Greetings! Few questions regarding equipment and feasibility

Started by notquitesuperman, October 21, 2012 · 4 Replies · 2,039 Views

notquitesuperman

Hello everyone! I am new to pure bodyweight fitness; I've mostly worked with free-weights my whole life, also a P90X veteran.

I'm in pretty good shape: can do pull ups, push ups, handstand pushup with relative easy.

I briefly tried Convict Conditioning, but read many negative opinions and had second thoughts.

My question to you bodyweight aficionados about BtGB is regarding equipment and workout space, or rather, the lack of it.

I'm currently working with a pair of dumbbells(which may function as parallettes?) and a pull up bar mounted in a doorway at my height(6'2/yes, I've hit my head against it a few times- especially with a motorcycle helmet, but I digress)

I definitely plan on purchasing a set of quality rings once I have an idea of how to proceed.

Is a comprehensively well-balanced workout feasible in these conditions?

I'm considering purchasing a free-standing pull-up rack(TAPS or Trapeze). The ceiling height is about 8 feet, so would that even be worthwhile?

Any insights and comments are welcome.

Thanks a bunch! :D

Micawberian

Yes - those conditions are fine for gymnastics training! You just have to get a little creative sometimes. Use two chairs as a dipping station, use the underside of your car or bed for GHR's.

You might also consider just working out outside once you get the rings. you can hang them on a tree branch next to a park. The park will provide equipment for dips, GHR's, body levers, side levers, etc. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the pull up rack, because there is always free equipment around to train with. It just requires a bit more thinking and it can get a bit more tedious.

My recommendation is playground + tree branch when you get the rings. But for now, your conditions are just fine.

notquitesuperman

Thanks for the words of confidence. I will certainly improvise wherever I can.

My main qualm with going to a park is the lack of convenience. I'd like to be able to get a workout in before heading out to school/work. I'd gladly go to parks every so often to work on advanced techniques, but just can't do it regularly.

Attaching the rings to a tree branch somewhere outdoorsy sounds like a great idea, actually. For now, I'll have to find variations of the exercises to do at home - to not appear a fool in public. :|

Karri Kytömaa

Really, my gym has always been good amount of floor space with two chairs and pullup bar with rings hanging there. Add in some simple stuff like kettlebells, elastic bands, foam roller, maybe parallettes and you are good to go. Essentially I can train pretty much everything except russian dips or bulgarian dips/rows.

Of course for some ring workouts you need more room as you want to be able to hang straight or HS/shoulderstand on the rings straight.

Nic Branson

8 foot ceilings here also. Something's require creativity for and other are just not feasible but you can do almost everything in that space. The parts where you are severely limited are almost all advanced and you will learn how to adapt as you go.