Bodyweight exercises

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chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

Brilliant thanks all, thats really useful.

I did 2 x 20 wall press ups this morning interspersed with 2 full planks for about 7 seconds. I think I will do this twice a day morning and evening this week (I like to think in pairs) and gradually build up from there.

I'll update next Monday :)

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

remember to allow days for rest and rebuilding tissue

oh! also:
chenda wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 8:06 am
2 full planks for about 7 seconds.
hey! this is great! not everyone can do full planks. pat yourself in the back a little. i'm not joking. that there is your foundation.

chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

Alphaville wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 8:19 am
remember to allow days for rest and rebuilding tissue

hey! this is great! not everyone can do full planks. pat yourself in the back a little. i'm not joking. that there is your foundation.
Thank you Alphaville, and you're right rest days are important. I'm liking it all though, much prefer it to trying use dumbells, bodyweight feels more natural and grounding.

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

chenda wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 8:30 am
Thank you Alphaville, and you're right rest days are important. I'm liking it all though, much prefer it to trying use dumbells, bodyweight feels more natural and grounding.
yeah it's because bodyweight does not isolate muscles and uses the whole body

anyway, if it's not too much bombarding here's some info on the core:

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-ul ... your-core/

for now forget about "the best" and focus on "the easiest" :D

you'll get to the best eventually.

best wishes!

ellarose24
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by ellarose24 »

Hi Chenda!

I have very similar problems as you. Usually, a bad posture is a problem of having a weak core. Having a weak core leads to all sorts of issues as well such as not holding other muscles where they should be. I would not focus on doing things like holding your back against a wall or any other of the "get rich quick" schemes that seem to focus on improving your posture by faking it until you make it (I did buy one of those shoulder harnesses before--waste of money).

I WOULD practice yoga, both because it helps connect your body with your mind--so clumsiness decreases (I am like you--extremely uncoordinated)--and it also naturally helps strengthen the core. Do NOT do any of the crazy pilates yoga things that are popular on youtube. You need to be very gentle on your body, especially when core is weak.

I really like this series to start. The website as a whole is awesome, they have unfortunately become increasingly interested in subscriptions/etc but just ignore it, you can find everything you need free. https://www.doyogawithme.com/programs/y ... eginners-0

Something as simple as sitting correctly can be a workout if you have weak core.

Eventually, I would recommend going to a reputable yoga studio as instruction is important when learning correct posture/poses. I find ones that are more interested in practice than "getting fit" are usually better as they are more focused on correct posture and less on moving quickly between poses to simply burn calories. I used to think yoga was so easy until I learned I simply wasn't doing it correctly.

I found physical therapy as well as chiropractors to be a huge waste of money. Huge. That is just my experience.

(Edit: yoga is a type of body weight workout... right?)

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 10:01 am

I found physical therapy as well as chiropractors to be a huge waste of money. Huge. That is just my experience.

(Edit: yoga is a type of body weight workout... right?)
yes it's bodyweight.

but eh! my physical therapist is an angel of wisdom and mercy, so it comes down to the competence and work ethic of each professional i guess--just like every field.

eta: also, for youtubes etc, these hilarious doofuses
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmTe0L ... A/featured
are emissaries of divine benevolence and what the internet was meant to be for.

but nothing can replace a direct hands-on evaluation and diagnosis and successive feedback by a good professional.

chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

Thanks Ella! I think you might be right about the wall exercises. Interesting to hear about what you say, I did consider one of those harnesses so glad I didn't buy one.

I did have several deep full body massages last year and I think they did help my posture in the short term (this was in Turkey where it is ultra cheap, I couldn't afford it here) and I felt amazing afterwards, mentally and physically. I felt like a duvet which had been shaken properly and straightened out in its cover. Another thing I have been considering is a standing desk, although they are very expensive.

But yes, core strength seems key.

It might be psychosomatic but I feel like my biceps are still bulging somewhat from this mornings efforts, which feels nice :)

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How-DoesThisSound
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by How-DoesThisSound »

Dave wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:09 am
Hey Chenda. You may get something out of reading the book Convict Conditioning. I talked about it a bit before - viewtopic.php?p=222212#p222212 – but the gist is this book takes the major body movements (in exercise form: push up, pull up, squat, leg lift, and bridge) and teaches how to progress them from extremely basic/accessible levels to extremely difficult levels.

For example, the first step of the pull up progression is finding somewhere like a door frame where you can just stand in, lean back, and pull yourself forward. The lower levels of these exercise don’t require much coordination so hopefully should work for you.

As I noted in my comment in that link, the book is marketed in a way that turns some people off, but its value is in teaching how to progress and regress common movement patterns, allowing for long-term improvement with minimal equipment.

Doing these exercises in proper form (shoulders back correctly on parts of push up and pull up, bridge work in general) should help with your posture, but posture is a big enough thing that will take more focus than just a few exercises. I’m working on the same thing myself, and it’s so hard to break years of conditioning and continued daily damage!

