How can I make some muscles without going to the gym?
A reader asks…
I’m looking for a reasonable diet, and no weights, just me and the floor.
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3 Responses to How can I make some muscles without going to the gym?
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Different resistance training methods produce different results. It all depends on what your goals are.
Strong Man
Low reps (3-5) with heavier resistance builds strength, increase muscle density and muscle tone. This is myofibril hypertrophy, an increase in the muscle fiber number and size. More fiber equals more strength. More muscle also means faster fat burning, the proverbial “fat burning furnace” and “melt away fat while you sleep”. This type of resistance training is what woman should be doing if they’re worried about bulking up, even so, they don’t have the testosterone that men do so bulking is difficult to begin with.
Girly Men
Moderate reps (6-12) with moderate resistance yields some strength and larger muscles, but the strength will not be relative to the muscle size. This is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, an increase in the fluid and other stuff between the muscle fibers. This makes larger fluffy bloated muscles, but does little for strength. Not a good choice for athletes or occupations requiring physical strength. Basically, it’s muscle for posers, “fake” muscle or useless bodybuilder muscle. Nice to look at, but nothing between the ears.
Catch Me If You Can
High reps (12+) with lower resistance is used mostly for building muscle endurance like runners, but it does little to nothing for muscle tone or strength.
Isolation Exercises
That’s working out only one specific muscle. Good to use to strengthen a weak muscle that may be limiting your athletic performance, but not a good way for overall body training because it can lead to a chaotic mess like big biceps and skinny legs. This is also the type of exercise used by bodybuilders to make a particular muscle larger.
Compound Exercises
Exercises that incorporate more than one muscle group at a time. You’ll burn more fat and muscles will have more coordination and capable of moving and functioning better as a whole unit.
Metabolism and Fat Burning
Building just one pound of lean muscle will speed up your resting metabolism. That’s how many calories your body burns just to sustain life, that is, no movement, just breathing. Each one pound gain of new muscle will burn about 40-50 calories that wasn’t going on before. Gain 20 pounds of muscle and you’ll burn 800-1000 calories. Each pound of fat has 3500 calories. You do the math. Like I said, fat burning furnace.
DONT TAKE NO STEROIDS DO SOME SIT UPS, WALKING, LEG LUNGES, AND The Bicycle exercise is the best move to target the rectus abdominis (i.e., the ‘six pack’) and the obliques (the waist), according to a study done by the American Council on Exercise. To do this exercise correctly:
1. Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.
2. Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.
3. Straight the left leg out to about a 45-degree angle while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.
4. Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.
5. Continue alternating sides in a ‘pedaling’ motion for 12-16 reps
I don’t know about diet, but there are all sorts of exercises you can do at home without going to the gym, to build up muscle strength, you probably know most of them:
Push/Press ups: hands on ground, feet stretched out, bum FLAT (ie, in a straight line with your feet and head). Push and lower (your nose should touch the ground). This is harder when you do it on your fists.
Sit ups: lying on the ground with knees bent, make sure your toes aren’t under anything and hands making a X on your chest (or out in front of you) then sit up so that you come right up to your knees.
Chin Ups: this can be done on a bar or lower tree branch, but your toes shouldn’t be able to touch the ground – brush the grass, yes, touch the ground, no. Have your fingers pointing towards you, and pull up so that your chin comes above the bar/branch.
Crunches: These work the upper abdominals. Same sort of thing as a sit up except you don’t sit up as far (just about half-way) and you do more of them. Also your feet don’t have to touch the ground, you can have your legs up vertically. There is another variation that works the lower abdominals, where you lie on the ground with someone standing behind you (to hold on to their ankles – the person could be replaces by a heavy piece of furniture) and you pull your (straight) legs (with pointed toes) up to their hands, which they hold in front of them waiting to push your feet/legs back down. Your legs must not touch the ground, but your bum can come off the ground if need be.
Burpies – jump as high as possible (arms above head), crouch (hands on floor), bounce your feet out so that you’re in the push up position, bring feet back in again, ready to jump again. {that’s one}
Squats: place your feet a bit wider than shoulder width apart, and squat as if you’re on a toilet – you need to stick your bum out and keep your back straight. Repeat. Lots. You can also do this as a hold against the wall for at least 20 seconds. Try and keep your knees and bum on in a horizontal line, as if you were a chair.
Dolphin Flop: Lie on your stomach with your toes NOT touching the ground (your legs must be straight too). Then raise your torso up and lower it down, making sure your head it up looking forwards. Your arms can be stretched out in front of you, or bent so that your hands come together under your chin – your elbows must be in line with your hands though (ie. flat).
You can also do this in a hold, where you hold your torso and legs above the ground for 20 seconds or more. You can also do the prone hold: put your weight on your forearms, with your hands clasped together and your legs stretched out like they would be in a press up. Again hold for 20 seconds or more. You can also do the prone hold on the side, balancing on just one forearm, with the other on your hip, or helping you to balance.
I hope this helps you, sorry if it doesn’t.