The Livingroom Workout

[JBIG]

I am constantly finding mysellf feeling real strong and ready to train while watching TV or just after watching a DVD, basically random times when I am unfortunately stuck at home

a friend of mine and I have been playing with different routines and exercises we can do on our own in the livingroom or someplace similar

mostly, we do pushups and pullups and they work great, but I was thinking maybe we could do some other things too. I have tried doing squats and they work ok in high numbers, but they are just ok I would say

I have tried the Bas Rutten workout and it is a good one for doing on your own, even at home

anyone else got ideas?
my main goal is getting bigger and stronger

also I would LOVE to up my cardio when I'm at home too, anything other than sprints that I could try?

[iman74]

Here are some options you can do while watching TV, and trust me on this, have a place where you head/face can land, because it WILL!!!

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/

My suggestion is to start with the Frog Stand.

[Evil Eye Gouger]

1) Go to Strength and Power. Although it's mostly about weight lifting (and you DO need weights to get bigger and stronger), there's also a lot of info on bodyweight exercises.

2) To get stronger, you need to do things that are HARD, and pushups simply aren't hard. Here are some exercises you should base your bodyweight workout around:

Pullups: Pullups, Chinups, one-arm pullups (assisted and not), towel pullups, etc
Pushups: HANDSTAND pushups, one-arm pushups, legs-up pushups, pushups with somebody sitting on your shoulders, clap pushups...
Squats: PISTOLS!!!, burpees, thrusters (with dumbells), one-legged squats
Situps: Weighted situps, do them however you can. Sideways situps, full-contact twists, saxon side bends (with dumbells)

Additional exercises you will need:

For back: Inverted situps, planks, also, lifting your bed or something simulating deadlift. There is no REALLY good way to train your lower back without weights

For neck: Bridges

For grip: Get a gripper. But towel pullups and one-knuckle pullups will do wonders for your forearms

3) For cardio, try any exercise in Tabata style, or even do Tabata complexes (a set of squats, a set of pullups, a set of pushups, etc etc).

Tabata burpees are also touted as good exercist.

For more info, check out the glossary in S&P

[bacon]

If you are under 65 years of age, there are better things to do than watching TV.

[Evil Eye Gouger]

I found that watching a movie or reading a book is wonderful for stretching.

If I just stretch, I'm way too tense. If I concentrate on a movie, I forget about the stretch, and my muscles relax much better.

I recommend it.

[wenispinkle]

i like to do my conditioning in the living room listening to music too. its nice to get out of the garage, which is where i usually train. i also try to watch tv sometimes, but its kind of hard to pay attention to whats on the tv when im doing, say tabatas.

[Ian Coe]

I would say tuck jumps and sets of burpees infront of the tv

That would work your cardio and conditioning

[JuLz]

How many burpees constitutes a "decent" cardio workout though?

Its easy to take massive breaks when your watching tv waiting to do more - so wouldn't you need to up the amount you do if your resting for ages?

[Ian Coe]

Depends what your looking for.

You could try the 100 in 10 minutes challange and progressively decrease the number of breaks you need until you can complete the whole thing.

Before I started lifting I used to do a lot of conditioning via press ups and crunches (and alternative days BW squats), and that used to be on the floor infront of the tv with a clock set to seconds so I knew when to start

[GSPFAN291]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye Gouger

1) Go to Strength and Power. Although it's mostly about weight lifting (and you DO need weights to get bigger and stronger), there's also a lot of info on bodyweight exercises.

2) To get stronger, you need to do things that are HARD, and pushups simply aren't hard. Here are some exercises you should base your bodyweight workout around:

Pullups: Pullups, Chinups, one-arm pullups (assisted and not), towel pullups, etc
Pushups: HANDSTAND pushups, one-arm pushups, legs-up pushups, pushups with somebody sitting on your shoulders, clap pushups...
Squats: PISTOLS!!!, burpees, thrusters (with dumbells), one-legged squats
Situps: Weighted situps, do them however you can. Sideways situps, full-contact twists, saxon side bends (with dumbells)

Additional exercises you will need:

For back: Inverted situps, planks, also, lifting your bed or something simulating deadlift. There is no REALLY good way to train your lower back without weights

For neck: Bridges

For grip: Get a gripper. But towel pullups and one-knuckle pullups will do wonders for your forearms

3) For cardio, try any exercise in Tabata style, or even do Tabata complexes (a set of squats, a set of pullups, a set of pushups, etc etc).

Tabata burpees are also touted as good exercist.

For more info, check out the glossary in S&P

What are towel and one knuckle pullups?