that’s a pity - it transformed my ankle problems and shin pains.
Busted toe atm, so I cant use the exercise bike - I can barely put any weight on it…
Shame,
Doing that and buying decent running shoes got rid of my shin pain.
Yea its a pain but it looks like my beep test may be sooner than expected so i need to do what i can with what i have
I would add a bit more weight and drop the smaller muscle exercises if you can’t be arsed to keep changing. The rows will work your biceps.
I also like to get inspiration from some old time lifter routines.
This website is pretty amazing for it:
Something like Military Press, Row and Shrug would do upper body and Squat and Romanian Deadlift would do lower body for a quick easy routine.
Though @crimsondonkey will likely give something far more comprehensive driving as he deals in this stuff.
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If you chase 3 rabbits…
Seriously though I’d like to explore more what you mean by fitness.
Strength and weight loss by themselves aren’t mutually inclusive so it’s helpful to clarify your goals in either camp. Both are fine as goals just maybe schedule them in different phases.
Ok, so by weight loss i mean lose the belly, maybe tone up would be a better description, which would also cover the strength building?
Generally i just need to get a bit fitter, That is improving with the cycling, i imagine some sort of supplementary leg strength exercise may help.
Ultimately my goal is to just be more readily active, less of the aches and pains due to inactivity and gain some energy again.
Also i am in the process of special constable application, all the above will help with that role.
I dont have barbells unfortunately.
Try to find some resistance bands, you can do a full body workout with them.
I have been using mine for squats, deadlifts and overhead pressing, you name it.
The red grips I’ve fitted make them feel more bar like
I have some bands, well 2, but they are not loops.
Where did you get the grips?
You can do a variation of the exercises with dumbbells or those bands. I just meant I’d focus on the compound exercises, especially if you can’t be bothered to change the weight.
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Amazon / ebay they’re “barbell grips”
They’re main purpose is to make barbells easier to grip. But also serve to stop bands cutting into your hands once the band is pushed through the slot.
(I already had them - but never used for their intended purpose)
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Apols for long post in advance!
This isn’t particularly onerous but is worth preparing for, particularly the shuttle runs if you’re not as practiced and have been experiencing shin pain. As previously mentioned on this I would suggest -
- Get gait analysis and the right running shoes for you (once things get back to normal
- Continue building up calf strength through raises and stretches
- Get out walking 3-5 miles at a time to build the platform of endurance - this will transfer to running
This concerns me as if its the weak link in the chain then everyone else you try to do will be constrained. Is it an injury or something else?
Absolutely no clinical / sports science evidence to support any rehab/ performance benefit from this whatsoever, its entirely a placebo
Which will only come from being in a slight daily calorific deficit - not much because you’re trying to exercise too but my advice is always that you cannot in the long term out train your diet - ie lots of people try to exercise their belly off but that doesn’t deal with the root cause - your diet not matching your overall activity levels.
Lets scope this out a bit more by trying to quantify how much you need to lose - what’s your sense? How many inches do you think you need to lose off your belly? If you PM me with some details of your typical food intake etc I can make some suggestions that won’t leave you feeling hungry / deprived because that only increases stress which isn’t great for weight loss.
Predictably I’m going to say yoga 
By that I mean its up to you but 10 mins of a stretching and mobilising routine every morning will do wonders - believe me its the one thing I advice almost everyone to do whether sedentary or not and it always has a positive benefit and again, transfer to other exercise etc. I’ve posted some videos above if you look at my posts in this thread but if there are specific areas then I can tailor that to how much time you have. Even 5 mins is a good investment.
You can get a decent workout using 2x 5kg dumbells. It’s more focused on endurance and cardio but you’ll get some muscle and tendon benefits too.
This is not strength training! If you want that then you will need a modified approach and access to more weight.
This is what I would recommend and in this order -
Warm up and mobilise your hips, ankles and shoulders especially (ask if you want examples)
- Squats
Hold the two dumbbells either on your shoulders or just slightly in front of your chest. Legs shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly out. Now ‘sit’ keeping your back straight until your hip crease is below your knees. Let your knees move forward and focus on slightly pushing them out. I’m worried about your weak ankle so let me know how this feels.
Pause at the bottom, then drive your heels into the floor and lift your chest up - squeeze your thighs hard at the top and that’s one rep.
If you want to add load to squats at home then wear a loaded back-pack on your front or back as well as your DBs
(see sets/ reps advice at the bottom)
-
Bent over row
Use both dumbells to save time. Keep your torso parallel to the floor. As you initiate the movement, pull your shoulder blades back and pinched together whilst pulling your elbows up and slightly behind your body - squeeze your back in this position for a second and then slowly lower down letting your arms fully extend at the bottom. -
Bench press
Do you have a bench or doing this off the floor?
Press ups would be a good alternative and offer greater loading but there’s a technique to directing the stimulus to your chest so for now I’ll assume you have a bench to press from.
