So many workout programs out there. I don't know where to begin.

[linuxguy0481]

As I type this my P90X DVD's are collecting dust. I just hate the time commitment for P90X. I was thinking of joining Crossfit because having a personal trainer and being in a group will motivate me. It's also less time than P90X. Since my wife is pregnant and the baby due next year March 31st. No funds for Crossfit. Also I am looking for a new job so that puts a damper on joining Crossfit. Been saving money for emergencies and the baby coming.

With so many workout programs out there. It's hard to pick one. Here are the ones I have looked at and in no particular order:

1. Nerd Fitness: Rebel Strength guide

2. SimpleFit

3. P90X

4. Convict Conditioning

5. Doing Bodyweight only inspired Crossfit workouts

6. Strong Lifts

7. Starting Strength

8. You are your own gym

These are my goals. FYI: I am just now starting eating Paleo based foods. Been eating like that for a couple of weeks.

1. Lose 30 pounds of fat. (I understand this is mostly diet)

2. Be strong. I want to be freak of nature strong.

3. Fast results

4. Able to have great stamina

5. Not a requirement but it will be a nice bonus to obtain that ripped body.

I do have a pull up/dip station here at my house and a set of adjustable dumbbells.

I like having a workout program that has a set plan and has good scaling workouts. Not that creative enough and very new to fitness that I won't be able to create my own workout routine.

I'm hoping to get some help on these forums. Just looking for advice and suggestions. Thanks for reading.

[Ghost]

I would discount CC. It is quite basic things and not well planned.

If you are down on time and money, or just don't want to spend, bodyweight is a great option.

You can get incredibly strong with only your bodyweight, e.g Normal pushups < One Arm pushups.

And we will be here as a support and challenge group, don't forget that.

[Mad Rocker]

Rebel Strength Guide, Stronglifts and Starting Strength (perhaps some of the others, these are the ones I've tried/looked at in detail) all preach the same values.

Stronglifts is probably the simplest, and you don't have to buy anything, but the RSG includes a programme specifically for dumbbells as well as bodyweight work which would both be good for you, whereas the other two are basically barbell only. Plus Steve's guide includes links to form videos and several other bonuses that you don't get with the other two. There's also a diet section, which would help with your other goals, especially if you're into paleo.

I'm not using it at the moment, but I'd definitely recommend it.

Convict Conditioning is an interesting enough read, but Ghost is right in that it isn't fantastically structured and it doesn't offer much more than websites like Beastskills in terms of instruction. In fact Beastskills probably teaches the exercises better, and for free.

[Waldo]

1. Lose 30 pounds of fat. (I understand this is mostly diet)

2. Be strong. I want to be freak of nature strong.

3. Fast results

4. Able to have great stamina

5. Not a requirement but it will be a nice bonus to obtain that ripped body.

You have a lot of conflicting goals. First things first, prioritize. If you want to get strong fast, forget about losing weight or gaining stamina. If you want to lose weight fast forget about getting strong fast. If you want to get stamina fast, forget about getting strong fast. You can only really optimize for one goal.

Your get strong goal is way too vague. How do you define strong? It means different things to different people. Strong as in lifting lots of plates and strong as in doing wow tricks/exercises, and strong as in kicking rear end in a ring are all totally different viewpoints on strength and fairly mutually exclusive. General beginners athleticism including strength applies to all, but training philosphy will strongly diverge after that.

You will also at one point have to decide if you are training for physique or training for performance, as these goals can at times be conflicting.

Results will always be a byproduct of diet. Whether losing fat or gaining muscle.

If you are going to train bodyweight, you should pick a few things to work towards and program toward reaching those goals. You should never be vaguely getting stronger. Everything you do should have a specific goal in mind.

[notanartmajor]

"Freak of Nature Strong" and "Ripped" are mostly incompatible, unless you're Mariusz Pudzianowski.

[rtalencar]

What Waldo and Notanartmajor said.

Pick one goal at a time and focus on that.

[Leimanu]

I started with no money, too, but I developed a program easily. I've lost weight and gotten stronger, and none of it was in a gym or a straight up program, and pretty much free, just what I gleaned from Steve's NerdFitness and what people said around the Forums. It's much easier than you think, and here's what I did.

Search the NerdFitness site for "basic bodyweight workout" and "Angry birds workout" and "hotel workout." These are all bodyweight and found objects and don't take a lot of time, an hour usually INCLUDING warm up and stretching!!!! It also starts you out easy, with multi-muscle exercises. This will keep you going for awhile and learning about form, what you enjoy, and how to fit it in your day. This is a lifestyle change.

Once you're on that path and enjoying yourself, get the one of the Rebel Guides. I got Starting Stregth, but there're Fitness and Slimming Down, or something. With Running, there's four guides. I got the basic one for $39, after like 6months of bodyweight things I learned on this web site, so just the ebook and no Steve training. It has basically what Steve's written in his many articles, but also four groups of workouts, all laid out, with descriptions, a schedule, and links to YouTube videos so you don't even have to think. So that'll help you with a structure. Each starts basic and gets harder as you get stronger, so you can really grow with it. The Strength is divided into basic bootcamp (basically the basic bodyweight from above), bodyweight, dumbbells, and barbell. As I went, I mixed bodyweight and dumbbells, the dumbbells being stuff I found to lift, and a couple months ago a set my cousin let me borrow.

And you're in luck! We're starting a 6wk challenge today! All of your goals are long-term, so pick one to concentrate on that you think you'll stick with (either get strong or lose weight, but starting out both will happen) and of what in your lifestyle you'd like to change in 6wks. Make one meal every week, try to exercise 3x/wk, try to drink only one soda a day, only eat out 2x/wk, whatever's going on in your life. The first part of your journey is learning what works for you, what you like to eat (me? I learned I like cauliflower and have a hard time with kale), what exercises you look forward to (me? I like picking up heavy things and putting them down. I can't stand running), and what part of the day you will most likely work out (me? late afternoon, after work and before dinner, though I wish I would work out before breakfast!). How long of a commute do you have? When do you have energy? When can you get free time? it's different for everyone.

So the challenge is three health goals, and one lifestyle. So for 6 wks you might try to save a little of your paycheck, even just a couple bucks, since you seem worried about security and baby expenses. Put a couple dollars a week into an envelope, and then happily count it at the end of the 6wks! And leave it in the envelope, don't spend it

We all have big goals, so it's about changing little things to get bigger. Eating an elephant one bite at a time.

[linuxguy0481]

@ Leiman: Thank you for the very informative reply. I am looking into purchasing the Rebel Strength Guide. Thank you again I will gladly take your advice.

Also to others about CC. I will sell this book. I have hardly read the book. My doubts are confirmed.

@Waldo: Well I think I'm starting a job soon. Just waiting on the background check. Anyways I will be unloading semi trailers. Some of the cargo are 100 pound boxes. Some of the loads are not on wooden palettes. When I do that now I'm out of breath and struggle lifting those boxes. That is one way how I will define strong.

[Daffy]

I'd suggest picking something simple to get yourself into the exercise habit. Since your #1 goal is weight loss, focus on improving your diet. For exercise, I'd recommend the Couch to 5K running program. It's 25 minutes, 3-4x a week. It's a set schedule and you'll see progress quickly.

After a few weeks of that, you could start getting into something like Strong Lifts and continue your running too on non-lifting days.