Any fitness freak frens wanna give some advice?
🧘Mental/Physical Health 🏋🏼♂️
I've been looking to lose some weight and get in better shape lately, but don't really have ready access to a gym because of life circumstances. Figured I'd throw this out there and ask for some advice about working out at home to lose weight with no equipment. I mean there's the obvious push ups, situps, etc. But I'm more looking for advice on how many sets/repetitions, how many days a week, etc. Obviously I plan on dieting a bit as well, but any advice or some kind of link/graphic showing a few basic workout plans would be appreciated.
I figure this post can help some others in the same situation as well given a lot of us want to get in better shape to prepare, but don't have access to the best facilities, and whatnot.
Well I'd be lying if I said I don't want to get swole (who doesn't), but my main goal right now is mainly weight loss. 245 lbs at 6'0 isn't the healthiest. I'm also not the most muscular, not exactly a weakling, but not as fit as I should be. So I suppose you could say my main goal at the moment is to lose the belly/squishy arm fat, and put on some more muscle.
Basically, my current goal is to just get healthier and more fit. It'd be nice to look like Captain America, but I can live without it for the moment. Less squishy arms/legs and a flat stomach are my main goal. I just want to get in better shape as a man and be healthier for myself, my family, and God (Body is the Temple of Christ and whatnot).
So I'd appreciate any advice towards that goal since you seem to have the most detailed response so far.
Really, it's mostly just what I posted.
Fast to lose weight, as described.
If you got flabby arms and want to reduce volume, don't focus on strength, focus on moving the flab. Just keep swinging those meat flaps until they go numb. Avoid exercises that cause aches in the limbs.
Pulling and pushing exercises are what you wanna focus on, in my opinion. I'm no expert, I just know too much.
Go out and find something heavy. Tie a rope or chain around it and start dragging. Just keep dragging, using different stances and approaches. Sometimes with one arm, other times with two arms. When you get bored of that, find a fridge or something on wheels and just start pushing it. Hell, put your car in neutral and push the thing up and down your driveway if you want.
Pushing/pulling bug stuff will target large muscles of the entire arm, squishing and compressing it in huge motions, in ways lifting weights can't get you. Doing this will stretch the muscles in your arms and get them nice and tender. Once they are tender, bloodflow will re-establish itself and then they can actually start turning into muscle.
Finally, you gotta focus on breathing if you're gonna be doing these toning exercises. I suggest the Wim Hoff method, where you effectively hyperventilate in order to expand your body's cellular storage of oxygen. The more storage space you open up, the less you have to breath during the activity, and the faster lean muscle will develop instead of just scar.
https://youtu.be/tybOi4hjZFQ?t=2
Get used to doing that BEFORE an exercise. You'll be amazed to learn you probably can hold your breath for ~3 minutes after a week of doing this breathing exercise once a day.
Finally, if you wanna be able to work on shock absorption in the arms, put on some gloves, get some rebar or other heavy rod of metal, and start smacking a tree or wood pole with it. This will make tiny micro-fractures in your bones which will heal back stronger. This will also help tenderize your arm fat and increase bloodflow. This exercise is not for everyone, and neighbors will think you've gone mad. It does help for stress reduction, though...
As far as belly-fat goes, I wish I had a good answer on that...
Typically, for men, there is a layer of fat under the muscle. You can actually have a pot-belly and a 6-pack at the same time, I kid you not. Women often have the opposite, where the muscle tone forms behind the belly fat, which is why they rarely can muster a 6-pack unless they have 0% body fat.
Really, fasting is the best bet on the tummy fat and love handles. The more crunches you do might just increase scarring which doesn't provide for bloodflow, and therefore you're just sealing off the tub instead of getting rid of it. Honestly, if you wanna target belly fat, do suspension and hanging exercises to tenderize the midriff. Jump on a jungle gym at the playground or anything that puts your arms under the full gravity of your weight. The more you squish the belly, the more you open up avenues for blood flow. Then the fast takes care of the rest, as your body taps into your fat reserves. Yoga and any other types of low-effort stretches might be good for that too.
Thanks for the advice. I'm not really prioritizing getting abs or anything at the moment, I just want a flat stomach, even if it's still kind of squishy to the touch. But overall I'm getting a pretty general idea of where to start here, and I'm thankful and grateful for that.
I suppose if you want to quantify my current goal, I wanna get down to 190 lbs, get more fit (more muscle on the limbs), and drop the belly/love handles for a flatter, if still squishy, figure. The abs and swole limbs (Captain America figure) can come later. I'm taking this in stages, and stage one in my head is just getting healthier so I FEEL better, if you get what I'm saying?
The bare minimum you gotta do for that goal is to stop eating bread. 190 is my "normal" weight at ~5'11" and to maintain it I just gotta stop eating bread.
But, getting down to 190lbs DOES NOT MEAN you got rid of your belly fat. Belly fat is the last thing to go. If you're like me, your ass will be flat as a cutting board before your belly fat evaporates.
Start moving that midriff to re-establish bloodflow. Stretch the hell out of it like trying to massage day-old gum into being pliable again.
The number on the scale will never show in your belly. Knowing that will preserve your sanity.
I'm not expecting this to be any shorter than a several month endeavor for stage one (probably longer in all honesty), but yeah. I figure it'll be at least 6 months to a year before I get rid of the belly completely, or at least enough to feel kind of satisfied with it. Regardless, it's something I've set out to do, and I intend to do it.
So I'm in it for the long haul. Again, thanks for the advice.