Is anyone able to recommend a good beginner programme involving bodyweight exercises? I'd like to start from the couch and get into shape for my health over a period of about 6 week where once I've made some progress I feel confident to join a gym.
There's a few infographics being shown online but they all seem to hinge on doing the same exercises every day with no progression. That seems wrong to me.
>>5982 I actually recommend walking over bodyweight, if you're in that space. Get to the stage where you can walk for at least an hour a day, absolutely every day. 2 hours if you can.
If you're really into using some kind of weight training, resistance bands are much cheaper, better and easier to start with. I would also look at jump rope workouts - Crossrope make the best ropes, but there are others.
https://www.crossrope.com/products/get-fit-jump-rope-bundle/
Lastly, if you're on this journey, get some kind of electronic monitor for your steps, your heart rate and activity. Garmin are the cheapest and have a really good ecosystem.
>>5983 >I actually recommend walking over bodyweight, if you're in that space. Get to the stage where you can walk for at least an hour a day, absolutely every day. 2 hours if you can.
I'm ahead of you on this as I enjoy a good hike and have done for years. What I'm looking to do is build up my core and upper body which I've always neglected.
Okay - for this I strongly recommend a balance board. I have one of these VewDoo ones, but there are loads about. Proprioreceptor training is really good for the core.
To just answer your question: Thenics is a good app that goes from beginner to more advanced moves, but it does have quite a steep difficulty curve.
Since you've already received some good recommendations, now, I'd like to ask more about your situation. Why do you not feel confident going into a gym? Is the long-term goal just to lose weight? You mention progression, are you aiming to become stronger?
Of course you can just run with one of the suggestions you've received here, but you might get far more out of the thread if you give a bit of background.
>>5993 >Why do you not feel confident going into a gym?
I'm not the OP, but I do understand this feeling - lots of people feel like a gym is going to be full of cut/hench people staring down at them - you might get that in a gym focused on weight-training, but not at David Lloyds/Nuffields/Fitness First - partiuclarly if you start now, January/February, gyms are full of beginners.
>>5993 >>5994 I'm looking to git gud beforehand so I can do pullups and use the equipment to the full-extent. I see it as a bit of a waste to have a gym membership when I can get the same impact from home workouts and obviously being able to work out at home is a useful skill in the current world of January lockdowns.
Also specifically Jan and Feb is the best time to avoid gyms as they're packed.
>Is the long-term goal just to lose weight? You mention progression, are you aiming to become stronger?
Long-term goal is to have a higher degree of physical fitness - a little more firmness is a plus but generally it's to even out my body strength so yes, core and upper body strength.
Fair enough. There are many ways to skin a cat, and calisthenics will certainly get you on your way. You might also consider buying some basic home equipment to get a feel for many of the exercises... if that's even possible, anymore. A great way to progress to a pullup is to buy a doorframe IronGym bar or one of the equally serviceable knockoffs, and combine it with a resistance band tied around the middle to keep your feet in. A strong band can take away a good amount of your bodyweight, 20kg or so, making the exercise easier.
Most gym exercises are similarly scaleable, and while it is a bit shit to have to start out with the empty barbell, everyone starts somewhere. It's can also be quite surprising how strength from bodyweight exercises doesn't necessarily carry over as well as you'd think. It's funny how many 100kg+ bench pressers get gassed out doing a set of 20 pushups.
But yeah, there's no harm in committing to a good bodyweight exercise programme until you're feeling a somewhat fitter and the gyms clear out a bit in March-April. The best way to get good at gym stuff, though, is to go to the gym. Finding one you like that's convenient to attend is half the battle.
>>5998 >Finding one you like that's convenient to attend is half the battle.
I think this is the absolute key point when choosing a gym - it needs to be near your home, or in the old days, your work - ideally a place you pass-by every day. If it's difficult to get to, or in a weird place, you're just going to waste your money.
So I started this year obese with all the gyms shut, am now in the best shape of my life- started calisthenics in March and then got into the gym when it reopened. My advice is that calisthenics can be really good, but you need to know exactly what you're doing for it to be worthwhile, so I would recommend a PT, that's what I did. Not cheap of course but very worth it to set your foundation in the first few months. If you're starting from fatmode it can be quite difficult to push yourself hard enough to make progress with calisthenics.
Also, it is not a substitute for lifting weights. Calisthenics are very useful and still a core part of my routine for some things but they cannot do for your body what big fuckoff heavy metal can.
>>6001 I probably missed the most useful thing I wanted to say whoops.
Get a TRX/suspension trainer and some resistance bands, these are the key to progression. For stuff like press-ups, pull-ups etc, it's about starting with support (eg a band under your feet, starting at a more forgiving angle than the floor for pressups) and gradually removing that support as you get stronger. For example I started with pressups at around a 80 degree angle against a wall or but of furniture and now do them on the floor.
