For those who do resistance training without dumb bells or kettlebells

rockette · 01-11-14, 05:14 PM

what sort of workouts are you doing? I've been lifting weights for many, many years and I've gotten so burned out taking out weights and putting them back after workouts. I'm looking for something new in 2014. I've pulled out my Supreme Pilates machine and that's been great, only one thing to take out and put away.

I've been looking at suspension training, ugi balls and sandbag workouts. What's working for you?

beatchica · 01-17-14, 11:41 AM

I noticed your post and that no one provided an answer. Sometimes on the forum things can get lost in the shuffle. It has happened to all of us.

Sooo, I thought I would tell you my experience with body-weight workouts. I have for the past few years, due to some old weight training injuries, switched pretty much body-weight only workouts. I could not be happier with this decision and have maintained my strength and endurance over the years and feel more energized, physically aligned and good.
Some of my fave systems are listed below.
- Rip60 (a little long but good)
- T25 (very aerobic focused but fun)
- P90X3 (mostly all body-weight)
- Weider X-Factor ST (Love this set!)
- Ruthless (pretty hard, a little bit of a dread factor but is a great workout when I can motivate myself to do them)
- Zuzka light (I feel a bit about her workouts like I do toward Ruthless)
- Turbulence Training (Paper workouts with videos, love them and have been a member of the site for years. There are a ton of body-weight workouts)
- Beachbody Les Mills combat (love these workouts)
- Beachbody Les Mills cross training (did I mention I love Les Mills!)
- FitStar App (This is an ipad app but it is totally AWESOME)
- Liveexercise.com uses Bodylastic bands, which I use when I am feeling that I need a little resistance. I have had my bands for 10 years now and they have been great, easy to replace with customer service and now the bands I gather are more snap resistant.

Hope this helps!
-S

Sophie · 01-17-14, 12:02 PM

glad to see this got bumped by a reply

Well, I still kind of love dumbells and kettlebells - BUT, if I decided to put them aside for a time, my go-to has always been power yoga, in the past. Minimum equipment and proppage.

Body weight, as beatchica indicated above, is always an excellent option but I thought I'd throw in the suggestion of suspension training - I've been taking TRX classes at work and I'm amazed at how much work you can get done with this one piece of equipment. There's a good, long thread here on the pros and cons of various types of suspension trainers:

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...ension+trainer

rockette · 01-17-14, 05:31 PM

Thanks for your responses. You've given me some things to consider. So far I'm enjoying getting back into pilates with the springs, but I did pull out my resistance bands the other day just to see what kind of condition they were in.

LindaL · 01-17-14, 07:21 PM

I've also been lifting weights for what seems like forever, but last summer I felt so burnt out that I couldn't even look at my equipment. I did Ultimate Yogi and running over the summer. Got back into heavy weight training again in the fall, but felt totally burned out again after Thanksgiving, so took another month off and just did barre. DH laughs when he sees me take out my little pink weights, but it was a great change for me. I also loved that when I went to visit my sister in Houston, I didn't need to stress out about not having access to my barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells. I have my subscription to Barre3, so I just borrowed my sister's #3 weights and worked out with my iPad. It was awesome!

You wrote that you like pilates. Do you do barre workouts?

rockette · 01-17-14, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LindaL

I've also been lifting weights for what seems like forever, but last summer I felt so burnt out that I couldn't even look at my equipment. I did Ultimate Yogi and running over the summer. Got back into heavy weight training again in the fall, but felt totally burned out again after Thanksgiving, so took another month off and just did barre. DH laughs when he sees me take out my little pink weights, but it was a great change for me. I also loved that when I went to visit my sister in Houston, I didn't need to stress out about not having access to my barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells. I have my subscription to Barre3, so I just borrowed my sister's #3 weights and worked out with my iPad. It was awesome!

You wrote that you like pilates. Do you do barre workouts?

