What is a good workout without weights?
I live in China where I have lost about 40 lbs. I have kinda hit a plateau and think that i need to add more weight training. I currently run in the afternoons; i would like to run in the mornings but it is too cold here. Anyway, I need to do weight training, but I do not have weights here; so what is a good workout I can use in my apartment? (push ups, sit ups, etc...)
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
The Prison Workout: A Total Body Exercise Routine
Some prison inmates
have nothing but a sink, a toilet, their bed, and a few square feet of
space at their disposal. They need an exercise routine that can be
done in a confined space without equipment. The "Prison Workout,"
which was nicknamed by some people who saw prisoners without access to
weights doing it, is designed to develop strength, endurance, speed,
agility, and balance. It also produces gains in muscle, losses in body
fat, and plenty of stamina. It is a total body and cardio workout. The
Prison Workout consists of one classic exercise, the "burpee." This
exercise works your chest, arms, front deltoids, thighs and abs. The
burpee is a six-count exercise:
1) Stand with your feet shoulder width
apart and your hands raised over your head. Then squat down and place
your palms on the floor by your feet.
2) Kick both of your legs back so that you're in push-up position.
3) Bend your elbows and lower your
body until your chest touches the floor.
4) Push yourself back up.
5) At the end of the push-up, quickly pull both knees into your chest
while keeping your hands on the floor. You're jumping back into the
squat position of step one.
6) Stand straight up by straightening your
legs and throwing your hands in the air over your your head. You're
now in the position that you started in. You can make the burpee more
advanced and increase the explosive power in your legs by jumping into
the air as you stand up. The Prison Workout is done in descending
sets. For example, begin by doing 20 burpees without stopping. Rest 30
seconds, and then do 19 burpees without stopping. Rest 30 seconds and
do 18 burpees. Continue doing descending sets until you get down to a
final set of 1 burpee. That makes a total of 210 burpees. For most
people, 20 sets will be too much to start with. In that case, pick a
lower number of sets like 15 or 10 or even fewer for your first
workout. Then add a set every 1-2 weeks until you reach your goal. In
prison, doing 20 descending sets without stopping is the minimum to be
considered a "man." If you can do 25 sets, you're considered to be
pretty tough, and, if you can do 30 sets, you're considered a "stud."
If you're doing other exercises in addition to this workout, do your
burpee workout 3 times per week on cardio days. If some of you who've
read this far are thinking to yourselves, "This Prison Workout is too
easy. I'm looking for a man's workout," try one of these advanced
variations of the basic burpee.
1) If you have access to pull-up bars,
at step 6, jump up and do a pull-up. That will add 210 or more
pull-ups to the workout.
2) Place dumbbells on the floor.
Use the dumbbells as push-up bars for steps 1-5. At step 6, clean the
dumbbells to your shoulders, press them overhead, and then set them
back down for the next repetition. In other words, add an overhead
press to each burpee. Be sure to use the solid, hexagonal dumbbells
rather than the adjustable kind. By itself, the Prison
Workout will strip fat from your body, add muscle, and build stamina.
Alternate it with a weight training routine, and you may be mistaken
for a Greek god, or, at least, for an ex-convict. If you can follow
simple instructions, then you can build a HEALTHY, HIGH-PERFORMANCE,
ATTRACTIVE body in the comfort of your own home using ONLY bodyweight
exercises.
Some prison inmates
have nothing but a sink, a toilet, their bed, and a few square feet of
space at their disposal. They need an exercise routine that can be
done in a confined space without equipment. The "Prison Workout,"
which was nicknamed by some people who saw prisoners without access to
weights doing it, is designed to develop strength, endurance, speed,
agility, and balance. It also produces gains in muscle, losses in body
fat, and plenty of stamina. It is a total body and cardio workout. The
Prison Workout consists of one classic exercise, the "burpee." This
exercise works your chest, arms, front deltoids, thighs and abs. The
burpee is a six-count exercise:
1) Stand with your feet shoulder width
apart and your hands raised over your head. Then squat down and place
your palms on the floor by your feet.
2) Kick both of your legs back so that you're in push-up position.
3) Bend your elbows and lower your
body until your chest touches the floor.
4) Push yourself back up.
5) At the end of the push-up, quickly pull both knees into your chest
while keeping your hands on the floor. You're jumping back into the
squat position of step one.
6) Stand straight up by straightening your
legs and throwing your hands in the air over your your head. You're
now in the position that you started in. You can make the burpee more
advanced and increase the explosive power in your legs by jumping into
the air as you stand up. The Prison Workout is done in descending
sets. For example, begin by doing 20 burpees without stopping. Rest 30
seconds, and then do 19 burpees without stopping. Rest 30 seconds and
do 18 burpees. Continue doing descending sets until you get down to a
final set of 1 burpee. That makes a total of 210 burpees. For most
people, 20 sets will be too much to start with. In that case, pick a
lower number of sets like 15 or 10 or even fewer for your first
workout. Then add a set every 1-2 weeks until you reach your goal. In
prison, doing 20 descending sets without stopping is the minimum to be
considered a "man." If you can do 25 sets, you're considered to be
pretty tough, and, if you can do 30 sets, you're considered a "stud."
If you're doing other exercises in addition to this workout, do your
burpee workout 3 times per week on cardio days. If some of you who've
read this far are thinking to yourselves, "This Prison Workout is too
easy. I'm looking for a man's workout," try one of these advanced
variations of the basic burpee.
1) If you have access to pull-up bars,
at step 6, jump up and do a pull-up. That will add 210 or more
pull-ups to the workout.
2) Place dumbbells on the floor.
Use the dumbbells as push-up bars for steps 1-5. At step 6, clean the
dumbbells to your shoulders, press them overhead, and then set them
back down for the next repetition. In other words, add an overhead
press to each burpee. Be sure to use the solid, hexagonal dumbbells
rather than the adjustable kind. By itself, the Prison
Workout will strip fat from your body, add muscle, and build stamina.
Alternate it with a weight training routine, and you may be mistaken
for a Greek god, or, at least, for an ex-convict. If you can follow
simple instructions, then you can build a HEALTHY, HIGH-PERFORMANCE,
ATTRACTIVE body in the comfort of your own home using ONLY bodyweight
exercises.
- Asker's Comment:
- Thanks, i need something like this since i don't have any equipment. Trust me, i don't think it will be easy and I will have to start out with lower sets at first; then I will increase the sets. Thanks for your answers.
