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I use workout DVDS. I get a fantastic variety of exercise. YouTube also has free workouts. I like Jessica Smith and Margaret Richard a lot, but there are many more to choose from.
True. Workout dvds and Youtube are great to work out along with and receive reminders about form.
As for other posts stating that people used to get their exercise just from daily chores, that's true. But lifestyles are different now for millions of Americans, so they have to do formal exercise to stay healthy. But there are still laborers who work hard all day and go home to work there, still, like in the old days. Labor jobs aren't necessarily healthy, though, since that kind of work can break the body down and shorten life expectancies. So it does matter the kind of exercise a person gets.
You're in the Rochester area, correct? Where's that sober gym located? Interesting concept
It’s on Dewey Ave. a ways south of Ridge Rd. I forget the nearest cross street, but it’s in an old brick firehouse on the west side of Dewey. If you get to the Price Rite on Driving Park, you’re too far south.
I walk outside, do Pilates and Yoga, lift weights and have a stationary bike that I use sometimes. Sometimes I do QiGong, or squats. Yoga, Pilates and walking I do almost every day. It's not easy and I'm lazy and most of the time I don't want to do it but after I start...I feel better and better so I finish the session feeling great.
Probably the best workout I do is having my granddaughter for the day. and i'm plumb serious. LOL that precocious sassy bundle of 5 year old little cowgirl could run the tallow off a herd of Ice Age bison. I haven't been to a gym in closer to 30 years than not but I have put together workout regimens using what I have on hand. I practice with various weapons and the exercises to build strength and flexibility for that I now have down to a system.
Starting with just general loosening up which is how the most of folks start the day when they get out of bed kicks it off. Just a nice simple arms over the head strrrrreeetch with some slow steady torso movement side side up down. That plus some simple calisthenics over maybe ten minutes or so sees my outlook greatly improved.
Next I have an old (but solid) 45# composite recurve bow that I attack my chest shoulders and stomach muscles with. I put on my gloves and hold it at the ends then try to bend it holding it at 90 degrees to my body. I don't count repetitions. I just go till the burn is to much to take then I have some old cavas bags that work great as dumbbells. I weight them with ammunition. Good as any free weight dumbbells a gym would have. Ammo weighs up but I'm not going for bulk. Quite the opposite I want strength yes but I also want speed and flexibility.
For some clarity with all this I'm an amputee. Right leg foot and ankle. I'm just a shave over a year since that happened. When I was in the rehab center the PT gal who worked with me had no issue with me doing my own program, or at least as close as I could get. She was awesome. I was lucky to have her. I had been working on weight loss before I lost my leg as I was more than a tad overweight. I had gotten lazy.
This last year to date I've lost 70 pounds. Going for 25 more. That would put me in fighting trim. But there's one caveat with my weapons practice. Footwork. I haven't as yet tried to handle either of my swords. I like all my body parts where they are so the next workout I'm hitting pretty hard. It's a slomo sort of form practice concentrating on learning to move my prosthetic properly and learning how it feeds back information to my brain. I'm nowhere near being able to work with my sharp blades. I have bokken of course and an iaito which is actually a "real" sword. 65 MN spring steel so the weight is correct but an edge that wouldn't cut butter and a rounded point. My bokken (wooden practice swords)I have various weights for from light to caveman club.
To add insult to injury I wound up getting the rice rabies in February. That cost me two weeks and sucked me down like a leech. I got over it and was actually feeling good till I picked up another bug that one was GI. Not exactly the best way to lose weight. I'm still trying to get my muscles truly working again. Getting back into something resembling a functioning body. LOL I have plenty of items at my disposal here at home that target the areas I need to work on.
At the point I am a gym would just cost me money I don't have. It's hard to be patient and push through things but I feel myself gaining little by little every day. The prosthetic itself is a compact home gym. Right now I'm working on traversing uneven ground and going up and down hill. My real leg had a fused ankle so I'm a little ahead of the curve there. I reckon I do have a somewhat unique alternative to doing a gym. It's not that I think gyms are worthless or anything but for me there are unique specialized needs that I can tailor to at home.
Nutrition is one of those. I'm not diabetic which helps. I was in a pre diabetic zone but A1C and such has balanced out stable at a decent number but as the weight comes off it gets better and better. I eat lean meats and I don't cut out the red stuff. I like a lean cut anyway so London broil Sirloin tip, and my absolute favorite Top Sirloin. I'm paying by the pound. I want meat. Not fat and bone. I will have to fess up one thing though...There is no life without bacon.
Wow...I did babble on though didn't I just. Anyway thats how I run my personal exercise routine without a gym.
Going to a gym is expensive and time consuming. It only makes sense if you live in a huge polluted city that has no walking trails and you live in a small apartment, in my opinion.
I have always been active and find digging a hole quite satisfying, but if you don't have a yard, a Costco or Sams Club membership (if you are in the U.S.) is less than 100.00 a year. I go to Costco, park in the back lot, get a basket and fill it up with birdseed and white vinegar (2 gallon cartons) and then I walk the ailse and find the rest of the stuff I need. The bird seed is in 50 pound bags so you get your lifting. The cart is heavy so you work several muscle groups pushing it around the store. Once I pay for my items I push that basket to the car (the back lot in at the Costco I go to is uphill from the store). Load the car, take the cart back and I have had a 1 1/2 hour workout.
Most cities do have walking trails but not all of them have easy access. If you have a dog it does you and the dog good to take it for a walk.
I am sure there are all kinds of ways to not need to go to a gym. I am over 60 so maybe my perspective of going to a gym is old fashioned but really can you afford it, do you pay the fee everymonth and find time to go 2 or 3 times a week?
I just walk around the neighborhood a few times a week. I try to do a minimum of 2 miles.
I've been swimming for the last 6 months and I love it. I'm lucky to live 10 minutes away from an indoor Olympic size pool. I take advantage of adult lap swim. I do it 3-4 times a week. The beautiful thing is one can get a great workout in half an hour and then you are done for the day. I've got to know many of the regular swimmers there and most are in very good shape.
I love that it's low impact and doesn't take a long time to get a nice workout. Highly recommended!
I have a gym membership with Planet Fitness for $10 a month. It is my backup for when I can't exercise outdoors. I work out every other day. Mostly riding my bike, but I try to do a hike once a week too. Cycling and swimming are great exercises, but they are not weight-bearing exercises.
To maintain bone density as we age, we should all do some weight-bearing exercise too. That's part of the reason why I hike too. Lifting weights helps maintain bone density as well.
It’s on Dewey Ave. a ways south of Ridge Rd. I forget the nearest cross street, but it’s in an old brick firehouse on the west side of Dewey. If you get to the Price Rite on Driving Park, you’re too far south.
Thanks...don't think I've ever been to that part of town. I had a good friend who graduated from RIT in 2007, but since then, I really haven't spent much time in the Rochester area. I'm thinking I'll give that gym a visit later in the summer.
This is a great program. My father died of alcoholism. He never exercised in his life. He did a 28-day program and tried AA, but nothing worked. I wish he could've been exposed to a program like this.
Yeah, I really like the looks of what they offer, and if tone can be accurately conveyed via a website, it seems they're quite supportive. I'm an atheist so AA has never been a very appealing option, and secular support groups I've tried on one or two occasions (at the Center for Inquiry HQ, founded by deceased philosopher Paul Kurtz) have drawn average turnouts of three people.
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Anyway thats how I run my personal exercise routine without a gym.
