Ok sure a gym can get you fit faster and for athletes and powerlifters there's no substitute. For the rest of us, stop thinking about your final form and just get out there. Everyone has a floor, ok? Squats, pushups, situps, jumping jacks, whatever, just do them. Your form doesn't need to be perfect Week 1. Just don't hurt yourself and maybe watch a few videos. Even pullups and chinups can be done, like at some playgrounds (use common sense and don't be in the way).

Not having access to equipment, trainers, and workout buddies is an excuse. The point is to stop making excuses, just go train for free. How many people pay for a gym and never train? How many fad exercise machines are collecting dust? Once you are exercising almost everyday and hit a plateau then you can go get an expensive gym membership or buy that complete weight set. You don't need to be Arnie in his prime to feel good, look good, or get sexy time partners. What matters is your self discipline and the visible results of your work.

Refraining from candy and junk food is free, too. Get a $6 steak or pack of chicken, some vegetables and fruit and cut back on the grains. Just like with exercise, you don't need a fancy perfect plan for results. It's not about getting the exact right circumstances before starting. Power through discomfort but not through pain.

Personally my strength would be a joke to a powerlifter yet I'm usually the strongest in the room. Similar deal with confidence. Most men are so physically and spiritually weak these days even a basic effort will stand out.

No more excuses. Our ancestors didn't need protein shakes and Bowflexes. Those are little performance bonuses, nothing more. Make a simple plan and stick to it until you're ready for more.

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-uftw- 7y ago

I read somewhere that average PRs for a powerlifter are: 130kg squat
97kg bench
130kg deadlift

If your PRs are higher than that then welcome to the club, you're an above average powerlifter.

Now in terms of the whole population, you're easily top 5%.

celincelin 7y ago

Your form doesn't need to be perfect Week 1.

Unless you want to waste weeks 100-200 to unlearn it, it better be.

_A_L_3_X_ 7y ago

This guy has pretty good overall fitness advice for exactly that.

Also a pair of dumbbells won't hurt, as it is possible to train without them, but training something like shoulders is much easier with them.

DancesWithPugs 7y ago

Yeah if there was one purchase to make I would tell guys to get a pair in the 15 to 30 pound range. Very versatile.

warburgio 7y ago

Id say pair of gymnastic rings. I was astonished how versatile they can be. From bulgarian squats and chin ups to dips, push ups, reverse chins , flys etc. Different angles give you different resistance. One thing you cant do with them is farmers walk. The whole 'girly' trx is based on them. When i didnt have gym i used gymnastic rings and buckets with stones.

overwhelmingodds 7y ago

Coupled with an inclinable/foldable bench and higher pound range, you got 80% of your gym needs covered.

DancesWithPugs 7y ago

Good idea. Pushups are grand but they aren't going to hit all those muscle groups properly. We can mix iy up with fist pushups though.

[deleted] 7y ago

Also, as a bonus, once you work out enough, you'll get addicted, and it will soon be the only thing preventing you from killing yourself.

[deleted] 7y ago

Dark humor aside, this is very true. Going to the gym and having a consistent training regimen is one of the best ways to fight depression. If you're not convinced, let Arnie explain it to you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84cVizR6sPQ

SalporinRP 7y ago

Yep. I tweaked my back a few months ago and had to stop hitting the gym for about two weeks. I felt miserable lol.

[deleted] 7y ago

Ya in 2016 I injured my shoulder and had to take like 3 months off. It was brutal, my entire life fell apart. I wasn’t productive at all with the extra time either.

Monitorul 7y ago

>Get a $6 steak

I wish I had that shit where I live.

MysticalMike1990 7y ago

My experience that put me on the fitness path was buying one of those pull up bars that hangs in the door frame. For $16.99, I had my new gym delivered to me, I placed it in the door frame of my bathroom and made a rule that I would crank out 10 chin ups every time I walked through the door. the goddamned about it all was after a week or two, I wasn't using the bathroom less, I was doing more complete chin-ups.