I have in the past, but messed up my knee something awful, not once, but twice doing the Lotte Berk dvds years ago. I haven't done much barre(lower body) since. I miss it.

starbelly · 01-18-14, 06:04 AM

Barre3 is a bit of a leap from Lotte Berk. The barre style has evolved a lot since the Berk days and, while I am not a fan myself, Barre3 really emphasizes modifications and blends yoga and Pilates with barre-style work. I have been using Suzanne Bowen's site and loving it while nursing some injuries from a bad fall. You may be surprised by the different styles out there now (Pure Barre, Bar Method, P57, Suzanne Bowen/Barre Amped, Barre3, Ballet Physique among many others). You can get access to a couple of Suzanne's workouts by clicking the try it free button at suzannebowenfitness.com. I have hypermobile joints which make me injury-prone, but I have always been safe with Suzanne, Pure Barre and Bar Method.

If you want some other unconventional techniques, try My Mad Methods. There are sandbag and bodyweight workouts there in addition to kettlebell stuff. You can order DVDs or stream online (their customer service is top notch).

If you want to sample different instructors, fitnessclass.com is $10/month and allows you to stream loads of teachers and you can search by equipment used/ time/ level of difficulty. There are some TRX workouts on there as well.

For DVDs, you can try Ilaria's Atletica 4 (bodyweight) or her Abs & Pushups plus.

FirmDancer · 01-18-14, 06:44 AM

My story resembles the others: have been lifting since the 1970s; injuries; overtaxed CNS (central nervous system) - I needed a break. I've always played around with bodyweight exercises and decided to give it a serious try. Like Beatchica said, I now feel "more energized, aligned, and good". Here's what I've been using the past several months:

basic hatha yoga classes (Level 1 on Yogoglo, 30 min)
"Body By You" book by Mark Lauren (geared towards women)
Mark Lauren's other book, I think it's called "You Are You Own Gym"
Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method book. (I'm a believer in her exercises that work all those inner, stabilizing muscles. In fact, a few weeks of her exercises convinced me of the power of bodyweight moves.)
Bret Contreras' "Strong Curves" book
Bret Contreras' original "paper" on glute work. It must be close to 100 pages. It's mainly the scientific rationale behind glute work but he includes dozens of exercises - many many more than in his "Strong Curves" book
I've recently received some Fitness is Function DVDs; I have not seriously tried them out yet. (bodyweight, sandbag, kb)
Oh! my favorite !!! "Women's Health Book of 15 Minute Workouts" - I do a circuit (without dumbbells) almost every morning, as kind of a "wake me up and get going" activity.
TRX - someone here posted a code for a 50% discount and I got this for Christmas. I love it !!!
Horizontal Conditioning - also a favorite !!! I caved reading the threads here. My core has always been my weakest link; it's now improving. I'm finally strong enough to move on from "Getting Started", the 1st DVD in the series. I usually only do 1 round; tacked on with a Women's Health circuit.

Also, all my workouts are generally in the 30 minute range. I no longer work out for an hour+. I do not follow a rotation. I just decide what I feel I need and pick something from the above list.

macska · 01-18-14, 08:11 AM

I'm sort of mentally tired of the heavy kbells, I must say only for a while. I do more yoga now (UY), pilates and TA. Interestingly I actually like a lot TA's Perfect Design 1 2 3 something. I may return also to some old favorite iballets. Those were really fantastic. Favorite warm ups are still the Ruthless DVDs and for cardio the Tapout 2s. In a few months I will be back to heavy bells, that's the real love.

beatchica · 01-18-14, 08:23 AM

I forgot to mention it, but I also try to get in at least one Yoga or Pilates workout weekly. This normally entails watching a 20-30 minute youtube video.

