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Comment by cheez | Hacker News Reader

I do ~12,000 steps/day and HIIT 3x/week but I have trouble incorporating weight lifting primarily because I can do the other two without needing a gym, which is very difficult (single dad, 2 kids, sole caretaker, 2 businesses). Any suggestions?

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Dumbbells especially adjustable ones do not take a lot of space and they are not only for the upper body muscles. Squats with dumbbells especially bolgarian ones is a good way to get muscles on legs and it is enough to do it once a week as long as weights are heavy enough so you cannot do more than 8-12 repetitions. But I would advise to pay an instructor for first few times to get the proper technique to avoid mistakes leading to injuries.

I like Matt Might’s article on least resistance weight training: http://matt.might.net/articles/hacking-strength/

A quick summary: No gym, lifting is at home 3 days per week of 30 minutes each day. First form a habit, any kind of exercise will do. Sounds like you’re there. Once lifting, keep it compact and accessible, start with just a bench and adjustable dumbbells. He also only does a few minutes at a time, not a half hour block. Eat some protein.

This is fantastic, and also the trend I seem to be going towards. Lazy as possible with the most results. Makes sense for techies, eh. Thanks for the post!

If you can join a gym with an indoor pool and sign your kids up for swimming lessons then that will give you at least 30 minutes twice a week to lift.

Resistance bands, a pull-up bar and a TRX go a long way for a fraction of the cost and space of a gym. Not as effective as free weights (in my personal experience) for putting on a lot of new muscle, but still quite effective.

+1 to resistance bands. This has been life changing for me. Minimal space, fraction of cost, and I get to exercise in my home office, watching something useful (currently going through fast.ai videos). Double win.

Here's the ones I use [1][2].

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006O0GDMO

[2] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NH55SAK/

Kettlebells are absolutely great. You can unlock a full range of movements and do a full body work out with just a couple kettlebells.

This sounds like the ticket. Will look into it, thanks.

You can go a long way with just bodyweight exercises. I like the progressions by "ElDiablo".

I'm familiar with bodyweight exercises/calesthenics. I just don't feel my strength improving, though the flexibility is through the roof. I would like to be conventionally "strong" before I die, at least once!

If you don't feel your strength improving, you need to try harder exercises. Can you already do a one-legged squat? A one-armed push-up? A handstand pushup? A one armed pull-up?

Does it sound right that I think I'd need to lose more weight before I could do those? I'm 6'3" and "lumbering" is the right way to describe me. I only ever see small, light people doing those.

As with all bodyweight exercises, having less bodyweight makes them easier :). I'm 6'2" myself and always jealous of the 50kg asian dudes that can do all kinds of crazy things easily. However, I can do one-legged squats and one armed pushups and I'm working (for quite some time now...) on a press-to-handstand.

do you have space in your home for a set of dumbbells? You can lift plenty of weight using just those. A barbell is better if you have room for some basic equipment (flat bench, squat stand/power rack, rubber mats for deadlifts if you have a solid floor).

Calisthenics.

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