Stabiel 7y ago

If you can't spend 20 bucks a month on a gym or any sporting event you are already delusional.

yamseveryday 7y ago

Yeah, just go to a gym and lift weights. If you don’t have 20 dollars a month you have bigger problems. The last jacked guy I talked to said he wasn’t just doing 100 burpees a day in his living room. Maybe if you have some sort of insane genetics.

throwlaca 7y ago

Everybody can spend 20 bucks for a gym, but not everybody can spend 2+ hours required to go to gym, do gym, return and shower. 2 hours is a LOT of your free time if you have a family/work full time.

-6

RichHomieCole 7y ago

It doesn’t take 2 hours. I don’t know how far most people live from a gym but it’s 15 minute drive for me. I take a cold shower that takes 5-10 minutes and what kind of weirdo doesn’t shower every day anyways. That’s 40 minutes. You only need 45 minutes in the gym if you focus and do it intensely. That’s an hour and 25 minutes. If you can’t find 1:30 for the gym, you’re lying to yourself

Stabiel 7y ago

You can't spend 3 times 1,5 hours a week? It's called investment in yourself for a reason.

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DancesWithPugs 7y ago

Saving money is delusional, TIL

-4

Non-Cookie-cutter 7y ago

20 bucks a month for an awesome hobby that will actually get you jacked (unlike jumping fucking jacks and body weight squats which are only challenging to obese women) is definitely a good investment.

DancesWithPugs 7y ago

We all start somewhere. Not everyone has amazing knees and joints or muscle tone. Gender is irrelavant here. This post is aimed more at beginners to intermediate level. I mentioned already the gym will give superior results and the free stuff won't take you to top level. I don't think every man needs to strive for a jacked body as a focus, but it is a great idea.

SalporinRP 7y ago

Ok so why shouldn't a beginner give themselves the best recipe for success a join a gym instead of wasting time getting lesser gains doing bodyweight exercises?

DancesWithPugs 7y ago

I am giving options. People can make their own choices.

trpppp123 7y ago

I pay like 120$ a year for my gym membership... idk how y'all can't afford that.

Gobzillax 7y ago

Where on earth do you live where a gym costs $12/mo?

ZachMeadows 7y ago

In France you got Fitness Centers chains that cost between 5€ to 20€ a month.

And how did you get 120$/y = 12$/mo ? 120 : 12 = 10.

trpppp123 7y ago

Canada, but pretty sure they have planet fitness in the states. Yea, it's not the best, but for a beginner it's more than enough.

Gobzillax 7y ago

u/ZachMeadows my bad, brain fart on my behalf.

Also thats some interesting prices. In aus, atleast where I am, gyms are around 12-15 AUD per week at the cheapest

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[deleted] 7y ago

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rad_dynamic 7y ago

And on the same note, there is no such thing as an excuse. Just that it's not a high enough priority for you.

HBenedek38 7y ago

Don't eat steak. It increases estrogene. Stick to chicken.

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youcantdenythat 7y ago

Check out prison workout or gymnast bodyweight workout programs. Pullups, muscleups, decline pushups, pistol squats, dips; Get some bands or dumbells and do some rows and goblet squats, find some way to do roman chair (someone hold your legs down as you bend over the side of a bed or monkey bars on a play ground?) and that should get you most of it. You can do alot of stuff if you can set up some rings.

See if you have a local park that has some workout equipment.

Check out Hannibal for king, Frank Medrano, Bar Brothers, etc

Oh there is also a sub for bodyweightfitness

Atheist_Utopia 7y ago

Don't do pushups without rows. Silly militairy advice is going to cost you your posture and your shoulder.

DeadliftRx 7y ago

Bodyweight inverted rows and banded facepulls for absurd volume will give you that manly upper back. Or, you know, deadlifts.

leZickzack 7y ago

Deadlifts will give you a great upper back, sure.

RichHomieCole 7y ago

Deadlifts alone won’t sure, but they do work the traps and mid back. So not completely wrong

DeadliftRx 7y ago

You're not a 700+ deadlifter.

I suggest rack pulls for you, you should be able tp get to 700+ for at least a 5 second hold within 2 months. It will build your upper-upper back something mad.

artificialfather 7y ago

It doesn't need to be free. And that's not a bad thing. Symbolic value is a powerful psychological hook, but that's for another day.

You just need to set your priorities straight. Isn't it right that you wouldn't go to the cinema or to a fancy restaurant without first paying for your rent, bills and food right? (please tell me you do, otherwise you have a more serious problem than women)

So, you do the same for your fucking mental and physical shape. You first pay for the ingredients to cook healthy food, then you pay to have a bed to sleep at, your bills... then you pay for your local cheapass gym membership that will help with your anxiety, depression, body and sleep cycles.

And then, and just then, you start paying for completely optional luxuries of life such as booze, fancy restaurants, entertainment and such.

cloudspike 7y ago

It’s not about the money it’s about the energy and the will. And for most people those luxury options are called living life

DancesWithPugs 7y ago

Hey if someone has the money and will actually use the membership it's a great idea. Doubly so for sports and fight training. My main point was that you don't need much to get started. Overcoming inertia is hard so I wanted to bust some of the rationalization hamsters.

Your advice is solid even if it's not always easy to follow.

[deleted] 7y ago

Make an investment in an adjustable dumbbell set. Been lifting them at home for the past 6 months and can def see a difference. Granted it isn't the gains i'd be making if I was hitting the gym everyday (I'm assuming), but i've made some and it has me feeling healthy and helps balance hormones as well. They're relatively cheap and you can do many many exercises with them/ combined with body weight as well to hit every group of muscles just fine; quit making excuses.

throwlaca 7y ago

Bought a bar to do pull-ups/chin ups. About 10 usd, you install it in a door frame.

I do 10 pull-ups/chin ups a couple of times a day. First I couldn't do even 2 and it hurt like hell. I have a fucked up backbone and can't lift much weight, but can do pull-ups.

My back and shoulders looks like a swimmers back now. Incredible. And very easy on your body as pull-ups are a quite natural movement.

DeadliftRx 7y ago

$6 steak

Guys, you can get chuck steak in bulk for under $3/lb from your local grocery in most locations. Usually discount places can get you ribeye or T-bone (most will be porterhouse) for $6/lb if you buy the entire primal.

Even better if you're gonna pay $6-7/lb: Lamb.

askmrcia 7y ago

Chuck steaks are a pain in the ass to eat though. They are never tinder

DeadliftRx 7y ago

I don't know what you are talking about. I eat everything rare or blue, preferably.

SalporinRP 7y ago

Pound them with a meat hammer lol

VigilantCMDR 7y ago

could you please elaborate further?

i would like to start buying meat cheaper but really don't know the best way to go about it, would love to hear your advice!

DeadliftRx 7y ago

I live in Middle Tennessee. We have Save-A-Lots and i have several smaller butchers and grocers willing to sell entire primals at a discount.

Now, I'm used to eating Eye of Round and white rice, so figuring out that I can get am entire chuck shoulder, over 35lbs of steaks, at $3/lb or less, I bought a small freezer and a shoulder. Then I bought a lean cut, an entire top round. Mine was 22lbs, same price. I can get strip steak at $5/lb or T-bone or ribeye at $6/lb.

But you gotta buy the entire primal. Ribeye is 40-50% off buying a single steak or two.

Buy a cheap vacuum sealer and cheap vacuum bags. Vacuum seal everything immediately. A Food Saver 2000 and Wal-Mart vacuum bags work great. Don't spend money on expensive stuff until you know youre gonna commit.

DeadliftRx 7y ago

Lamb I buy from Food Lion when its on sale at $7-8/lb down from $10-11.

troutmask96 7y ago

No more excuses? Well, I have one. I was recently in a seemingly minor car accident and was having some headaches so my doc sent me in for a precautionary CT scan. It revealed that I had suffered a torn carotid artery in the right side of my neck and have an aneurysm pushing up against it. My prescription? No heavy lifting for a period of three months, at which point I'm in for a follow-up MRI to see how I'm healing. If things look good I may be given clearance to return to my prior strength training regimen. So now I get to spend my summer watching atrophy take hold while trying to maintain my healthy diet so that I don't gain weight where my muscles used to be. #FML

Illiaan 7y ago

Stop being a pussy and show that aneurism who’s boss. Don’t let no blood clot keep you down bro.

