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.
If you wanna loose weight, view exercise as supplemental.
Note 1: Try a Fast. If you cannot fast for more than 2 days (48 full hours), you lack the willpower to do anything else to reduce weight. Them's the facts. Once you know you can control your hunger, everything else comes easily. It's an easy win that means a lot. Your confidence after a successful 2-day fast will skyrocket.
Note 2: Remove bread and oil for a week. Look at all food you eat. If they have bread or oil in the ingredients, don't eat them for a week straight. You can count the first 2-day fast into that week. Bread is the number 1 weight gainer in Western Culture.
Note 3: Everything you eat during this period, by volume, should consist of at least 50% water. Focus on soups. My go-to at the moment is a spiced cabbage soup, but the smell of slow-boiled cabbage isn't for everyone. The enzymes in cabbage are nothing short of miraculous. I can post a recipe if you want. Other than that, just eat fresh vegetables and the juiciest meats you can find. Once you cut out bread, meeting the water concentration is easy.
Note 4: Introduce Exercise slowly. Once you get rid of carb-brain, your motor skills are gonna be sharp. Effectively, when you eat carbs and sugar your brain goes into hibernation mode. When you deprive yourself, you go into survival mode, and your body starts putting resources towards foraging. If your goal is to lose weight, not build muscle, then the exercises you do should only focus on one thing -- Motion. Just keep moving. There is no need to get your heartrate up. Simply don't stop moving. Walking is easy, but it only works the legs. Instead, do a bit of climbing. Go find a hill or pile of rocks and climb them. Don't wear yourself out doing it. Just move and use muscles you otherwise wouldn't on a day-to-day basis. Do exercises that only utilize your own body weight. If you can't lift yourself, be it push-ups or pull-ups, you have no reason to lift weights. Lifting weights strengthens muscles you have while push-ups and pull-ups and anything else that moves your own body's weight "unlocks" muscles. Ask yourself this: why do body builders look ripped while weight lifters look pudgy? It's because muscle definition and muscle strength are different things. Ripped people's muscles are often lumps of scar tissue, and have little bearing on how much they can actually lift. That's why a tiny dude like Bruce Lee could kick a 700lb punching bag and hit the ceiling with it.
Note 5: Don't look at the scale unless you're fasting, and only to make sure you don't go below a safe weight because you're dehydrated. Most weight you lose when exercising is water weight, not fat. Seeing that you're up 2 lbs today or down 2 lbs yesterday means nothing. Muscle has weight, and the more you exercise the more you'll seem to be gaining rather than losing the pounds. The only way to carve off the pounds is through deprivation. Exercise often hits diminishing returns and only serves to make you more hungry.
Note 6: If your goal IS to build muscle and get swole, know that starting skinny actually makes that harder. Muscle builds on fat. If you don't have any body fat to start with, you won't have any place for scar tissue to form and lock into place. Once again, look at Bruce Lee. He's ripped, but not swole. You want swole? Then pack on some pounds first and THEN work those muscles with strength training.
In summary:
Fastest way to lose weight = Intermittent Fasting - The best procedure is fast 2 days, eat 2 days, while you cut out bread for a week at a time. Always aim for 50% water in food by volume.
How to get fit = Moving - Just keep moving in new ways and activate muscle groups that have gone dormant. You can't build muscles your nervous system can't activate. You don't need weights, you just gotta move your weight.
How to get swole = Fat is Future Muscle - You can't sculpt into clay if you don't have a lump of clay to sculpt. You gotta put on pounds if you wanna put on muscle. If your arms are skinny, they're gonna stay skinny even if you lift a ton of weights. Even if you do build that muscle up for volume, it's all just gonna be useless scar tissue that's built up upon itself and has gone rigid at the core -- all show and no blow.
Hope this helps.
Can you please post a recipe for spiced cabbage soup? I LOVE soups. I have my crock pot going almost 24/7.
Ever have solyanka or borscht? Very good cabbage centered soups!
Solyanka recipe. Feel free to substitute meats. E.g don't like ham? Use chicken!
Borscht recipe. Again, you can play around with ingredients somewhat if desired. Both of these soups are considered like "gumbo" or chili in the Baltics. Sort of a "throw whatever ya got into the soup, just dont skimp on the tomato dille, and beets" lol.
That Borscht recipe looks delicious