Build muscle without weights?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by 2ku, Sep 2, 2010.

  1. 2ku

    2ku Valued Member

    Hey all, I'm going to assume this is a pretty newbie question so I've put it here :)

    My question is, to increase muscle mass, do you need to lift weights? Or can you build muscle just by doing things like pushups, squats, crunches, etc?

    I'm not trying to become an Arnold Schwarzenegger or something, but just a little increase. Especially the pectorals.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :cool:
     
  2. Gripfighter

    Gripfighter Sub Seeker

    you can lift weights and not turn into some sort of hulk so yeah I would it helps, twice a week or so is good if your looking for fitness as opposed to body building. my other piece of advice would be to do cardio training on another day and not to do weights the same days as your at actual martial arts training.
     
  3. bmcgonag

    bmcgonag Valued Member

    General rules of thumb to follow. To increase strength without building much mass (mass and strength have some coincidence, but not a 1:1 by any means)
    - lift medium weight with medium repetition for 4 to 5 sets.
    - ex: Bench as much as you can and do 12 - 16 repetitions (up/down) 4 to 5 times with about a minute in between sets to rest / stretch the muscles.

    Follow a similar rep / set pattern for all muscle groups.

    To increase endurance and get lean do high reps at lower weight.
    - ex: 30 - 35 repetitions of weight that makes you feel fatigued for 5 - 6 sets with a minute between to rest / stretch muscles.

    To build muscle (not necessarily increase strength optimally, though strength will increase), do low reps at high weight.
    - ex: 5 - 6 repetitions of as much weight as you can and often needing a small assist on the last repetition of the last couple of sets. (WARNING: all weight lifting activity should be done with an attentive partner capable of saving your a** if needed).

    Hope that helps...working out which days to work what will be very much up to your body type and levels of fatigue.

    I do Monday Upper Body, Tuesday Lower Body, weds Thurs rest, Friday Upper Body and Lower Body, Sat Sun Rest.

    I know a body builder who does about 6 - 8 exercises per body part and has divided his workout into a couple of body parts a day working each one only 1 day per week.

    Hope it helps, and have fun with it.
     
  4. AndrewTheAndroid

    AndrewTheAndroid A hero for fun.

    Usually just starting a new exercise will cause a small increase in size in first month or two. But if you want more than that, you need to workout each group of muscles about 3 times a week, 3 sets/8-10 reps at 80-90% of your 1MR. You also need to watch your diet. I can't stress how important diet is.

    You also have to keep in mind that it takes years to get into Arnie shape. A lot of people seem to think that all you have to do is lift some weights and you put on that mass almost by accident. It's not true. It takes a lot of dedication and some genetic luck to get really big.

    So if all you want to do is add a little bit of size then that won't be much of a problem.

    But to get back to the basic question, if you want to add some significant size then yes you will have to use weights and you will have to diet as well.
     
  5. gcollin

    gcollin Banned Banned

    Tension works wonders.
     
  6. Kuma

    Kuma Lurking about

    You don't necessarily need weights but using weights is definitely the most efficient way of adding muscle mass.

    And to the OP - Much of this is incorrect, so please don't give it too much attention.

    bmcgonag - Who taught you this? Because it's woefully inaccurate.
     
  7. Knight_Errant

    Knight_Errant Banned Banned

    it's possible, but you have to use HARD exercises, basically. If 3*20 bodyweight squats is hard for you, then do it and power to your elbow, but you want to be doing a ton of pullups. And jumping, did I mention jumping? Nothing like a set of broad jumps to liven up a workout. At this point, I yabber crossfit until somebody hits me on the head with a hammer and tells me to shut up. My workouts have a basic, almost military flavour. If I can't do an exercise, I sub it with one I can. It's usually some form of pushup.
     
  8. illegalusername

    illegalusername Second Angriest Mapper

    How big are you now by the way? You might not be eating enough.

    I'm a twig myself and i've only lately started to put on weight. Turns out that protein doesn't just appear from thin air :eek:
     
  9. Patrick Smith

    Patrick Smith Tustom Cuser Uitle

    You can develop uncanny strength by using either iron weights, your body weight, or both! They're both just tools for you to use to achieve your goals. You can get big and incredibly strong by using either of the tools. Compare gymnasts with power lifters.

    From what I've read, how big you get is largely dependent on how you eat. If you lift a lot (w/body weight or iron) and you eat a lot of good, whole food, you'll get bigger and stronger.

    I suggest you read 'Never Gymless' by Ross Enamiat (rosstraining.com) if you are interested in using body weight exercises for your combat training. Ross is an incredible guy and his workouts really hit home!
     
  10. Bigmikey

    Bigmikey Internet Pacifist.

    To answer the question, no, you don't need weights to build a little mass. Simply doing pushups to failure if you've not done them regularly can bring about muscular development, as can any bodyweight exercise provided you can place enough load/stress on the muscle to cause breakdown.

