At home exercises

Since you don't want to go to a gym, is it possible for you to get a set of dumbbells?(These will help A LOT) They will really help. May I ask what is your goal from working out?

I should add, that before you really attempt to work out, you should consult a doctor just to make sure you don't have any health complications.

As for exercises you can do at home, basic ones are push ups. These will work primarily your triceps and chest. There's a variety of ways you can do push ups to target one more than the other. Below is a link with some examples.

10 Push Up Variations | Pushup Exercises to Try | BuiltLean.com

Then theres lunges, these will work your legs. You can google on how to do lunges. For more resistance, you can use dumb bells.

Next is squats, These will work your gluts as well as your legs. My advice when you do them is to go up and down in a controlled motion. Use as little momentum and the help of gravity as possible. You can google or youtube how to do these. Using dumbbells for added resistance is good too.

Now when working out, you can't forget about the guns(biceps lol). Pick a weight thats comfortable, yet challenging. You can youtube or google how to do different types of bicep curls.

If you have, say a bench you can use this will be great for you to work on chest some more(with dumbbells). I can't really put everything in detail since it's so long to explain so hopefully this site helps

Chest Exercises - Scooby's Home Workouts

For abs, I can you can follow this routine. However, a buddy of mine says crunches do very little to nothing for building abdominal muscle. Also, core and ab strength are 2 very different things, so don't be confused.

Abdominal Exercises - Scooby's Home Workouts

Since most of these exercises deal with little resistance(weight), you will have to do high reps to really get a "good workout". For squats, 100 reps. I suggest breaking them up into 4 sets.
Push ups may be a bit harder since most people have stronger lower bodies than upper bodies. Do as much as you can in 2-3 sets and add more reps the next time.

I think I covered everything.. Hope this helps.

Write on my wall if you have any questions. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things.. I'll edit this post if I remember.

 

I can confirm that this is excellent advice! Dumbbells are all you need, and Scooby's site has a comprehensive list of exercises you can do at home, with dumbbells, for your entire body. Click the 'Exercises' link on the left-hand side and it will expand out to show different categories for different muscle groups.

Everything on that site is good reading, without any of the commercial crap that you get with most others.

Bodyweight crunches are next to useless for building muscle, but they work fine if you hold weight behind your head when doing them.

 

Check out a book called convict conditioning. Pretty awesome imho.

 

If you can't afford dumbbells, plastic milk/water containers filled with water or sand will do as weights. You can also use furniture (chairs, small tables) or do squats/lunges holding a stack of books.

 

I know this is a question that might be better suited for my chiropractor, but as far as workouts involving one's legs...

I have A LOT of joint issues[among other things] and over the year my knees, which were already in shitastic shape to begin with, have gotten so bad that it's very hard to do certain exercises where the lower half is concerned. Lunges? Squats? My first thought when I hear these things is: Ouch. It never used to be, but because of my knees its very difficult to stand doing some of these things now. I mean...even Marching Band became hard on me in uni.

Do you guys have any suggestions for ways around that? Or any ideas on how exercises that would be less stressful for my joints there?

 

I have been doing this 20 second fitness thing. Look it up though it does cost money for it so I completely understand if not. But I've dropped 20 lbs in a month from it...now just trying to keep going because now I've passed that whole threshold of losing weight really fast. It's also definitely helped me in developing muscle I would think...

 

get 2 dumbells and act as though your hitting the punching bag (circle motions) then reverse it.

You can also use the dumbell and place your arm straight up in the air and bend it so the dumbell goes behind your head

 

I don't think anyone here can give you a better answer than your chiropractor. I have some joint issues too(shoulder) but my doctors told me I should be fine as long as I don't go too extreme. It's better to just go get it checked instead of risking an injury.


*I couldn't edit my post, I almost completely forgot about shoulders!

Dumbbell Shoulder Press This should explain the motion lol