Think a "no weights workout" would work?

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Been trying this for about two weeks now, so far it's going good:



Do you think I'll be able to get much muscle gain with this? Or at some point will I just hit a wall where I'll have to lift weights...Which I'm fine with if I have to.

Taking /fit/'s advice was the best thing I've ever done.

I'm doubtful that you could build the kind of mass like Jackman has on his arms there with a no weights workout. I'm no expert though.

Oh the pic has nothing to do with it, I just wondered if this would be effective, and if so, for how long.

From personal experience (but admittedly based on my own body, not anyone else's, so this advice may not be applicable to you) I'd say ditch the sit-ups and go for chin-ups instead.

I do press-ups, dips, and negative chins. (I'm a girl, by the way, which is why I can't yet do real chins). This combination covers just about all the upper body. And chin-ups work my abs like NOTHING ELSE. Seriously. Try them if nothing else.

All I ever got from sit-ups was a sore neck and a two-pack. Try as I might, I can't do them without straining, and they don't work your abs in the same way. If something hurts, I don't want to do it. Period.

Resistence exercises may not bulk you up in the same way that free weights do, but they can certainly build some serious muscle. Just think of professional gymnasts. (The male ones). Or circus or trapeze artists. They spend their time lifting their own weight. And, from a female perspective, they're mega-hunky-gorgeous.

It'll certainly make you fitter and stronger, and you'll build some bulk.

It will definitely increase your fitness, but if you're looking to develop a more muscular build it is best to combine these types of exercises and do weights.

You might be right about the sit ups, but I never had that much trouble. I just strap weights to my feet to stop them moving and all of a sudden it feels a whole lot more natural to me, and I'm getting the visible beginnings of a six-pack. I normally do 30 each set instead of 20 to make up for it.

Others told me I wouldn't get so far without weights, but maybe they just meant not as bulky. Which is fine, I wanna get stronger but I don't wanna become a gorilla (especially since I'm 5'5. Short man syndrome appearance much?)

Thanks

That should give you some results if you stick to it. I doubt it would get you ripped but it would definitely have results with a decent diet. In time you may want to increase the intensity, or even try a different workout working the same and some similar muscles on occasion. Don't think bodyweight exercises make you big, strong, or athletic, just look at "Herschel Walker" A 49* year old Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a pro football player and pro MMA fighter who only does bodyweight exercises. He looks like he lifts weights, but he just does a ton of body weight exercises.

Just to give you guys an idea of my goals, I plan to go for officer training and once I pass join the army (they don't turn you away if you have AS in the UK)

I'll fit in some cardio soon as well.

In that case the chin-ups wouldn't hurt, but won't be a requirement. I think you're right to be doing the sit-ups! You'll need sit-ups, press-ups, and running to be able to pass the army fitness tests (but I'm sure you will know that already!)

Good luck!

I'm an ectomorph girl and I didn't have to do assistance exercises to do actual chins.

That's great. You have my respect.

I didn't say girls can't do them. I said I'm a girl, which is why I can't yet do them. I was only referring to myself, not anyone else. I just threw it in there in case anyone thought I was a guy and started teasing me for being weak.

No need to get defensive or start standing up for girls. I know there are plenty of girls out there who can do chins.

So far I can only do a half-up (from 90 degrees, elbows bent). And I haven't even been doing that now, for a while. I have a spinal injury which keeps coming back and niggling me, so I'm just staying on a plateau and doing my negatives and not pushing things.

Btw sorry to hear about the spinal injury, that sucks. Hope you heal soon.

Wow another opportunity for me to help.
Im a newbie to the forum (and recently diagnosed aspie), and an olympic athlete.

Need to be careful here:
Getting big is not the same as getting strong!
Getting big is simple: Anything that gets the "pump" feeling will work (ie fatigue a muscle doing something you find hard until it starts getting weak, and pumped up with blood)

If you want to be strong (for officer test) that is another matter:
You get good at what you train. Fitness/strength is REALLY specific. So you will only be good at that and similar.

Therefore either: get the info for the test and just do those exercises to ace the test, or do a general program.

General program will involve a variety of exercises (the more varied the better), and a mix of weights (from light balance type exercises, to body weight to heavy weights). And you are right to mix it up with cardio. Again a mix of sprints and long easy stuff would be advisable.

As a quick off the top of head program I would suggest:

HEAVY WEIGHT:
squats
deadlift
bench press
bicep curl
lat pulldown
weighted situp

BODY WEIGHT:
jump squats - develops speed / power
one leg squats - balance / strength
push ups
pull ups / chin ups
dips
hanging leg cirlces - hang from chinup bar and draw a circle in front of you with your legs (keeping legs together). Straighter legs = harder
crunches

BALANCE:
sit on exercise ball and throw tennis balls
hold push up position and move hands onto and off of a ball resting on the ground
catch medicine ball on one leg (from in front and on side)
draw circles in front of you/ to side of you, with light dumbells

re: all_white
A good way to work up to chins is to do pull ups (like a reverse push up where you bring your chest to the bar). Start at an almost standing angle, and keep moving your feet up higher/ the bar down lower, until you start from a horizontal position, then work to getting the feet at a level above the bar. For the super keen, rest a small weight on the chest. That way you can do more reps and build the base for good chinups.
I guarantee if you do them a while the chins will become easy.

I have 'Convict Conditioning' (book) by Paul Wade, which is basically a bodyweight exercise book. It has several routines that seems to me to be divided into two goals: Strength or endurance. Same exercises, but the difference is in the number of exercises per week and rest period timing. Strength appears to need to take how ever long you need to rest; endurance seems to pick up the pace and cram more in.

Can you build strength just on bodyweight? Well the program aims to get a person to do handstand pushups on just one hand/arm. Strong enough?

There's strength, then there's functional strength. Bodyweight is good for functional. Do a google for 'Ross Enamait forum'.

Hello! Welcome!

Thank you for your well-meant advice, and I'm slightly awstruck to see an Olymic athlete has joined our midst. The chins will never "become easy." I have been training for a year and a half but have still not been able to do one. I can only do half a one. I am content to stay at my plateau of doing neagatives, for the following reasons:

1. As I already explained, I'm a girl. This means I will never have as much upper body strength as a man doing the same exercises as me.

2. As I already explained, I have a spinal injury. It has left me with a permanent weakness. There are days when I can't do any exercise at all. I was flat on my back paralysed for several months and I am lucky I didn't end up in a wheelchair. So I am very, very cautious about doing my chins. If I'm having an "off" day, I give it a rest.

3. I am just an average member of the population, not an olympic athlete like you. Therefore, I'm happy with keeping my fitness ticking over, and don't necessarily need or want to push myself to extremes. I'm happy with doing my 30 mins cardio, my ten press-ups and dips, and a few negatives on the bar. That's enough for me. But then, I'm not the one wanting to join the army!

Your advice for the OP is great - BUT you don't seem to have noticed the poor guy is only 16 years old!! I don't think he really needs to be doing all those weights and things at such a young age when his bones might still be growing! I think maybe he should stick to the running, press-ups and sit-ups the army will require.

Edit: oh, I see. I've re-read your advice to me and I think what you are describing is an inverted row. Am I correct?

I've tried them and, sadly, they are yet another exercise that hurts my neck. There's something about being on my back that makes that kind of exercise hurt. Sit-ups, inverted rows...they're not for me. I wish I could. Really I do.