I find Yoga and Pilates to be mentally challenging as they require a more concentrated type of focus vs. body-weight exercise. However, I love how much more flexible and fluid I feel afterwards.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-11-14, 05:14 PM
rockette VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sunshine State	For those who do resistance training without dumbbells or kettlebells what sort of workouts are you doing? I've been lifting weights for many, many years and I've gotten so burned out taking out weights and putting them back after workouts. I'm looking for something new in 2014. I've pulled out my Supreme Pilates machine and that's been great, only one thing to take out and put away. I've been looking at suspension training, ugi balls and sandbag workouts. What's working for you? __________________ The greatest tragedy in life is not death: It is life without a purpose. Without a clear understanding of purpose, life becomes an experiment. Myles Munroe

01-17-14, 11:41 AM
beatchica Join Date: May 2009	I noticed your post and that no one provided an answer. Sometimes on the forum things can get lost in the shuffle. It has happened to all of us. Sooo, I thought I would tell you my experience with body-weight workouts. I have for the past few years, due to some old weight training injuries, switched pretty much body-weight only workouts. I could not be happier with this decision and have maintained my strength and endurance over the years and feel more energized, physically aligned and good. Some of my fave systems are listed below. - Rip60 (a little long but good) - T25 (very aerobic focused but fun) - P90X3 (mostly all body-weight) - Weider X-Factor ST (Love this set!) - Ruthless (pretty hard, a little bit of a dread factor but is a great workout when I can motivate myself to do them) - Zuzka light (I feel a bit about her workouts like I do toward Ruthless) - Turbulence Training (Paper workouts with videos, love them and have been a member of the site for years. There are a ton of body-weight workouts) - Beachbody Les Mills combat (love these workouts) - Beachbody Les Mills cross training (did I mention I love Les Mills!) - FitStar App (This is an ipad app but it is totally AWESOME) - Liveexercise.com uses Bodylastic bands, which I use when I am feeling that I need a little resistance. I have had my bands for 10 years now and they have been great, easy to replace with customer service and now the bands I gather are more snap resistant. Hope this helps! -S

01-17-14, 12:02 PM
Sophie Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Alberta	glad to see this got bumped by a reply Well, I still kind of love dumbells and kettlebells - BUT, if I decided to put them aside for a time, my go-to has always been power yoga, in the past. Minimum equipment and proppage. Body weight, as beatchica indicated above, is always an excellent option but I thought I'd throw in the suggestion of suspension training - I've been taking TRX classes at work and I'm amazed at how much work you can get done with this one piece of equipment. There's a good, long thread here on the pros and cons of various types of suspension trainers: http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...ension+trainer __________________ Sophie be as relaxed as you can be, as you do what you gotta do. ~erich schiffman

01-17-14, 05:31 PM
rockette VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sunshine State	Thanks for your responses. You've given me some things to consider. So far I'm enjoying getting back into pilates with the springs, but I did pull out my resistance bands the other day just to see what kind of condition they were in. __________________ The greatest tragedy in life is not death: It is life without a purpose. Without a clear understanding of purpose, life becomes an experiment. Myles Munroe

01-17-14, 07:21 PM
LindaL VF Supporter Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: South Florida	I've also been lifting weights for what seems like forever, but last summer I felt so burnt out that I couldn't even look at my equipment. I did Ultimate Yogi and running over the summer. Got back into heavy weight training again in the fall, but felt totally burned out again after Thanksgiving, so took another month off and just did barre. DH laughs when he sees me take out my little pink weights, but it was a great change for me. I also loved that when I went to visit my sister in Houston, I didn't need to stress out about not having access to my barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells. I have my subscription to Barre3, so I just borrowed my sister's #3 weights and worked out with my iPad. It was awesome! You wrote that you like pilates. Do you do barre workouts? __________________ Linda Disclosure: I was a Beachbody success story and part of a P90X infomercial.

