Looking for Low-Impact Workout suggestions

[RiotBricker]

Hey all, I joined this morning. I'm working on a dice-based workout regiment that involves waking up and rolling 1d6 or 2d4 every morning to determine how many exercises I'll be doing for the day.  I then plan on rolling a d20; for each workout, the # will correspond with a predetermined exercise, A roll of 1 will require I do 2 exercises while a 20 will either be a free pass or the exercise of my choice. Finally I will roll dice, specific to the workout to determine the # of reps or the amount of time I will spend doing the exercise.

 

I've got several workouts on the list now that work well for me but I'm looking for suggestions for exercises a fat guy can realistically complete without breaking anything but a sweat, as well as the suggested # of reps/time for the exercise (suggestion becomes the average for the dice roll).

Any suggestions are welcome but I'd prefer to do them at home. Currently I've got basic stuff like crunches and lunges as well as Xbox Kinect/Wii Fit time on the list. I also own an elliptical (which made the list twice).  

 

[TheSavageBean]

Make sure eating right is on the list every day!

 

Biking

Swimming

Punching bag (as long as you wrap your hands properly and use gloves)

a circuit of Incline Push-ups, Body rows, turkish get-ups, and star jumps

skip rope (don't bend your knees for this, just launch yourself using your calf power)

 

The system is nice but I would change the d20 bonuses. Because rolling a 1 for doing 2 exercises and rolling a 20 for "free pass" seems like you're equating a harder work-out with "failure" and no work-out with "Critical success". Workouts need to be enjoyable or they need to work towards something you want, otherwise you'll stall and fail over and over again.

[Kishi]

If you want some low-impact calisthenics that you can realistically complete, go for wall push-ups and bench squats (squatting down. Onto a bench. Or a chair. And then getting up again). Knee raises are good for the core, and when you've got some weight lost, you could start in on Inverted Rows.

 

For the push ups and the squats, Kavadlo recommends two sets of thirty repetitions. Three sets of ten for the knee raises and inverted rows. You could honestly go as high as fifty reps with the push ups and squats, if you wanted to, and that might not be a bad return on the investment.

[RiotBricker]

Savage-

I certainly intend to eat better but I find that if I don't slide into health I stand a substantially higher chance of failing, so I'm cutting back on fast-food and using more veggies in my cooking.

 

I plan to find something better for the High-Crit Rolls. At this point exercise is not a fun activity so I hope to find something I really enjoy to put in there. A roll of 1 equating to "you need to work harder" makes sense to me.

 

The circuit training exercises are perfect, that's what I hope to replicate with this system, albeit with a certain level of randomness, the star-jumps would be a bit intense on my back but the others will be great (I haven't tried Turkish Get-Ups but they look frightening, I'll give it a shot). 

 

Kishi-

I'll definitely toss some bench squats and knee raises in, and I'll probably up the number of wall push-ups and substitute them for regular push-ups (I hate regular push-ups).

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[vagabondette]

Rather than crunches, try doing a plank position (even modified on knees) for x seconds.  I feel that MUCH more than I ever have doing crunches.

 

some other favorites:

 

burpees (if you can't jump, do knee-ups)

mountain climbers

wall sits

weighted ball toss/bounce

shadow boxing/kicking

 

For pushups/planks, if you can't do them full-on, start with your hands against a raised object and then get lower as you get fitter (ex, start with wall, then counter, then chair, then stair, then full)

 

Good luck!

[RiotBricker]

I've been at this for about a week now and there are a few I just can't do (despite trying). I'm going to sub some out for your suggestions.

 

The plank substitution for crunches is great, I've got no butt and crunches are really rough on my tail.

 

Thank for your help Vagabondette!

[bigm141414]

For crit rolls you should look into doing Tabata something. Tabata is an HIT workout that lasts 4 mins. 20 seconds of all out work 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds. You can sprint, or do mountain climbers, or pushups or really anything. You'll definitely wish you hadn't landed a critical roll  

 

While you work on planks, you can also try superman holds as well, (lie on your stomach and lift your chest up and legs off the floorlike superman flying). Also known as back extenstions. Good to build the spinal erectors. 

[vagabondette]

I've been at this for about a week now and there are a few I just can't do (despite trying). I'm going to sub some out for your suggestions.

 

The plank substitution for crunches is great, I've got no butt and crunches are really rough on my tail.

 

Thank for your help Vagabondette!

Happy to help.  Crunches aren't really good for you anyway.  planks are MUCH better as they put less stress on your back and engage your entire core plus your glutes, quads and upper body.  Much more bang for the buck.  Just make sure you are doing them right and keep yourself nice and tight.   Good luck!

[Spider-Dan]

Swimming and elliptical training are good low impact cardio.

You are trying to be innovative and nerdy at the same time with your random gen system, but I don't really know that I think it is a great way to train. It is hard to measure your progress when your training is random. If you have trouble measuring your progress, you might be more likely to get frustrated. If it seems like you really aren't improving much, or that you can't tell what to do next I recommend Steve's NerfFitness workout plans. I am currently on the Level 3 Outcast plan. Good stuff.