Author Topic: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed  (Read 10416 times)

expat

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My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« on: March 03, 2013, 10:58:32 AM »
Im popping my cherry with this post. I have been a long time lurker so I thought I would share my workout with you.

I am a 28 yr old male expat living in Mexico. I have lived in other countries and will likely move to either another city or country in 6 months. That said i try to minimize the ammount of possessions to a bare minimum. I have never liked gyms and in Mexico while the gyms arent expensive they dont get the proper air ventilation to resolve the smell that can be quite pungent especially given the typical hot weather conditions with no aircon in the GYM. 

Anyway, here is what i do. First outside of work out gloves I only own 2 pieces of equipment. The first is the perfect pushup which is great because its small and portable and it helps your pushup form while giving your wrists a break. The second piece of equipment is a 30lbs dumbbell.

Basically my workout consists of 10 sets of pushups each done to failure with 2 minutes between each set. Then I do 7 sets of one arm bicept curls for each arm with 90 seconds between each set. Followed by 4 sets of one arm back rows with the dumbbell and again 90 seconds between sets. Both the bicept curls and back rows are done to failure on each set. I wrap up my workout my doing bodyweight squats. I do 4 sets with 60 seconds inbetween and again complete each set to failure.

The results are great. In my book a bodyweight workout because they are compound movements are probably the best bang for your buck in exercise. Honestly if owned my place instead of rented I would drill in some pull up bars in the door way. But because I cant do pull ups the bicept curls and back rows more or less target the same muscles that a pull up would. 

« Last Edit: March 03, 2013, 11:05:19 AM by expat »

darkelenchus

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2013, 11:45:41 AM »
Very nice. My routine is a bit more involved, but has the same amount of equipment (I have > 1 dumbbell, and varying weights, but that could be condensed if needed - even these could be replaced with a good resistance band set). Instead of a perfect push-up, however, I have portable pull-up bars. I can use those if I want to get a deeper push-up.

The Money Monk

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2013, 11:28:12 AM »
Nice. you may want to try some "kettlebell swings"  with that dumbell to target lower back and posterior chain. Also maybe try some handstand pushups or overhead presses with the dumbell. Gotta work those delts too!

Anyway not a bad setup for travelling a lot. I am stationary, so I don't have to worry about carrying everything with me. Which is good because I don't think I could live without doing the big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, overhead press, etc). I also think pullups are badly neglected inmost people's routines as well.

arrow1963

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2013, 02:26:47 PM »
I'm glad you mentioned squats at the end, because we started with 'I do pushups and curls' (bench & biceps).

Do you use really strict form on your rows, or do you find that 30lbs is not enough weight?  I don't think most people curl as much as they row.

momo

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2013, 02:49:59 PM »
@ expat: Nicely done! You describe a very efficient workout. How long have you used this routine? Have you plateaud and if so how long did it take before you reached that point (months)? Also since you are on the go, have you tried adding into your routine rope work? It's light and extremely portable which I've found helpful. Let us know how it goes. Cheers!

expat

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2013, 12:02:57 AM »
my workout isnt perfect but ive stuck to it for 8 months or so and im in the best shape of my life. at the start i was out of shape and maybe 30lbs overweight (too many tortillas and cheap beer does that). anyway i cleaned up my diet started from stratch. i couldnt do 20 push ups with breaks when i first started. now i am at 200 pushups. i started with 20lbs weights in the begining but began adding 5lbs once i felt i was ready. i want to work my way up to 500 push ups in a setting and 50 lbs bicep curls and back rows. although it might take me a yr or more to get there i have seen great results so far and i encourage anyone to just stick with it. the progress is slow but after 6 months its hard not to see great results if your exercise and diet is in check.

for diet i try to stick to low carb (but plenty of veggies and some fruit) no sugar(sodas) or fruit juice and substitute beer for straight tequilla or other types of hard liquor with no mixer when i go out.

for exercise i only do my routine twice a week

Bakari

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2013, 01:28:32 PM »
you can always use a dumbell AS a "perfect pushup" handle, so there is one less thing to buy (since they normally come in sets of two)

There's a few more directions you could move them dumbells; namely, above your head.  I start out with a curl, and then go into an arnold press, for a more complete compound movement - basically a clean and press, but with dumbells


For a pull up bar, since my walls aren't strong enough, I just built one out of 3/4" steel pipe and 90 degree connectors from the hardware store.  Pad the bottom with inner tubes, lean it against the wall, and you have a no-hole-in-the-wall pull up bar, perfect for renters

Ozstache

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Re: My workout: only 2 pieces of equipment needed
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2013, 03:24:53 PM »
Here's my exercise equipment:



As they say, "If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise".