscle from a variety of angles. but what will halt muscle gain is the finiteness of weight lifted. ie, the strongest bodybuilder will always be the biggest. (besides the genetically gifted) when i say the strongest i am talking about strongest in many variety of exercises.

Power lifters are far stronger than bodybuilders. but if you notice, bodybuilders are bigger and fuller. look at the legs of a bodybuilder and the legs of a powerlifter.The bodybuilder does far more a variety of exercises. however when powerlifters switch to bodybuilding they absolutely crush the weaker bodybuilders.
Most of the people who go to the gym, dont desire to get steroid big.
ps you will be stunned how many people dont grow with steroids - because they dont have good enough genetics for it. Dont assume the biggest pro bodybuilders do the most steroids. steroids does not remove the need to train and eat very hard. Most of the people who take steroids in America are not big in the slightest. they just end up with huge spots and gyno

let me give you an example. no amount of drugs will make a chihuahua bigger than a pitbull, or beat it in a fight. no amount of drugs will make that same chihuahua beat a greyhound in a race. this is the power of genes. you cannot turn a woody allen into a arnold schwarnegger regardless the amount of steroids taken

Originally Posted by ginkgo

The Total Gym sells it on being convenient and taking up little space. I mentioned that I also have weights (barbell and dumbells) at home. I do not think that their market is people going to a gym. Going to a gym can also be a good way of meeting sex partners. Their market are people not doing any resistance training since they do not have the money to pay for going to a gym or the time to travel there and the other things mentioned on that other thread that I gave a link to.

i am not sure how many people meet sex partners in gyms. espiecally hardcore bodybuilding gyms, with a minute amount of cardio equipment.

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Someone that is wealthy like the governor of CA can have a better home gym than a public one. Don't you think that people can build big muscles with weights whether they are home or in a gym? The science of physics is not different at home than at a gym. They are not trying to con anyone. You can see that Chuck Norris is not very muscular at all.

the govenor of california probably has more cars than the local dealership, it does not mean he should sell cars. this is an unfair comparison, as most individuals dont have his money (although some do make alot)
As i stated before there is a big difference training at home than at a gym. I am talking naturally. At home, you cannot do a 500 lb squat or deadlift. But yes, you can build a decent physique at home, but not the very best of your potential. besides at the gym, you have people to motivate you.

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Thanks for pointing out that it is slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers intead of long and short. I was writing it from memory from years ago. Having massive muscles is great for someone that wants to eat like an elephant and not be overweight. Well not quite, since an elephant eats 200 pounds of food a day.

Originally Posted by ginkgo

But having massive muscles takes a lot more money to be spent on food. In fact on my website on losing weight, I explain how building muscles causes you to burn a lot more calories 24 hours a day so it is great for losing weight. It says "With more muscle you burn more calories 24/7 even while you are sleeping as long as you have it. A pound of extra muscle burns an extra 40 calories per day according to Wockhardt Hospital and Mass Builders Newsletter, June 1998."

i guarantee you most people eat more than enough to be bodybuilders, espeically evidenced by all the overweight people in the western world. most people will grow the desired muscle on their current diet. muscle building is first a genetic thing, which is why certain people can grow on 1 meal a day, while others need 8.

Originally Posted by ginkgo

But if people want to spend less on food, they cannot afford to have massive muscles. Being thin compared to having massive muscles is like a car getting 30 miles per gallon compared to a car getting 3 miles per gallon. I know an extreme athlete with massive muscles and he has to wake up during his sleep time to eat a meal then go back to sleep otherwise he would be losing weight everyday. Michael Phelps, who won 8 gold metals at the Olympics, had to eat 12,000 calories per day. This article says that is 6 times what the normal person eats.[/SIZE]

not even ronnie coleman eats that much.
your extreme athlete chooses to do that, but its not necessary. besides ones definition of massive muscles' are subjective. what i call massive will make most people faint

[Kasha]

Provided that you walk around rather than take your car for small trips, and that you use the stairs whenever possible, I think the dumbells are all you really need!

A great addition to your dumbell workout is an exercise fit ball - those big balls sometimes used in pilates. Try sitting on the ball when you do shoulder presses, or lean back on it (with your glutes outside the ball) when you're doing chest flyes. The very act of just sitting on it strengthens your core region. It's great!

I don't like cardio, rarely do it, and don't subject that kind of torture to my clients. I think walking around, and taking the stairs where possible is enough. For more of my opinion on this check out this article from my site: Ban the Treadmill! The Role of Cardio Exercise in Losing Weight and Burning Fat | Ask Kasha

[RobD]

I have a weight set up at home and I love not having to wait to use a piece of equipment. But sometimes I need to see others working out to motivate me. It is like when I have a race I feel very motivated after due to the enviroment and being around others who share their love of the same sport I do. Again, I like to workout at home because sometimes it take a while to get ready to go to the gym and at home if I really wanted to I could do weights in my underwear. Not saying I have, Really!

[Hanselich]

I think main point in going to gym is motivation while seeing others "suffer" like you. Besides that, with going to gym you obligate yourself to work out. For exercising at home you have to have a great portion of self-discipline and nobody to distract you, so you can really concentrate on working out.