I agree with ertyu that programming concerns don’t matter so much at first, but rather just consistently doing exercises that hit most of your body with some frequency. Convict Conditioning lays out some potential routines that you could follow, but the value of the book isn’t really the routines but rather the progressive tools it presents, and the accessibility of the exercises. As time goes on no program will singularly handle all your needs, but as you go you'll pick up what seems to work for you and that + study will help you build an adequate program.
I agree with Dave on this, I'm running the "Veterano" routine from Convict Conditioning and love it. This just my opinion, but you may benefit from learning more about barefoot walking. That could mean walking barefoot for 5 minutes in grass once or twice a week or even more activity than that (within reason).
I found that walking on concrete is great for direct feedback on form. Strong and capable feet form the literal foundation you build everything else on. Here's a YouTube video that I feel provides good instruction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_1RRFXdI44

This one is on proper running form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo

ellarose24
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by ellarose24 »

chenda wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 12:56 pm
Thanks Ella! I think you might be right about the wall exercises. Interesting to hear about what you say, I did consider one of those harnesses so glad I didn't buy one.

I did have several deep full body massages last year and I think they did help my posture in the short term (this was in Turkey where it is ultra cheap, I couldn't afford it here) and I felt amazing afterwards, mentally and physically. I felt like a duvet which had been shaken properly and straightened out in its cover. Another thing I have been considering is a standing desk, although they are very expensive.

But yes, core strength seems key.

It might be psychosomatic but I feel like my biceps are still bulging somewhat from this mornings efforts, which feels nice :)
Hi Chanda, I love massages, I think they are important.

I apologize if I am crossing any lines, but you mentioned on my journals you also struggle with mental health. If you happen to have any trauma in your life, I highly recommend the book "The Body Keeps the Score." It is not woo at all, it talks about how trauma can impact your physical body with very real science and studies. I'm not sure if that's the case for you, but it's part of why I seem to be separate from my body and end up with bruises all down my leg and thighs as I run into things which is why your clumsiness resonated with me. It talks specifically about things like massage and accupuncture--not for some "woo spiritual etc" stuff but just as a way to attend to your physical body outside of asking for things from it.

I like massages. I even intentionally engage with "woo" sometimes because it's fun and feels good. No harm in it.

However, chiropractors who are pure woo and zero science I do not appreciate. At least be clear with what you are.

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

ah, this reminded me to ask @chenda, how are the planks and bridges coming along, and more importantly, how damn sore are you? :D

chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

Hi @ella, thanks for the recommendation. That's interesting because when I've had meltdowns I feel completely detached from my body. It's weird, it's like a third party viewing, I'm thinking 'She's really loosing it this time'. This was exacerbated by meditation, which turned out to be really bad for me. I read a book on BPD which recommended yoga as a way of 'grounding'.
Alphaville wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 12:53 pm
ah, this reminded me to ask @chenda, how are the planks and bridges coming along, and more importantly, how damn sore are you? :D
Ha thanks for asking, it's going well:

Tuesday: 2 X 20 wall press ups, 2 X 7 second planks
Wednesday - Very sore! Rest day
Thursday - 2 X 20 wall press ups, 2 X 10 sec planks
Today - 3 X 20 wall press ups, 3 X 15 second planks

I don't expect complete linear progress, but I aim to be pole dancing by August :lol:

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

chenda wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 1:40 pm


I don't expect complete linear progress, but I aim to be pole dancing by August :lol:
:lol:

but hey, don't forget to try the bridges so you don't get unbalanced. you really need to work both sides.

unbalanced muscles is how i ended up needing physical therapy. yeah "unbalanced muscles" is a real thing.

chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

Alphaville wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 1:53 pm
unbalanced muscles is how i ended up needing physical therapy. yeah it's a real thing.
Ah ok thanks for the tip, I'll add them next to the regime

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

yah... here it is better explained than i can:

https://www.acefitness.org/education-an ... mbalances/

for that reason also maybe some sort of row or pull to balance the pushup? keep your joints in place.

like this maybe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkNuYbWZ8g8

those pulls help with posture actually when you engage your shoulderblades

ah, here a bodyweight version of the row:

https://muzcle.com/bodyweight-rows/
Last edited by Alphaville on Fri May 07, 2021 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

jacob
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by jacob »

Bridges are rather hardcore for someone starting out with planks and wall push-ups. Start with supermans. These can even be done one leg/arm at a time.

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

jacob wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 2:15 pm
Bridges are rather hardcore for someone starting out with planks and wall push-ups.
this one?

Image

but yeah, supermans would be halfway to that...

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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by jacob »

Ha! No, the real one :mrgreen: That one is fine. Nevermind then.

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

jacob wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 2:22 pm
Ha! No, the real one :mrgreen: That one is fine. Nevermind then.
oh, some acrobat stuff lol. no, i posted her an earlier link to nerdfitness with the basics.

chenda
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by chenda »

@jacob @alphaville thanks both. I'll add the bridge tomorrow.

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Alphaville
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Re: Bodyweight exercises

Post by Alphaville »

chenda wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 3:36 pm
@jacob @alphaville thanks both. I'll add the bridge tomorrow.
(sorry to insist but) look into the rows as well so you don't end up with impinged shoulders :P

Image

ok i'll say no more lol

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