Yeah, Alphaville gave you a great start to bridges. Like with push-ups, you can find a series of progressively more challenging bridges to build up to extremely difficult things. Let us know when you can lean back to a bridge from standing position. After that you can go into handstand and do handstand pushups. And then reverse all that back !
With those dumbbells you can get the upper body "pull" motion going, but you can also do this with doorway pull-ups as I described above. Both are basically the same movement pattern and hit similar muscles. It's helpful to have a variety of methods to hit muscle chains.
Definitely great advice from Alphaville to balance pushes (pushups) with pulls (rows, pull-ups) and extension movements (bridge) with flexion movements (crunches/leg lifts). Balance is good!
With those dumbbells you can get the upper body "pull" motion going, but you can also do this with doorway pull-ups as I described above. Both are basically the same movement pattern and hit similar muscles. It's helpful to have a variety of methods to hit muscle chains.
Thanks Dave. I have added doorway pulls to my regime, so its going to be:
Wall press ups (to be replaced with proper press ups when I am strong enough
Planks
Bridges
Door frame pulls
Squats
Done three times. I think this should cover all the major muscle groups.
Are you ripped yet? It has been a couple weeks since the first post so I assume at least shredded.
haha I don't know what counts as shredded but my upper body definitely feels a lot tighter and my bicepts feel as if they are bulging somewhat. During the plank torture I keep thinking summer beach abs over and over again. A few weeks of this though has given me more progress than years of intermittent dumbbell work. I'm loving it.
Anecdotal aside, for a few months now DW has been working out with the "growingannanas" YouTube woman (https://www.youtube.com/c/growingannanas), mostly because with her new schedule she can really only go for long runs a couple times a week now when the kids are at soccer practice or on the weekend (she's been a regular runner for 20 years). Well, her boss's boss (a woman, which I guess makes it OK?) very awkwardly said to her a couple days ago as they passed in the hallway at the hospital "wow, you're looking so fit!". Anyway, when I saw GdP's question it made me laugh; a lifetime of running and healthy eating for DW (a clinical dietitian), and not long after she starts incorporating HIIT and bodyweight exercises, even her colleagues notice the physical changes in her body.
haha I don't know what counts as shredded but my upper body definitely feels a lot tighter and my bicepts feel as if they are bulging somewhat. During the plank torture I keep thinking summer beach abs over and over again. A few weeks of this though has given me more progress than years of intermittent dumbbell work. I'm loving it.
The routine currently takes me about 12 - 15 minutes, and I am currently doing it every day except the 4th day as a rest day. Rest is important but as I am doing compound movements working separate muscle groups per day seems unnecessary (Its also sort of annoying the week does not have an even number of days)
this guy --> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeJFgN ... s0oJyeRDEw has a channel called Progressive Calisthenics with very short and sweet videos showing how one can build up to common bodyweight exercise types - sit-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc. He starts out with exercises which are easy enough to be most useful for rehabilitation and shows a progression one can use to work up to the exercise one is hoping to finally accomplish. I liked him because his videos are no nonsense and because they are on the easier side of things (which is what I need as a couch potato). Many people who produce exercise videos are quite fit and often have very little sense of what a complete beginner is actually capable of. Their "beginner" videos end up too hard and discouraging. With this guy, pretty much everyone would be able to find themselves somewhere on a scale above absolute zero.
Many people who produce exercise videos are quite fit and often have very little sense of what a complete beginner is actually capable of. Their "beginner" videos end up too hard and discouraging.
Thank you ertyu for the link, yes I agree.
I am pretty sure my posture is starting to get better naturally without doing it consciously.
a lifetime of running and healthy eating for DW (a clinical dietitian), and not long after she starts incorporating HIIT and bodyweight exercises, even her colleagues notice the physical changes in her body.
Haha yes I'm not a fan of running, HIIT is supposed to be more what we were 'designed' for in the wild. That girl has some serious abs.
Haha yes I'm not a fan of running, HIIT is supposed to be more what we were 'designed' for in the wild. That girl has some serious abs.
Just a side note regarding abs because I see so much misinformation out there. Visible abs are almost entirely due to low body fat percentage, not any type of core exercise. Can you strengthen your core? Absolutely. But don’t expect core exercises to give you a six pack unless you are also quite lean (~10-12% BF for men and 15-20% for women). I don’t think you’re trying to get a six pack, but I just like to do some expectation management for beginners.
Edit: Also I know a few women who have gotten lean enough to have a six pack and decided it wasn’t worth it because they lost butt and breast size. Also why female physique competitors almost universally get breast implants.
Just a side note regarding abs because I see so much misinformation out there. Visible abs are almost entirely due to low body fat percentage, not any type of core exercise. Can you strengthen your core? Absolutely. But don’t expect core exercises to give you a six pack unless you are also quite lean (~10-12% BF for men and 15-20% for women). I don’t think you’re trying to get a six pack, but I just like to do some expectation management for beginners.
This is very true. I have had 'abs' for a long time now, well before I began doing any regular strength workouts. Another good example is those guys in the strongest men contests. Their abs are most definitely stronger than mine, but they actually look more like a keg than a 6 pack
@white belt, interesting thanks. My hip to waist ratio is just within healthy limits, although I'd like a bit more stomach flatness. I actually find full on 6 packs a bit unattractive, it looks unnatural.
@Cam - haha yes those strongest men it just can't be healthy. Actually I think a lot of high level sports aren't healthy for long term functional body retention. Olympic gymnasts and similar are usually riddled with osteoarthritis and other muscular issues well before they turn 40.
@Cam - haha yes those strongest men it just can't be healthy. Actually I think a lot of high level sports aren't healthy for long term functional body retention. Olympic gymnasts and similar are usually riddled with osteoarthritis and other muscular issues well before they turn 40.
Good point. I always think of the ultra runners when I think unhealthy in the longterm, but now that you mention it most extreme sports would be up there. The human body does have limits. You can pass them for a limited period of time, but not without some negative short or longtem consequences.
And take a look at the same Eddie Hall after retiring and losing 33 kg (73 lbs). Keep in mind he has less muscle and less strength than before, but he looks even more muscular due to being leaner.
At some point during the transition from hobby/amateur athlete to professional athlete you will go from athletics benefiting your health to sacrificing your body/health for competitive success. It's up to the individual to choose where they fall on the spectrum and the position might shift over time as priorities change.