On the bench pull your shoulders back (pinch shoulder blades together) and towards your feet (ie don’t let your shoulders rise up towards your head). Push your chest upwards. Start with DBs directly above your sternum and slowly lower until you can feel a stretch in your chest - hold for a second and then press the DBs upward and inward to centre line of your body. At the top try to get a squeeze from your chest by pushing your hands together. -
Seated DB shoulder press
To make this more difficult I recommend sitting on the floor with your legs straight out in front. Hold the DBs in front of your clavicle slightly wider than your shoulders. Press the DBs up and squeeze your shoulders at the top before lowering slowly. -
Arms - if you must!
So as well as DB curls, remembering to fully extend at the bottom, don’t swing or lean back, and squeeze hard at the top, I would add some kind of tricep extension, say standing where you have the DBs in overhead position and with your palms facing each other lower the DBs down towards your shoulders with your elbows facing up - focus on keeping your elbows still and slightly pushed back a bit to accentuate the stretch at the bottom. Squeeze hard at the top!
I’ve left weighted calf raises off assuming that you’re going to be doing the single leg balance calf raises most days and separate to the DB workout.
Sets and reps
You can do 10 up to 20 reps in a single set. Never push for failure and stop the set if your form breaks down.
Each week add a set if you reach your rep target. Rest about 2 mins between sets and over time bring that down to 30 seconds.
When it gets too easy to do 4 sets of 20 for the compounds (ie the exercises above that aren’t arms) then add weight to your DBs (so you’re only fiddling with them once) or come back and I’ll make suggestions to make them harder!
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Wow, Thanks for all that!!
I have been practising the shuttle run once a week for the last 3 weeks, its mostly going OK though i can feel there is room to improve.
Gait analysis, i’ll be on to that as soon as the shop opens.
I’m doing the single calf raises a couple of time a day, stretches too.
I was walking a lot, obviously curtailed a bit at the moment.
Through google and some poking and prodding i think the shin issue is anterior, the pain location fits what i have looked at. It comes on very quickly when i run. I do heel strike, trying to work past this but finding it difficult.
No injury that i remember, i get some pain on the outside and sometimes it feels ready to collapse. I do have quits a pronounced toe out on that leg.
I reckon 4 to 6 inches, i could do with getting ride of 3/4 stone
Will do.
I get a fair bit of shoulder and leg stiffness, tho i have lost a lot of mobility in general (all my own fault).
Yes please, all new to me to be honest.
Floor unfortunately. I do struggle with push ups, always have done.
Thanks for all the advice, really do appreciate it. How many times a week should i be doing the sets/reps?
Has anyone tried to order a kettlebell recently? I’m after a heavier weight now but they are sold out everywhere or insane prices. Going to have to jerryrig some rope to tie two together for the foreseeable.
Can you jog lightly on the spot trying to be light footed and land on the balls of your feet (often easier barefoot)?
Also losing weight for anyone with ankle weakness is always a good idea.
Studies show that typically to remove each inch off your waist it takes a reduction of about 4-8 pounds of bodyweight which at 6 inches would be 24 -36 pounds, so in line with your estimate. All I would add is that a sustainable weight loss tends to be about 2 pounds per week so take your time, consistency is better than one or two heroic weeks that can’t be maintained.
That’s pretty standard nowadays - the 10-15 yoga routine I posted last week or so will sort your hips, legs, back and shoulders.
I’ll post something separate when I can find decent videos exampling the movements.
Is that because you experience pain or because you find the initial difficulty level off putting?
I’d do this 3x per week, say Mon/ Weds/ Thurs.
Once you’ve got the movements grooved in and you’re recovering well between workouts, and your rest time between sets is also down, and each set you think at 20 reps you’ve still got reps in the tank quite easy, then you could easily do this workout 5 days a week.
Its the same with all fitness gear at the moment with places selling out or shutting up shop due to the virus. What size are you looking for and I’ll keep an eye out.
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Just done a few squats in the living room using a 10 year old in a fireman’s lift. I didn’t drop her. 
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20kg and 24kg
Yes, though i wouldnt describe it as lightly.
Not pain, just difficulty, Ive never been very strong in the arms/upper body.
Thanks for all the advice, i’ll start on the weight routine tonight. Ive been doing the weights every other night with cycle/run in every other non weight night, So that fits nicely with your suggestion.
I’ll also give the yoga a bash.
So one thought is to think about a 500m training run -
- Walk briskly 100m
- Jog slowly, focusing on landing mid/foot - balls of feet for 100m
- Walk briskly 100m
og slowly, focusing on landing mid/foot - balls of feet for 100m - Walk briskly 100m
Focusing on trying to be light on your feet will do two things - get the rest of your body involved in trying to manage the activity, egs glutes and core etc; and most importantly lower the proportion of the load of your bodyweight thumping through your ankles/ shins/ calves/ knees as they try to act as shock absorbers!
In which case then the DB press will help but also try press ups off your knees as that makes the loading easier. Keep your elbows tucked in and as you press imagine your hands trying to push the floor towards each other.
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