Seeking proven advice from any experienced hands here regarding strength training at home using self-weight, bands, pull-up bars, 8-15 lb dumbbells, etc. Think P90X kindergarten or summer school. I can find decent info on menshealth.com and bodybuilding.com etc. but nothing beats direct input from someone who does the walk, isn't all talk and is willing to share suggestions that might also help others here.
I de-prioritized exercising for 18 months due to work commitments (a four month response to a work emergency that required some 80 hour work weeks with a week of 10pm-10am days that were started at the drop of a hat, or actually 9:30pm to noon), a family member needing support during cancer treatments around the same time, and a health issue of my own. My bikes are dusty and I haven't had to replace worn-out gym/running shoes since late 2010. My bike used to take me on 24 hour team relay mountain bike races at WV ski resorts and vacations to Moab, but now it just growls at me.
In midwinter 2011 I completed 4-5 weeks of P90X (wow what a program) before stuff began hitting the fan and I stopped cold. Now I'm now lucky enough to be in a position of near-normalcy to get back at it. I feel like my summer of 2012 just began on Oct 1. In fact after I send this email I'm going for a 10 mile walk to Pittsburgh's strip district for a coffee, then up Mt. Washington, and then back home to kick off my three day weekend.
I can't cleanly complete the P90X prerequisites doing "honest" pullups, etc. and frankly can't even imagine subjecting my body or mind to P90X after so much time off. Too much too soon is too much risk for injury or burnout. After seeing what P90X can do, and after using a certain "shoulder reconditioning" program with dumbbells that I learned during some physical therapy, I completely recognize the potential to strength train at home w/o big weights or a gym membership. I'm much more motivated by the idea of zero commute time to the gym, keeping things simple, and taking advantage of several yoga shops nearby to shake things up occasionally. Plus bike/walking/running routes/trails are right outside my door here in the city.
I'm feeling the need to read some "real person" advice and not filter thru various webpages and indirect advertisements. I'd like to ask if anyone from my nsxprime pseudo-fraternity can suggest any workout advice, routines, or ideas. Or point me to any known good online resources to help with programs/ideas. There are times I like being creative and blazing my own trail and figuring things out on the fly, and then there are times I like taking a cookbook and following proven guidance. Here I'm looking for proven ideas, especially options to change up the routine every 3-6 weeks to keep it interesting and avoid the burnout that we all have fallen victim to at least once by repeating the same workout for too long. Looking to build a base from now to say, Christmastime, at which time I'll step things up in a different direction.
Below is the view from Mt. Washington that I'm walking to as the reward for an "easy" walk up the steep streets that leaves your legs with a reminder of the walk for the next 12 hours.
Now that I think about it I think I remember there being a "P90X lite" program by the same P90X people. But I feel this desire to keep things real simple and not go out and buy yet another program. Thanks for any ideas!
I de-prioritized exercising for 18 months due to work commitments (a four month response to a work emergency that required some 80 hour work weeks with a week of 10pm-10am days that were started at the drop of a hat, or actually 9:30pm to noon), a family member needing support during cancer treatments around the same time, and a health issue of my own. My bikes are dusty and I haven't had to replace worn-out gym/running shoes since late 2010. My bike used to take me on 24 hour team relay mountain bike races at WV ski resorts and vacations to Moab, but now it just growls at me.
In midwinter 2011 I completed 4-5 weeks of P90X (wow what a program) before stuff began hitting the fan and I stopped cold. Now I'm now lucky enough to be in a position of near-normalcy to get back at it. I feel like my summer of 2012 just began on Oct 1. In fact after I send this email I'm going for a 10 mile walk to Pittsburgh's strip district for a coffee, then up Mt. Washington, and then back home to kick off my three day weekend.
I can't cleanly complete the P90X prerequisites doing "honest" pullups, etc. and frankly can't even imagine subjecting my body or mind to P90X after so much time off. Too much too soon is too much risk for injury or burnout. After seeing what P90X can do, and after using a certain "shoulder reconditioning" program with dumbbells that I learned during some physical therapy, I completely recognize the potential to strength train at home w/o big weights or a gym membership. I'm much more motivated by the idea of zero commute time to the gym, keeping things simple, and taking advantage of several yoga shops nearby to shake things up occasionally. Plus bike/walking/running routes/trails are right outside my door here in the city.
I'm feeling the need to read some "real person" advice and not filter thru various webpages and indirect advertisements. I'd like to ask if anyone from my nsxprime pseudo-fraternity can suggest any workout advice, routines, or ideas. Or point me to any known good online resources to help with programs/ideas. There are times I like being creative and blazing my own trail and figuring things out on the fly, and then there are times I like taking a cookbook and following proven guidance. Here I'm looking for proven ideas, especially options to change up the routine every 3-6 weeks to keep it interesting and avoid the burnout that we all have fallen victim to at least once by repeating the same workout for too long. Looking to build a base from now to say, Christmastime, at which time I'll step things up in a different direction.
Below is the view from Mt. Washington that I'm walking to as the reward for an "easy" walk up the steep streets that leaves your legs with a reminder of the walk for the next 12 hours.
Now that I think about it I think I remember there being a "P90X lite" program by the same P90X people. But I feel this desire to keep things real simple and not go out and buy yet another program. Thanks for any ideas!
J/K. As I mentioned above, what I've read about inflammatory GI issues is to not overdo the aerobic stuff and to consider increasing the strength training as a non-aerobic option (which also builds up any lost mass from occasional GI problems). Unfortunately biking is the "workout" I really enjoy. Also self-motivation is rarely an issue for me but finding workouts from the advice of others and changing things up every 4-5 weeks is key to me staying motivated, thus my request here. I've too often in the past stayed with a strength workout too long and then slacked off and went back to just biking and losing the gains only to restart and catchup a few months later. And why the need to get workout advice from someone else - hard to explain. I problem-solve at work generally 9 hours a day, fixing our problems and working with engineers and advising fabrication shops how to resolve deviation notices (more problem solving). For some reason I don't like to think about working out and just want to be told what to do. I've always done better following a workout plan given by someone who knows way more than me about it. That's why I liked P90X so much - was a menu to follow that was proven to be efficient and successful. BTW I hope Tim's car is treating you well, I think you got yourself a really well put-together car from him.
