Please help this newb construct a workout routine for the home or the gym page

[linuxguy0481]

I'm such a newb to fitness. I'm serious. I don't know much about fitness. I feel I should take a Fitness 101 class maybe even a Fitness 100. I just joined a regular gym close to my house. I would have loved to join a Crossfit Gym but it's out of my price range. Just two reasons I would have loved to join a Crossfit Gym: they push you. You can't half ass a workout when you are there and the second is they have a trainer there watching you to make sure you are doing proper form.

The gym I joined has weights and machines. I hope I made the right decision when I joined the gym. Not sure if I did yet. I also own a pull up/dip station here at home. That's the only workout equipment I own.It's confusing out there. You hear so much conflicting information when I read about fitness on the Internet. Some say you should use your own body to workout with, others say weights are better and bring faster results while others say a mixture of the two.

I'm leaning more towards a true workout system inspired by inmates in prison. They have to be super strong and have insane amounts of endurance to survive in prison. They also do so many reps of different workouts. I'm not sure about Convict Conditioning. Right now I'm doing SimpleFit and not sure about it. It works well. But I want to hear from others that know more about fitness than I do about SimpleFit. Should I keep going with SimpleFit and cancel my gym membership?

By the way my gym membership is a month to month deal. No contracts. I hope someone here can help me out. I know I'm all over the place. That goes to show how confused I am on what to do.

[workinprogress]

Convict Conditioning, and You are your own gym are 2 really good resources. If the gym you joined has a personal trainer, you might consider a few sessions if they aren't out of your price range. Also check out Al Kavadlo – We're Working Out! | We're Working Out!. Lots of good videos of Al and his brother doing body weight exercises.

[linuxguy0481]

I will have to check out Al Kavadlo workout routine. I'm a bit leery on Convict Conditioning. Unfortunately the personal trainers are out of my price range. The Crossfit Gym are cheaper than having a personal trainer at the gym I'm at.

[workinprogress]

No reason to be leery about convict conditioning. Al Kavadlo wrote the second book.

[linuxguy0481]

No reason to be leery about convict conditioning. Al Kavadlo wrote the second book.

Yes that is true. It would be nice to read about people's testimony about Convict Conditioning. It's very motivating to see or read about their results. I don't see that with Convict Conditioning.

[adamm]

Yes that is true. It would be nice to read about people's testimony about Convict Conditioning. It's very motivating to see or read about their results. I don't see that with Convict Conditioning.

For reviews and testimonies about Convict Conditioning, try amazon.

If you are at a gym, you might also want to try something invovling iron. I don't mean to dismiss the bodyweight stuff, as it is absolutely awesome, but what is the point of joining a gym if you are just going to do bodyweight stuff?

If you are at a gym, you might as well start with a barbell program as well as some bodyweight stuff (like SS with bodyweight stuff as assistance exercises) for a month, and then decide what is more fun for you. If you like the bodyweight stuff more, then you can most likely quit the gym. If you find the barbell stuff more fun, then you can focus on that.

Try both in the beginning. You'll be more successful in the long term, I think, if you have the most "fun" while working out.

Personally, I love lifting heavy weights, but bodyweight exercises make me sad. I do some of them anyway, because they rock, but I don't get the visceral pleasure out of them that I do with iron. Others, I'm sure, feel the exact opposite.

--Me

[jfreaksho]

Honestly, there are dozens of different programs out there for beginners that will give you a high rate of success if you follow the program. Pick one. It doesn't really matter which one. Stick with it for 6 months and reevaluate.

I like Convict Conditioning, I like Stronglifts. Those have worked well for me. I'm approaching a couple of the master steps in CC after about 18 months, but lagging far behind in others. I couldn't handle Stronglifts three times a week, so I dropped to twice, and still getting results.

Simplefit appeals to me (for its simplicity, of all things) and I'll probably read Starting Strength sometime soon. Body By Science was interesting as well.

All of these programs will lead you towards success, some have different definitions of success, some have different timeframes that are acceptable. As a beginner? Pick one. Stronglifts is a 3-month program to start and it is really easy. There's even an app for it. The more you do, the more you read about fitness, the more you are going to learn about the how and why a program has to be done a certain way, at which point you can start thinking about modifying a program to suit you. For now, just pick one and work hard.