01-18-14, 06:04 AM
starbelly Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Netherlands	Barre3 is a bit of a leap from Lotte Berk. The barre style has evolved a lot since the Berk days and, while I am not a fan myself, Barre3 really emphasizes modifications and blends yoga and Pilates with barre-style work. I have been using Suzanne Bowen's site and loving it while nursing some injuries from a bad fall. You may be surprised by the different styles out there now (Pure Barre, Bar Method, P57, Suzanne Bowen/Barre Amped, Barre3, Ballet Physique among many others). You can get access to a couple of Suzanne's workouts by clicking the try it free button at suzannebowenfitness.com. I have hypermobile joints which make me injury-prone, but I have always been safe with Suzanne, Pure Barre and Bar Method. If you want some other unconventional techniques, try My Mad Methods. There are sandbag and bodyweight workouts there in addition to kettlebell stuff. You can order DVDs or stream online (their customer service is top notch). If you want to sample different instructors, fitnessclass.com is $10/month and allows you to stream loads of teachers and you can search by equipment used/ time/ level of difficulty. There are some TRX workouts on there as well. For DVDs, you can try Ilaria's Atletica 4 (bodyweight) or her Abs & Pushups plus.

01-18-14, 06:44 AM
FirmDancer VF Supporter Join Date: Apr 2002	My story resembles the others: have been lifting since the 1970s; injuries; overtaxed CNS (central nervous system) - I needed a break. I've always played around with bodyweight exercises and decided to give it a serious try. Like Beatchica said, I now feel "more energized, aligned, and good". Here's what I've been using the past several months: basic hatha yoga classes (Level 1 on Yogoglo, 30 min) "Body By You" book by Mark Lauren (geared towards women) Mark Lauren's other book, I think it's called "You Are You Own Gym" Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method book. (I'm a believer in her exercises that work all those inner, stabilizing muscles. In fact, a few weeks of her exercises convinced me of the power of bodyweight moves.) Bret Contreras' "Strong Curves" book Bret Contreras' original "paper" on glute work. It must be close to 100 pages. It's mainly the scientific rationale behind glute work but he includes dozens of exercises - many many more than in his "Strong Curves" book I've recently received some Fitness is Function DVDs; I have not seriously tried them out yet. (bodyweight, sandbag, kb) Oh! my favorite !!! "Women's Health Book of 15 Minute Workouts" - I do a circuit (without dumbbells) almost every morning, as kind of a "wake me up and get going" activity. TRX - someone here posted a code for a 50% discount and I got this for Christmas. I love it !!! Horizontal Conditioning - also a favorite !!! I caved reading the threads here. My core has always been my weakest link; it's now improving. I'm finally strong enough to move on from "Getting Started", the 1st DVD in the series. I usually only do 1 round; tacked on with a Women's Health circuit. Also, all my workouts are generally in the 30 minute range. I no longer work out for an hour+. I do not follow a rotation. I just decide what I feel I need and pick something from the above list. __________________ “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” -- Hunter S. Thompson Current Rotations: JSmith: STRENGTHEN ManFlowYoga: morning sessions & Strength Foundations YogaGlo & MFML: easy, morning classes

01-18-14, 08:11 AM
macska VF Supporter Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NJ	I'm sort of mentally tired of the heavy kbells, I must say only for a while. I do more yoga now (UY), pilates and TA. Interestingly I actually like a lot TA's Perfect Design 1 2 3 something. I may return also to some old favorite iballets. Those were really fantastic. Favorite warm ups are still the Ruthless DVDs and for cardio the Tapout 2s. In a few months I will be back to heavy bells, that's the real love. __________________ 12 marathons 2 ultra marathons (50k) PR: Mohawk-Hudson Marathon 3hr 40min "You finish when you are done not when you are tired." David Goggins

01-18-14, 08:23 AM
beatchica Join Date: May 2009	I forgot to mention it, but I also try to get in at least one Yoga or Pilates workout weekly. This normally entails watching a 20-30 minute youtube video. I find Yoga and Pilates to be mentally challenging as they require a more concentrated type of focus vs. body-weight exercise. However, I love how much more flexible and fluid I feel afterwards.