How to exercise properly without joining a gym?

[Zelig]

BTW, you should post some pics in Member Photos of you doing some training, might pump up some of the rest of us.

Pretty much all my fun bodyweight stuff is inspired by this guy, and he's better at all of it than I am.

Often = 5 times a week? Or could I get away with 3 times a week?

3 times a week is fine, it's regularity and intensity that are most important.

 

[tycoonist]

Often = 5 times a week? Or could I get away with 3 times a week?

i guess you are probably a bit older than me, and so find it more difficult to stay in shape, but as i was saying, i reckon one or two hours a week of ferociously hard exercise is far better than daily mediocre exercise. frees up a lot of time, and boy do feel good after you've done that hour.

 

[Narz]

Pretty much all my fun bodyweight stuff is inspired by this guy, and he's better at all of it than I am.

Thanks. I watched his "how to do a push-up video" just to check my form.

 

[Eat_Up_Martha]

I work out 5 times a week (Sunday through Thursday) and find no real trouble with it all. Mind you, I'm 22 so I might be a bit more resilient than an older man.
I've found the easiest way to keep the routine up is to incorporate it into my pre-existing schedule. I have to get to bed early(...ish) for school five nights of the week anyway, so I simply dedicate a chunk of the time before bed to working out. Now it just seems a natural and expected part of the pre-bed routine anyway, making it very difficult to put off.

 

[capslock]

Visceral fat can do that.

How do you go about getting rid of this, lol? Years of beer, burgers, pizza, and other fattening foods is starting to get to me i think.

 

[IglooDame]

The most important thing is not which training form you use, which program your swear to etc. What's important is that you train at a regular basis. If you use your body five times a week, you will get results. Just be sure to use your entire body, and do both weight and cardio training.

The most important thing is just finding something you like, and do it often.

This would be my recommendation as well.

My wife and I started getting into shape six months ago; going to the gym five days a week and doing some dietary changes (replacing ice cream with sugar-free pudding, dropping the Mt Dew, and in general laying off the fast food and snacks but still occasionally indulging). For our gym visits, Monday and Thursday are upper body weight machine workout +30min cardio, Tue/Fri are lower body +30min cardio, and Wed is 45-50min cardio. $10/month each at our local Planet Fitness. I've gone from 245 to 205 so far (I probably won't go below 190, at 40yo and not a particularly skinny physique) and she's lost more than that. If you can eat just a little better and burn some calories on a regular basis, you'll lose weight and feel better, guaranteed.

 

[Zelig]

How do you go about getting rid of this, lol? Years of beer, burgers, pizza, and other fattening foods is starting to get to me i think.

Exercise. No quick way to do it, if it took years to put on, it will probably take years to get rid of it.

 

[rhawn]

1. You eat too much pasta. Cut down on that and replace the calories with more raw or steamed vegetables.

2. Even if you go to the gym, which you don't; spontaneously do sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, and pull-ups; run 1 mile per day. Just doing 3X10 sets with the running is more than enough to keep you in shape.

 

[storealex]

Often = 5 times a week? Or could I get away with 3 times a week?

Three times a week is enough. Especially since you're already playing sports also. But it's obvious that you'll get more results if you train more. However, it also depends how hard you train, at which intensity etc. I wouldn't recommend doing hard training like cross fit, five times a week. Also be sure not to train the same muscles two days in a row.

 

[Chazumi]

A good assesment is the Military PT Test.

-2 Minutes Push-Ups (good form)
-2 Minutes Sit-Ups
-2 Mile run

There are charts all over the internet with the scores, 300 being max. I'd say if you are between 20 and 30 and can't do AT LEAST 80 pushups 80 sit ups (in two minutes per exercise), and run 14 minute two mile (13 if you live at a lower altitude than I do), you are out of shape.

When I started actually doing aerobic and core exercises I could only do about 20/20/16, now I'm up to 112/108/13:37 (I smoke though)

 

[El_Machinae]

Visceral fat is actually best gotten rid of through diet. It's the most harmful fat, but it's also the easiest to lose. A weight-loss diet will cause visceral fat to disappear, though it's best to never really build up stores of it in the first place.

Exercise helps rid visceral fat, too, but not as efficiently.
Now, by "efficiently", I mean "ease". It's much less total work to control a diet than to get proper exercise. Exercise is by far a superior way. If you have a 300/day calorie deficit, you'll get rid of visceral fat. If you have a deficit due to exercise, your other indicators will improve too.

source:
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jan;42(1):152-9.
Caloric restriction with or without exercise: the fitness versus fatness debate.