{"id":1216,"date":"2018-12-20T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=1216"},"modified":"2018-12-09T13:05:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T18:05:25","slug":"can-you-really-build-strength-working-out-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=1216","title":{"rendered":"Can you really build strength working out at home?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yes. There is nothing magical about going to a gym. You can do calisthenics in a tiny room (so having a dedicated workout space isn’t an issue) and there are endless free resources online (so having money isn’t an issue) with various plans that will take you from no activity to a very high level of fitness. If you need specific equipment to get the muscle development you need, you\u2019ll learn about that very quickly as you study, and then<\/em> you can decide if you need to join a gym or buy some equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suggest getting some exercise at home, and only join a gym when you hit a point where you don\u2019t feel you\u2019re making any progress (or if you discover that you need the motivation of going to a gym to get you to exercise). I learned a lot from a writer named Mark Lauren<\/a>, from his book You Are Your Own Gym<\/a><\/em>, but there are many other trainers out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that working out at home has a lot of advantages. I don\u2019t get embarrassed by having to display my saggy old-guy body in front of fit younger folks, I can take a shower afterward & change clothes without having to pack a gym bag and toiletries & drive somewhere. My house smells better than most gyms I\u2019ve visited. It\u2019s basically free. I have some sweatpants & shorts that I got at a discount store. No need to worry about looking out of style if no one can see you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like online communities, I had good luck years ago comparing notes with other folks working out at home on a site called Fitocracy. They try to make fitness workouts be like a game, where you earn points. I think the site is still around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve disliked gyms since I was a kid, since I was the one in gym class who was always chosen last, and I\u2019m also cheap, so the couple of times I\u2019ve joined a gym as an adult, I\u2019ve soon realized; hey, I can be doing push-ups at home, why am I paying to do it here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a photo of my shoulders & back after working out at home for about six months (photo taken in the spring of 2015). Certainly not bulked up or ripped, but not bad for a guy in his mid-50s doing a few workout sessions a week.
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Yes. There is nothing magical about going to a gym. You can do calisthenics in a tiny room (so having a dedicated workout space isn’t an issue) and there are endless free resources online (so having money isn’t an issue) with various plans that will take you from no activity to a very high level … Continue reading “Can you really build strength working out at home?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[51],"tags":[132],"class_list":["post-1216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","tag-calesthenics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgY3e-jC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":286,"url":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=286","url_meta":{"origin":1216,"position":0},"title":"Fitness and Ham","author":"Jorah","date":"November 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I mentioned a couple of months ago that I thought I would be using this site to talk about my venture into\u00a0amateur radio. I still plan to do that, but I've been distracted since July with getting into shape. Yesterday, my copy of You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Post"","block_context":{"text":"Post","link":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?cat=30"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=macmethods&l=as2&o=1&a=0345528581&camp=217145&creative=399369","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":421,"url":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=421","url_meta":{"origin":1216,"position":1},"title":"Day 70\/70: On Target?","author":"Jorah","date":"January 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was the final day of my 10-week \"You Are Your Own Gym\" fitness program. When I started out back in early November, 2011, I set down my goals. Today it's time to see how I did. Weight:\u00a0I hit my 'near' goal of being below 183.5, as my scale registered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Post"","block_context":{"text":"Post","link":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?cat=30"},"img":{"alt_text":"10-week progress","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madstone.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/IMG_6884-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=418","url_meta":{"origin":1216,"position":2},"title":"One Hundred Push-Ups Reboot","author":"Jorah","date":"January 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Back on June 12, 2011, I took the 100pushups initial test. I ended up getting 10 push-ups in that test, and I believe that I did start the training, but ended up being distracted by other exercises, and eventually found fitocracy.com and then You Are Your Own Gym by Mark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Post"","block_context":{"text":"Post","link":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?cat=30"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":672,"url":"https:\/\/madstone.net\/?p=672","url_meta":{"origin":1216,"position":3},"title":"My new Road ID thingy","author":"Jorah","date":"June 26, 2014","format":"aside","excerpt":"Fitness folks, guess what? I've started a light exercise program again. After two years (or has it been three?) I'm back in the game--in a small way, at least. 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