Think a "no weights workout" would work?

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If you wanna look like that you definitely need weights, but the most important thing to have is a pull up bar. There is absolutely no substitute for that.

Try yoga! you support your own weight, so you don't get bulky.

Yes an inverted row is another name for them. Pity you cannot do it.
But dont think just because you are a girl it is out of your reach. I know many girls who can do more chinups than I can. Being of a slim build actually is an advantage for chins.
However I do acknowledge your goals are just maintenance so that is fine...

As for the OP being 16... it is a wives tale that weights are bad for growing bodies. The forces exerted by jumping type sports (like basketball etc) are far more on the body than weights. He will be safe in doing them. All I would say is make sure you have appropriate supervision to ensure good technique, because lifting with bad technique is the one thing that can really screw up your body. But as I said in my original post, it is not a bad idea to target your fitness at just the exercises they will assess you on (but in the long term it is better to do a general workout including all of the stuff above).

Depending on form, one could build muscle with calisthenics alone, however, not to the extent weight lifting would.

*Cough cough cough.*



Quite apart from the obvious advatage of being pleasing to the eye...



...the result of doing resistence exercises is functional strength as opposed to empty muscle. It's still weight lifting, mangomath. You are still lifting weight - but you're lifting your own. If you end up getting so strong that lifting your whole entire body weight is a breeze, you can add more. Tie weights to your person strategically, or get someone to sit on top of you or hang to your ankles. LOL

Pumping iron at the gym does not prepare you for scaling a wall. Chin-ups or pull-ups will.

Pumping weights does not strengthen your wrists to minimise inury risk in the event of your hands breaking a fall. Press-ups will.

Pumping weights does not prepare you to lift yourself up backwards onto a wall. Dips will.

But each to their own.

Thanks everyone. It's been about a week or 2 since I started this thread and I've made a little progress (although I'm not exactly bulging out of my clothes just yet, not that I was expecting that after 2 weeks.)

I'll probably necropost this thread in about 2 or 3 months when I've made some visible progress. I've already been able to shift the workout up a couple of reps and add weights on push-ups and stuff. Can't wait until 6 months later

[insert courage wolf here]

Yeah, working out without weights should help put on muscle. So long as the muscles are fatigued after the work out, that is what it takes, I believe. I'd add to not forget about diet. I personally believe diet is just as important for putting on muscle and looking fit and trim as the muscle fatiguing work out and rest afterwards.

Everyone has their opinion on the best diet for putting on muscle. What has worked for me is this diet.

http://robbwolf.com/faq/

Robb Wolf is a lifter who has won awards.

Well here's an update since I started this thread...

I've moved on from that workout somewhat, but I still do pretty much all bodyweight exercises. Here's my routine.

Close pushups (a.k.a triangle pushups) = 2 sets of 20
Full squats = 2 sets of 25
leg raises = 2 sets of 18
half bridges = 2 sets of 10
Pullups = 2 sets of 8-10 (depends if i have access to a pullup bar or not)

And I aim to start handstand pushups as well soon...I might try that on my next workout today actually. I took some of you guys advice and read convict conditioning, and my routine is made up from advice from that book.
Gotten quite a bit stronger since I last started, might even post some pics at the end of the year.

That's all I got for now. I'll update on if this is working in a few more months time. Thanks for all the help guys

Excellent book. I've almost got the full Back Lever and the Advanced L-Sit down.

The thing about bodyweight exercises is that you learn to control your own body. With weights, you build raw strength. Basically, just exerting force and moving stuff. It's convenient because if you want to adjust the intensity, you just add more weight.

By the way, it's awesome how you got back into working out after an injury like that. Keep up the good work.

To the TS, just take into account the principle of progressive overload. Your body constantly adapts to the stress you put it under. Pushups, Pullups, Squats, and Planks. And don't forget to run.

^^

After playing too many RPGs, walking is too slow for me, I have to run at a steady pace everywhere now xD

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

theres a lot of science in that link.

basically, muscle growth requires progressive loading, a load (weight) that your not used to. So what your doing will work initially, but as you body adapts progress will slow down. hypertrophy training is distinct from strength-specific training, it is the loading that is key NOT fatigue.

Keep in mind that after a few days your conditioning starts to fall (your body is no longer 100% used to that load) this is why people who lift the same weight on a weekly basis do grow, just not very quickly.

In none scientific terms; your body is highly efficient; muscles dont 'want' to grow when there are more efficient ways of increasing their strength, so you have to trick them with the ever increasing loads.

So what your doing will work.. but only for a while.