Hello everyone!

[Laoch]

Hope everyone is doing great! Newbie here, and I am letting out my inner nerd. Been overweight most of my life, sporadically went to the gym in spurts until life happened and fell off the wagon....time and time again. Although I'm 47, my body feels 77. Flexibility is almost zero, strength is okay though as I would only lift weights at the gym. Since my gym membership expires at the end of January, I am going to be keeping it simple and start doing bodyweight workouts and working on flexibility. I found this website about 5 years ago and really liked it, so I am back! Looking forward to the forums here and getting to know you all. 

[TGP]

cool, you are half Newbie!

 

I was thinking of doing a YMCA bodyweight class; but you know... i don't know... I peeked at the class for a while, and I was kind of thinking- this is Aerobics (the crazy of the 80's) rebranded.  talking to another; they were like... no its 'plyometrics'.

 

Same package different name?  or am I being unfair to see this as Richard Simmons old workout with a different wrapper.

anyways.

what do you think?   I suppose even yoga could be called a Bodyweight exercise.  so I suppose that term is pretty generic.

[TGP]

thinking about it, my question Might be a bit undefinite.  How, you say, would I know anything about a YMCA class in YOUR hometown.

quite right.

 

and I am AWARE that "Aerobics" refer more to the intensity and CardioVascular demands of the Exercise than specifically What to do... (though Richard Simmons is a specific brand- with no doubt specific moves)

 

there ARE a lot of labels these days it seems... I guess I am just struck by your story of losing the gym membership.

 

if strength training is your priority (as opposed to running or something); that seems a tough blow to a workout routine.  I know I had a 7 day stretch of not getting to the YMCA; and I took a day where I did pushups and sit-ups.

 

if felt very off compared to hitting the weights.

 

and there again, LOL, I am probably overgeneralizing you to think you mean Strength training.  I know there is pilates, yoga, plyometrics,, etc.  I just don't know too much about this Other stuff.  I'm honestly curious about what kind of fitness regiment you are thinking of.   Since getting back into exercise; the YMCA is becoming Increasingly the center of my life-- particularly now in the winter where my favorite exercise (hiking) becomes difficult.

 

[Laoch]

No worries! Sure, I can lift weights, although not very heavy, I find bodyweight exercises i.e pushups, sit ups, bodyweight squats, etc. to be somewhat difficult, if that makes any sense. Maybe it's because I am not doing them in a "circuit" style where there is a cardiovascular benefit per se? Seems like a waste of money to pay for a gym membership where half the year I don't go! I'm thinking that by cutting out the gym, for now, and "getting back to the basics" with workouts I can do in my backyard, literally, I will build a better foundation for the weights in the future. Consistency is the key for me and I need to prove to myself first that I can do it without paying monthly fees. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to lift weights, but I am not consistent enough. I'm not a huge fan of running due to years over being overweight that has caused minor knee issues. I am hopeful that will change in the future.

 

I agree, there are a lot of labels anymore on exercises, all for Marketing, if you ask me.

[Elastigirl]

Welcome I joined NF when I was 47ish several years ago. I was tired of feeling like I was 70 when I was not even 50 yet. Now I feel better than when I was 30! I work out at home. For me that works, It's right at home, I don't need to go anywhere. Other people like the social aspect of the gym or the accountability.

[Laoch]

13 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Welcome I joined NF when I was 47ish several years ago. I was tired of feeling like I was 70 when I was not even 50 yet. Now I feel better than when I was 30! I work out at home. For me that works, It's right at home, I don't need to go anywhere. Other people like the social aspect of the gym or the accountability.

That is pretty much my mindset right now; keep it simple, get back to the basics and grow from there. Love the name! One of my favorite movies!

[aravandor]

Laoch, on the subject of "bodyweight workouts" and losing your gym membership, it sounds like you may be interested in some calisthenics. Now, I am by no means a specialist (at best I am a noob myself with calisthenics), but there were two books on the subject that I found very informative and helpful. They both focus on exercises that you can do at home without equipment that (in my opinion anyway) help you build real strength. You may find them helpful too. Maybe not. But I can guarantee you that they're certainly not "Richard Simmons."

 

The first is "Convict Conditioning" by Paul Wade. Now, first, I'd say that there is a lot of hype around this (probably due in part to the macho title)  and the site is definitely trying to promote and sell stuff. If you look past all of that and read the book, the bellicose marketing quickly falls away and it reveals a practical guide with progressions to strength training without workout gear that you could do in your living room. All of the exercises contained in the book could theoretically be done from a jail cell (with the exeception of pull-ups. You'd obviously need a pull-up bar for those.). The author claims that he did them himself while incarcerated: thus the title.

 

The second one is "You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises" by Mark Lauren. The author is supposedly a former special forces trainer or something, but this one is more of a pictoral, practical guide to loads of different bodyweight exercises and it includes some routines as well. It's a useful reference and after using it a bit, I personally went so far as to get it spiral-bound so that I could lay it open on a table for reference while trying to do some of the exercises.

 

Anyhow, I thought that those might be helpful to you. I'd take them with a grain of salt. The first one has some philosophy about training that you may or may not agree with, but the progressions seem solid to me. I'm not endorsing everything about them, but I do feel that the exercises explained within them are very useful and presented well.

 

Best of luck to you! You've certainly found the right community to help!

[djryanash]

How's it coming with the callisthenics?