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Jamesy
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27 Apr 2011, 11:24 am

At the moment i cannot afford to go the gym?

I can do 250 pushups in one set (i could only 14 pushups 1 year ago).

How can i push my strength to its limit without the gym?



mv
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27 Apr 2011, 11:35 am

There are TONS of ways, depending on what muscle groups you want to challenge. And cardio is easy to mix up, too! What do you want to challenge?

For example: got two dining room chairs? Face them towards each other (seats toward each other). Put your heels on one seat and support your body weight, straight-armed, on the other. Lower your butt toward the ground (let your arms go no further than ninety degrees acute), then raise your body again. These are dips. Great workout for your triceps.

With a little imagination, you can work ANY muscle group in your body, right at home.



Jamesy
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27 Apr 2011, 11:44 am

What about food that could help as well?

Its not easy to fit all these exercises into my daily life. in terms of build i am a cross between an ectomorph and a mesomorph. i have got a really big chest but medium or narrow shoulders. i do have strong legs though.



mv
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27 Apr 2011, 12:19 pm

The same stuff you always hear: lean protein, lots of veggies, whole grains. No processed food. It's not that hard, it's just boring to eat like that. Can you make a cup of oatmeal? Then you can eat whole grains. You just have to train yourself to eat the kind without the added sugar and food additive chemicals. Can you hard boil an egg? Perfect source of protein and "good" fats (just don't eat too many, they are rich in cholesterol). Can you peel a carrot?

See what I mean? It's not too hard, it just takes discipline and dedication. Do you have a public library system near you? There are fabulous books on nutrition and exercise there, you just have to find the right system for your metabolism, ethnic heritage, effort level, etc. You're male, so dedicated progress will probably show up pretty quickly and definitively (not to detract from men who struggle, but I've noticed that the whole baby-having thing can make redefining one's body shape more of a challenge to women).

I wish you well!



Catamount
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27 Apr 2011, 12:48 pm

Wow, 250 push-ups in one set is INSANE. If you can do that, you don't need a gym ... you're already in better shape already than 99-percent of the folks you'll see there. Great tips above on nutrition and mixing it up as well. Could also try some sit-ups/crunches and wind sprints to go along wih the dips. Good work already and continued good luck!



Jamesy
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27 Apr 2011, 1:01 pm

The problem is though i am quite short and taller men have the advantage in strength.



starryeyedvoyager
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27 Apr 2011, 1:08 pm

Pardon my curiosity, but advantage in strength under what circumstances? Weightlifting? Or like: in a fight?



Jamesy
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27 Apr 2011, 1:26 pm

In a fight not weightlifting becuase taller guys have longer reaches etc......



starryeyedvoyager
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27 Apr 2011, 2:25 pm

If you were a boxer, I'd say you are right. But then again, look at Boxers like Nikolai Valuev, that guy is basically a walking cupboard with arms, and yet he is a horrible boxer. Don't be fooled into thinking that building more muscle will you give you the upper hand in a fight, especially when weapons are involved. I am a rather tall guy at 6'23'' with a very large frame, so my whole structure can support more muscle, but bigger size means also slower movement. I can move incredibly fast for someone of my build, height and weight, yet it costs me alot more energy and coordination than someone of smaller frame. If you wanna be able to hold yourself in a fight, learn a martial art. All the muscle you need for that will build up during training. I practice full-contact Karate (Kyokushin), and I can tell you from first hand that having muscle alone brings squat. Look at the guys that do MMA. Sure, they are all buff and well-trained, but do you see one of them packing muscle like, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger during his early years? None. Keeping a muscular physique is a good thing, and if you can do 250 pushups in one set, that is already more than I can pack (allthough I do pushups on my knuckles or on fingers, I can rarely do more than a hundred).
The best idea if you don't wanna lose in a fight is: don't fight at all. To quote Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid II: Best Defense against punch: no be there.

Buuuut, if you really wanna go there, here goes my exercise routine (all you need is a cheap set of dumbbells) which I do every other day, weight at 45 lbs. on each short dumbells.

200x repetitions hammer-curl in sets of 20.
150x repettions of bench press, in sets of 15
150x repetitions of kickback (triceps) in sets of 15
100x repetitions of wrist-curls (at half weight) in sets of 10
150x repetiotions of reclined shoulder press in sets of 15

dumbbell-less exercises:
200x crunches in sets of 20
100x pushups on knuckles, in sets of 50, sometimes the second set on 5 fingers, or the last ten on three fingers.
200x squats, in sets of 100

Start with low weight and many repetitions, and increase weight only gradually. Do ALOT of stretching, especially in the legs (positive side-effect for me is that I can do a split now).
Every other day in between I go running about 4 miles, but that is just me, as I still have to lose about 20 pounts of body-fat.



Jamesy
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27 Apr 2011, 2:45 pm

Any tips on what certain foods i should eat to gain more strength?



starryeyedvoyager
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27 Apr 2011, 3:48 pm

You don't just get stronger by eating certain things. If you want to support muscle growth, in addition to your training, you shoot eat white meat (chicken, turkey) and skip on most carbohydrates (don't discard them entirely, especially the brain needs its carbs every morning). I am not a big fan of those, but there are some very good and cheap protein-powders to make shakes that can help you a little (preferably whey-based), and some of them actually bring some other things that are not that easy to come by (amino acids, omega 3 fatty-acids) in regular food. If you wanna use those, you gotta take them both before and after training. And, like I said, take it slow, and stretch your muscles often so they get compact rather than bulky.



Jamesy
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28 Apr 2011, 4:34 pm

So how many times a week should i have carbohydrates and chicken??????