HBenedek38 7y ago

Just saying, it might be a good idea to ask around about IGF1 - it accelerates healing, and keeps your physique.

At any rate, you clearly have lifted before, and what happened to you is a freak accident, OP's point stands.

Imperator_Red 7y ago

So you’re hurt for 3 months. What does this unique situation have to do with anything?

SalporinRP 7y ago

Ok well obviously this post doesn't apply to injuries fool

MarcosDomingues 7y ago

You can only get gains on bodyweight exercises for so long (1-2 months), eventually you will have to get a gym membership if you actually want to look like you lift

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throwlaca 7y ago

True, its called calistenics. You cannot look shredded with bodyweight alone, but you can look better than 95% of population. Then you can buy some cheap weights, after that yeah, you need gym/supplements/drugs/etc but then you are on the super-human category and it takes lots of time too.

SalporinRP 7y ago

Yes you can it's just more difficult. It's just harder to progressively overload with bodyweight exercises. If you're going to a gym and 70lb dumbell presses start feeling light then you simply just increase the weight. The progression isn't as simple with bodyweight exercises.

throwlaca 7y ago

I'm trying to do one-hand pull-ups and if I ever manage to do 10 of those, then I would like like a gorilla.

Ochialoc 7y ago

I assume you can do one arm pull ups. Well, actually no since they are hard as fuck. There are plenty ways to overload with bodyweight only. Your upper body is easy. Lower body is trickier. But again, you can go a long way with pistol squats.

throwlaca 7y ago

On arm pull up is equivalent to a 80kg barbell, no way in hell I can do that.

Illiaan 7y ago

You can look shredded with bodyweight alone, but progressively overloading is trickier than with weights. If you’re training weighted Pullups, just add weight. For pure calisthenics guys, it’s either difficult variations like front lever rows or you subtract fingers on one hand until you’re doing OAPUs. One arm pushups for heavy work. Dips, muscle ups. Slow muscle ups. Impossible Dips. L-Sits and V-Sits for core. There’s a lot, but it requires more skill and dedication. Not easy - but entirely possible.

MarcosDomingues 7y ago

Lifting weights will never make you look super human without steroids, even at your genetic limit you will just look "fit" to other people. Calisthenics alone wont give you a physique unless you can dip 5 plates and pull up 4

HBenedek38 7y ago

That heavily depends on muscle insertions and overall genetics.

youcantdenythat 7y ago

Guys like this might disagree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRLUhBldu9A

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MarcosDomingues 7y ago

Those are gymnasts, and they've been training since birth. You could train your whole life on the rings and get near that physique, or you could just lift for 1-2 years and get the better results

youcantdenythat 7y ago

Not sure where you are getting your information. It takes a little longer than 1-2 years in a gym to get better results. Try 5-10.

You also might want to check out Hannibal for king, Frank Medrano, Bar Brothers, etc on youtube to see what bodyweight can do.

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strikethrough123 7y ago

If you can’t afford the minimum $40 a month for a decent gym then you have other things you need to work on. Maybe get a job.

When I got my first job at 18 the first thing I did was get a gym membership. I didn’t have a car at the time so I took the bus (1:30 round trip). Sure, I was doing calisthenics before that, but your own body weight can only get you so far. If you want to get actual strength and muscle gains you NEED to be doing heavy compound movements in a safe manner, which you simply cannot do if you don’t have gym equipment.

Atheist_Utopia 7y ago

but your own body weight can only get you so far.

And that's where you're wrong buddy. Do some proper hypertrophy calisthenics like progressing from pike-pushups to handstand pushups for reps. Are you really that advanced that you can do 10+ HSPUs that it doesn't give you hypertrophy anymore?

SalporinRP 7y ago

Body weight will only be able to get you so far from a muscle development standpoint. Also handstand pushups are 50% strength progression and 50% progression of technique and balance.

You will not be able to get a body builder physique from bodyweight exercises in a timely manner.

It is much better to just suck up the 30 bucks a month for a gym membership and make gains at a much faster rate.