Hit my peak physical state after losing 2 stone, quit smoking and exercising regularly

[yg95]

Hi guys just joined here. Last year I was at my peak state of unhealthiness. I put on 2 stone weighing an unhealthy weight of 81kg despite being 5.9 feet. I was also smoking 12 a day and getting smashed off cider several times a week. After downloading my fitnessapp in October and limiting my calorie intake per day as well as taking up long distance running I lost two stone, dramatically increased my stamina being able to run 10km easily several times a week as well as now having a body fat percentage of only 8%. I also quit smoking and dramatically cut back on alcohol. Now I am at a stage where my body does not function properly or feel right unless I exercise daily. I also am a bit scared of becoming too skinny and burning my muscles. So I want to bulk up a bit but I have never really been a fan of weights and was thinking of calisthenics... of course I am not ruling out weight training completely if it will improve health and physique. Anybody knows any good workout plans to start from as there appears to be a lot of contradictory stuff on the internet??

[chemgeek]

The folks in the bodyweight training forum should be able to help you out. I am also a big fan of bodyweight training - but there are some motions that are difficult to train with just bodyweight, so I do think that weights have their place, too. 

Also, consider the beginner bodyweight circuit. It's a really good place to start - and can easily be levelled up to a more difficult workout. A few ideas for levelling it up:

• Instead of bodyweight squats, try jumping squats, weighted squats, or one-legged squats (twice as many so each leg has the same number of reps)
• Increase the number of pushups, or try them with elevated legs or a weight. 
• Instead of walking lunges, try reverse lunges, weighted lunges, or Hungarian squats
• Instead of dumbbell rows, try bodyweight rows or pull-ups (or get a heavier dumbbell, but this is assuming you're at the point where you've maxed out easily-acquired dumbbells)
• Increase the length of the plank, or add weight to it
• Increase the number of jumping jacks, or maybe substitute burpees if you really want your muscles to hate you