Work-outs AT HOME

At home beginner bodyweight workouts:

Upper Body
> push ups
> chin ups (with a bar or under a table)

Core
> sit ups
> plank
> leg raises
> bicycle crunches

Lower Body
> squats
> lunges

Cardio
> jogging

A good website to check out is called HASfit. They have a wide variety of workout videos (all completely free) and programs that don't require equipment. The above exercises are good to start with. Once you've gotten into a routine you can add more workouts or try variations.

 

Sounds a lot like me when I first started working out. :icon_wink

I can give you an idea of a basic routine you can do, but I'd like to address that last part first. Looking like a bodybuilder is extremely difficult. It takes years of very specific training, and adhering to a specific diet. It's not possible to end up looking like a bodybuilder unless you really try, and even then, it's a process that would take many years.

Frankly, doing a bodybuilding routine wouldn't be a bad idea. You'll faster results that way than simply doing calisthenics at home, and you still wouldn't have to worry about getting "too big."

With all due respect, that's bullshit. All kinds of people go to the gym, not just the stereotypical jocks. I know plenty of skinny, nerdy teenagers that go to the gym. Also, people go to the gym to work out. They don't care who you are, what you look like, or what you're doing. They're there for themselves, not to focus on you.

If you're really set on working out at home, you should at least invest in a good pull-up bar. If you wanted, you could also buy some dumbbells or an ab wheel.


Every teenage guy wants to work on their pecs and arms, and have a six pack. That's fine of course, but you also have to work your legs (otherwise you'll have a muscular upper body with proportionally weak, ridiculous looking twig legs) and your back (to have a balanced upper body and healthy shoulders).


Now, while my advice would be to get a gym membership and follow some sort of weight training program (doesn't really matter which one as long as it's balanced), if you're set on doing your workouts at home, I can give you a routine.

In order to do that though, it would be good to know your current fitness level. A simple way to do that would be to do as many push-ups, pull-ups (or chin-ups if you're not strong enough to do pull-ups), sit-ups, and squats as you can in a row, and let me know what the number is for each exercise. Please be honest about it, and obviously make sure you use good form.

An example of something you could do would be to do a circuit on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in which you do at set of push-ups, chin-ups, squats, and some sort of ab exercise, and repeat that a few times.

Alternatively you could split up your workouts so that you work different muscle groups on different days.

Regardless of how you work out, you should always give yourself at least one rest day per week. You should try to avoid working the same muscles two days in a row, as your muscles need time to recover from the workout.

You'll also want to try to eat healthy, and in particular increase your protein intake.



Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Stoccata

 

I'm definitely no expert on physical fitness, but here's some of the things I do/aim to do at home:

-Tricep dips (with a chair/edge of my bed/edge of the bathtub :lol
-Push ups
-Sit ups
-Planks
-Squats
-Going for a jog or a run (can be anywhere, at a park or near home)

I personally like doing short, intense bursts rather than long endurance workouts (though running could be a 20-30 minute thing).

That is, I might do 30 seconds of as many push ups as I can, rest for 30 seconds, then do as many sit ups for 30 seconds as I can, rest for 30, move on to the next work out, for about maybe 5-10 minutes or so (though honestly I'm not the most consistent and hardworking person when it comes to physical fitness ) Try to switch around between different muscle groups so you don't go from one exercise that works on your triceps straight to another that also works on your triceps.
I also second that if you're going to do serious working out, you could maybe workout once every two days, and focus once again on different muscle groups each day.

I know so little on physical training as a whole, but I will strongly suggest that for some exercises, even the simple ones (like tricep dips and push ups), you watch a video or two that shows you how to properly do them in a way that a) optimises your work out and b) doesn't risk injury. I thought I was always doing tricep dips right, but watching a few videos showed me how to do them better. There are also some iPhone and I assume Android apps that give you designed workouts you can do at home, depending on what muscle groups you want to focus on.

I won't repeat too much of what's already been said but there's good advice above too.

And lastly, eat well, sleep well. Working out is one thing, but if other aspects of your life aren't healthy, it would impact your physical health/exercise for sure.

Good luck!

 

If you want to build mass in your arms, target your triceps: they make up 2/3 of your arm. I'd buy some dumbbells if I were you, you can do pretty much any exercise with them if you modify it a bit--if you can't, using anything you have lying around is good, or tricep dips. Here are a few videos with examples of tricep workouts (x, x, x).

Otherwise: pushups (lots of modifications can target different areas), pull-ups, bench pressing, lateral raises, shoulder presses, cross body hammer curls, and concentration curls are all good.
Doing low reps with high weight is the quickest way to increase strength and muscle, doing high reps with medium/low weight increases endurance.

Also make sure you're eating enough, and good stuff or else you won't build anything.

 

Start doing leg lifts and pushups. If you're skinny (which I'm guessing you are) you can get abs doing a few minutes of leg lifts a day. They're easy to do and only get easier the more you do them. Same with pushups. The first week you may only be able to do a few. After 3-4 weeks you'll start getting stronger but you have to do it at least a few nights a week.

I'd also buy a dumbell. Nothing too heavy just make sure you're able to curl it 7-8 times in the store. If you want some definition all that matters is reps, not weight. You can use it for curling, butterfly, military press, Arnold press, bench press, etc.

A yoga mat is great too. You can do a lot of exercises you can learn from wiifit like lunges to tone your legs.

You can get a mat and a dumbbell for like $20 total and as long as you actually put in like 20 minutes a day you can start to look pretty toned in a few months. But you have to actually STICK WITH IT at least a few times a week. Remember: reps, not weight. Do an exercise 50+ times and it will begin to tone that muscle group. Do it 10x only and it won't do anywhere near as much.