    Thats why many move to weight training. Eventually you'll find yourself in the position of needing to do 4 sets of 8 million pushups in order to properly challenge yourself.

    For the moment, simply focus on pushups and dips. I used to do dips at the part of my kitchen counter where it turned and formed an inside corner. At first I would leave my feet on the floor to support me but after I got strong enough I just hung there and cranked out my dips. Between pushups and dips you should have plenty of tools to change your physique.
     
  11. Patrick Smith

    Patrick Smith Tustom Cuser Uitle

    Hi, BigMikey.

    There are many, many more exercises then dips and push ups available to a body weight strength trainer. Advanced push up and dip variations could include one arm push ups, one arm push ups with hand near waist, regular push ups with hands near waist, explosive push ups, explosive one arm push ups, push ups on fist, one arm push ups on fist, push ups with hands elevated, push ups with hands elevated and placed near waist, push ups with feet elevated, push ups with one foot elevated and the opposite knee at your side, dive bomber push ups, hand stand push ups, one arm hand stand push up, isometric variations, and others.

    Advanced pulling exercises could include rope climbing, rope climbing with one arm, one arm chin ups, towel pull ups/chin ups, rope pull ups/chin ups, pull ups with iso-hold at top, rafter pull ups, and others.

    If a guy can pump out 15-20 one arm push ups, one arm chin ups, or one arm rope climb, he's pretty dang strong!

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Bigmikey

    Bigmikey Internet Pacifist.

    Absoutely agree there are many more things he could do, including the list of pushup variations you mentioned, but I've never been one to drown a beginner under too much information. He, as a beginner, can get a wealth of benefit just out of countertop dips and traditional pushups which he can also do right there in his kitchen if he wants to.

    Climbing a rope is an AWESOME workout... IF you have someplace to hang it. You can also do chins from tree branches, plyometrics off of picnic benches, you can do monkey bars for speed at a local park... you can train outside and do so much, but thats not what he asked. He asked if he can build muscle without weights. I simply wanted to give him an example of how that could be possible. If he comes back and asks for specifics well then I'll fire up the old fingers and get to specifyin, lol :D
     
  13. 6footgeek

    6footgeek Meow

    Like what Kuma san said. You don't nessesarily need weights to build muscle and strength. Personally i like to tire myself out with pushups and squats and the like and then go for weights to work out specific muscle groups.

    Pushups are one of the best exersises you can do to help with your punch strength. And you don't really need excessive wight use unless you're planning on going in competitive martial arts or wanna be a body builder.
     
  14. 2ku

    2ku Valued Member

    Well I am described by basically everyone as "skinny" if that tells you anything. My ex girlfriends have said I have nice arms, though some have said pecs could use some work.

    As far as eating goes, I am a vegetarian (though evaluating that decision), but I have not begun training yet so I am not sure if my protein intake is up to spec. I'll know once I start training, though.

    Thanks for the advice, all! :)
     
  15. Gripfighter

    Gripfighter Sub Seeker

    why exactly are you weary of lifting weights, Im only 9 stone probably skinnier than you but since iv started martial arts and training in general iv become pretty built and can regularly overpower people up to 11 stone. my point is you can do weights and not end up looking like a body builder they help so why make things harder on yourself by not doing them.
     
  16. 2ku

    2ku Valued Member

    Weary is the wrong word. The original question was simply if it was possible. The bit about becoming a "body builder" was not to say I don't want to. It was to specify that I am not asking "can I become a 'body builder' without lifting weights?" (probably impossible) but rather "can you increase muscle mass at all without lifting weights?" Or in other words, I was planning on doing pushups and other exercises anyway, and was curious if I should expect to see muscle mass increase.

    As for why I am looking to do so without weights:
    1. Need to buy weights, or get a gym membership
    2. Need to be where weights are to train
    3. Nowhere to put weights anyway in my small apartment even if I did buy them.

    Hopefully that clears it up! :)
     
  17. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

  18. Gripfighter

    Gripfighter Sub Seeker

    well yeah that's kind of the point of doing them I'm just saying there's no rule that says you cant do those and weights
     
  19. Heavenly Glory

    Heavenly Glory Valued Member

    You don't actually need to spend a lot of money. Press ups, dips & get yourself one of these :

    UK - [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Total-Upper-Body-Workout/dp/B002GHBRWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1283531233&sr=1-1"]JML Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure[/ame]

    US - [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Gym-Total-Upper-Workout/dp/B001EJMS6K"]Amazon.com: Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

    I got one a little while back, as well as ones for couple for my friends and one for my JKD instructor. They did pay me - wasn't giving them away.

    But everyone agrees, they're great bits of kit. Pressups, dips, situps and different types of pull ups/chin ups. Very sturdy, no creaking from the kit itself or from the doorframe.
     
  20. Gripfighter

    Gripfighter Sub Seeker

    haha god yes i have something similar it should be mandatory to have something like this attached to at least one door in every house, one of the best things ever given to me
     

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