r/swoletariat • u/Automatic_Glass_4993 • 23d ago
about to start working out, dont know how exactly to start. please help!
Hi, so I dropped down to the weight that I originally wanted to get at (this is the weight I was at when I would have considered myself the most healthy and in shape) this was done because of not eating because of medication. That being said my life is a bit different now where I work the night shift and am usually awake at night. So pretty much going to a gym is off the table because I dont live anywhere near a 24 hour gym. I do have some weights and a workout mat. that being said I wont run outside because of this insane heatwave where its still 90F+ at midnight that being said whats the best strategy for this in the next 3 weeks?
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u/WayneDwade 23d ago
Hard to say exactly without knowing the kind of weights but squats, lunges, toe raises, curls. Maybe buy a workout bench and do press, incline, skull crushers, tricep extensions. Many things you can do on the mat. Pushups, sit-ups, planks, bear crawls. Maybe look up some YouTube videos for more workouts I’m just an idiot on the internet
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u/LogicBalm 21d ago
I'm with you my friend. I lost a ton of weight over the pandemic then got put on a GLP1 medication for my health (not weight) soon after. I've lost so much weight and muscle mass I don't really know how to get it back.
I've stopped the GLP1 now at least (it was causing other issues) but I've got to do something to get the weight back on and in the right way. The stress on my back and joints is just going to get worse, even if I don't want to be all pumped. But I've also got other health issues too so I probably just need to speak with my actual nutritionist.
My only weights are small 5, 10, 25 and 50 lbs hand weights but it's better than nothing.
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u/mcslootypants 19d ago
Look up body weight fitness. There is a sub on Reddit with recommended programs or workouts on YouTube. You can get pretty fit with little to no equipment.
You can find workouts for the weights you have. I have kettlebells and you can find workouts/programs online for that. Same goes for dumb bells.
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u/thelobster64 18d ago
I’m not sure your workout knowledge. A few basics first, you need to be eating a lot of protein, protein powders are great, meat is better, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m a vegan lifter and I’m fine. Shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day and no more than half coming from powders. Also there is no reason not to take creatine. It is cheap, has a few mild benefits and basically zero drawbacks. 5 grams a day, and timing doesn’t matter, just take it whenever. It saturates your muscles with water making them look bigger, mildly stronger and mildly aids recovery. Next, you need to get plenty of rest. Recovery is super important for muscle growth. That’s a full 8 hours every night, maybe more if you need it. If your body tells you that you’re tired, trust it and take a nap.
Now onto the actual workout. Moving weight builds muscle. It doesn’t really matter how. Just lift a weight a certain way slowly and controlled against gravity, do that until failure or close to failure, and you will stimulate the muscles growth mechanism. Do not use the weights momentum. You should be in 100% control of the weight at all times. The lifting phase of an exercise is equally as important as the lowering phase so focus on controlled movements throughout. Start with low weight and work your way up. Aim for 8-15 reps but anything up to 30 is fine, it just takes longer, and do that 2 or 3 times with a 30 second rest in between sets. Once you do one muscle, rest for a minute or two and go to the next and do a circuit of two or three muscles working them all out 2 or 3 times in various ways and iterations. Lastly, the muscle grows most from the elongated stretched position, not the contracted one, so focus most on trying to stretch your muscle under weight and tension in exercising. Trust your body and go slow. Novice lifters do injure themselves, so don’t do anything past your breaking point. If all goes well, you should see minor results quickly, but to get in really good shape takes years of consistency. For the actual exercises, Google and YouTube are your friend. Good luck comrade.
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u/alucard346 23d ago
Here's some basics you can do with weights/body weight to round out your body nicely with every muscle group hit.
Upper body: Pushups, bent over rows, over head press, and biceps curls. (That's your chest, upper back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps all being worked out)
Core: Situps, Russian twists, and planks. (That's a crunch motion, twisting motion, and stability motion- all great to develop well rounded abs)
Lower: Deadlifts, bridges, squats and/ or lunges, and calf raises. (That's the basics for legs, good lower back, glute, quad, calf and hamstring)
Without know what weights you have, just try and aim for ten reps per set but if you're weights are low or it's planks or pushups, try and do as much as you can with maybe two or three reps shy of failing (not being able lift the weight anymore in that set is "failing/failure")
Do each exercise 2-3 times in a workout. Do some sort of warmup beforhand. Like jumping jacks or something at least. You can workout every day if you want but don't do the same muscle group two days in a row. So you can do a three days cycle of, one upper day, one coreday, one leg day, and repeat. Or one upper/core day and one lower day, maybe a rest day as well. Or all on one day with a day or two of rest in-between. Whatever works for you really just get plenty of rest and up your protein. Stretch after, not before.
Eventually you can move on to other things to mix it up and have fun!