Body weight exercise stuff

[Dino]

I can only make it to the gym twice a week so I need some addtional work outs.  I'm thinkin of getting some push up support pads and maybe a pull up bar although I may just build my own.  Before I do, anything you guys can recommend on either?  I'm 190 lbs and don't want to be worrying that the bar is going to come down.  I'm not a fan of the doorway bars so I'm thinking of mounting it in the garage which is unfinished so lots of 2 x 4's to play with.  As far as the push up supports, my right wrist is a bit mesed up so hands on the floor gets tiring fast.  I don't need anything fanc, just something well made and I need to be able to do decline push ups as well.  Ideas and suggestions welcome.   

[XH29N0G]

leave enough space above the bar and below the ceiling for your head.

[Dino]

Yeah that would be unfortunate to get a headache working out.   

[Ryan.C]

https://www.trxtraining.com/

This thing is awesome, I use it on deployments and when im out in the field. It is highly versatile you can hang it up in your garage or off the side of a vehicle, just about anywhere. Check out the training videos on the site there is a lot of good info and techniques in them.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bodyweight-bust-four-bodyweight-training-myths-debunked.html

This site is a wealth of good info as well.

[sunfire69]

I'm 6'4" and 220 and I made push-up bars out of 3/4 PVC for less than 10 bucks they will flex so make them just long enough to fit your hand....I did a pull up bar too....1/2 thick wall conduit 4ft long I drilled a hole in each end and put "I" bolts thru it and hung it from the rafters with swing set chain so you pull up between the rafters..

[Troy]

I have a (real) gym a block away and a small workout area at my apartment complex clubhouse and I still never have time. I picked up a pull up bar that fits in the door (I'm barely 160) and a set of resistance bands. I originally was trying to strengthen one specific area but the bands actually helped a lot more than I thought they would. Without trying to "bulk up" I can get a pretty decent workout with just that equipment and old fashioned crunches, sit ups, planks, and push ups. I have one of those big exercise balls too but it doesn't work as well on carpet as it did on hardwood. Still, just sitting on it while messing around on the computer of watching TV keeps your core busy.

Troy

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Lift heavy on the days you can make it to the gym.  On days you can't, go for a run.  You can mix body weight exercises in with the run, stopping every mile or 1/2 mile to do pushups, sit ups, burpees, mountain climbers, planks, pull-ups (middle and high schools commonly have pull-up bars), etc.  If you're planning on building something for home, a pull-up bar is probably the best thing you can build, but dip bars would be very beneficial as well. 

You can also check out crossfit websites for good ideas on body weight workouts.  Handstand pushups, air squats, one-legged squats are all great exercises.  I'm not a fan of people who post their crossfit workouts on Facebook, but I do like the workouts. 

Moral of the story, there are tons of workouts you can do with body weight, just be creative. 

[Dino]

Thanks for the comments fellas.   

Troy I need to get one of those exercise balls, we have them at the gym and they're great for core exercises.  Never thought to use it as a chair but that makes sense.  I tend to slouch in a regular chair.   

I love the TRX stuff and have used it a few times at the gym.  Especially when, after a workout, I'm too tired to do more than a few pull ups that thing is a life saver because it allows me to get the last bit of effort out of me.  Too bad it's so damn expensive.  There's another brand that's supposedly just as good but way cheaper, I'll see if I can find the name.

When I go to the gym twice a week, it's at college between classes.  I do a 10 minute warm up on a treadmill at an incline, 7.5 or 10% usually at around 3.5 mph which gets me ready to lift hard and heavy.  That's relatively speaking because I got real weak over the years.  I'm turning 41 soon and had not lifted heavy since I was in my early 20's.

I would love to go for a run but I found out over the summer that something is wrong physiologically that makes my lungs quit long before I even get a lactate build up in my muscles.  Docs have run a series of tests and I am scheduled to do a VO2max test in a few weeks.  For now I simply cannot run so all I can do is walk and lift.  Hopefully we'll find a solution because I'd love to run and bike again.

I just went out into the garage and pulled myself up on the rafters.  It creeks a little under my 190 lbs frame but I think that with adding some framing I can bolt a nice pull up bar to it and have at it.  I think I may build one of these: http://www.makeapullupbar.com/

I was thinking of getting a pull up tower with the dip handles but I have enough furniture around to do dips.  The towers are pretty big and I don't want to use that much real estate. 

How does this look for push ups?  http://www.ecoupons.com/products/meijer/243506701/NDQxNjcz

Any benefit to them rotating at all?  I'm mostly concerned about not further hurting my right wrist.  It really burns when I do more than 5 push ups just having my hand flat on the ground.  I do need to be able to do decline push ups to attack the upper chest and shoulders so if there's anything better out there I'm all ears!   

[XH29N0G]

That is a creative and impressive contraption, but the dip handles look a little high (unless you have short arms, no neck, and a small head).

[Dino]

I think that would be pretty impossible to use as dip handles.     They're just pull up handles to isolate different muscles.

[bakerhillpins]

https://www.trxtraining.com/

This thing is awesome, I use it on deployments and when im out in the field. It is highly versatile you can hang it up in your garage or off the side of a vehicle, just about anywhere. Check out the training videos on the site there is a lot of good info and techniques in them.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bodyweight-bust-four-bodyweight-training-myths-debunked.html

This site is a wealth of good info as well.

Yea, what he said.  They have this as part of our health care program at work and let me tell you it's a workout when I just tried the basics. Requires almost nothing (just like your bar setup) and it's something you can take with you and do just about anywhere.