Quiet exercise in small spaces with no equipment.

I'm 6'2", and 27, and 214lbs. I live above people, have no equipment, a fairly small space, and want to do calorie burning exercise. It'll be most often in the middle of the night, and going outside, or to a gym isn't an option.

I can't do jumping exercises, or dancing or anything like that, because of the noise. I have probably a 2 meter by 2 meter floor space, and I can touch the ceiling with my arms bent.

What I need is quiet no-equipment exercise that burn a lot of calories. Crunches/push-ups I'm told don't burn all that many calories per time spent doing them.

Is there anything else I can do?
 
To burn alot of calories in an exercise, your looking at trying to get your heart rate as high as you possibly can. You are unlikely to be able to do this in a small space unless you buy a treadmill (which infact is not so small and may not fit). The best types of exercise you can do are ones which have you move around as much as possible. Running, skipping, rowing (with real water- those gym rowers are nothing compared to real rowing!), cycling... you are unlikely to be able to do these indoors, even if you did have alot of room.

I see no problem in going outside to run or cycle to work and back every day. This will do more for you anyway then gym machines in my opinion as gym machines tend to work you in a very mechanical way where as outside running/cycling/whatever you chose tends to work with more of a 3 dimensional type of working.

I would say though that doing cardio (cardio burns calories) outside in the middle of the night would not be in your best interest. Its likely to give you an adrenelin boost which may mean your going to find it hard to sleep or to sleep properly. Try if you can to work out when the sun is still shining, it will help you to maintain a decent sleeping pattern. Sleep is important as a lack of it will mean its hard to maintain any sort of diet plan (if you want to lose weight, what you eat matters more then exercise although exercise is important). The last thing you need is to ruin all your effots because its too hard to stick to normal portion sizes!

If you are set on doing some work inside, (though this wont burn many calories it will help you build or maintain muscle which will help you with your cardio- you can do more with more muscle) you could buy a few sets of dumbells, as long as your not stupid with them, you wont be throwing them around and there are multiple exercises you can do with them. Many are listed on the site.

If you can, get a heart rate monitor, Garmain if your wealthy, Polar if your not (there are others but these seem to get the most votes). Ignore any calories they say you burn, they are often wrong on any machine and look for the heart rate. Your aim is to keep your heart rate up when you exercise as this is what means your body is burning more calories.

And finally stretching- this can be done at home
 
To burn alot of calories in an exercise, your looking at trying to get your heart rate as high as you possibly can. You are unlikely to be able to do this in a small space unless you buy a treadmill (which infact is not so small and may not fit). The best types of exercise you can do are ones which have you move around as much as possible. Running, skipping, rowing (with real water- those gym rowers are nothing compared to real rowing!), cycling... you are unlikely to be able to do these indoors, even if you did have alot of room.

I see no problem in going outside to run or cycle to work and back every day. This will do more for you anyway then gym machines in my opinion as gym machines tend to work you in a very mechanical way where as outside running/cycling/whatever you chose tends to work with more of a 3 dimensional type of working.

I would say though that doing cardio (cardio burns calories) outside in the middle of the night would not be in your best interest. Its likely to give you an adrenelin boost which may mean your going to find it hard to sleep or to sleep properly. Try if you can to work out when the sun is still shining, it will help you to maintain a decent sleeping pattern. Sleep is important as a lack of it will mean its hard to maintain any sort of diet plan (if you want to lose weight, what you eat matters more then exercise although exercise is important). The last thing you need is to ruin all your effots because its too hard to stick to normal portion sizes!

If you are set on doing some work inside, (though this wont burn many calories it will help you build or maintain muscle which will help you with your cardio- you can do more with more muscle) you could buy a few sets of dumbells, as long as your not stupid with them, you wont be throwing them around and there are multiple exercises you can do with them. Many are listed on the site.

If you can, get a heart rate monitor, Garmain if your wealthy, Polar if your not (there are others but these seem to get the most votes). Ignore any calories they say you burn, they are often wrong on any machine and look for the heart rate. Your aim is to keep your heart rate up when you exercise as this is what means your body is burning more calories.

And finally stretching- this can be done at home

I'm sure this is all excellent advice for people who want to leave the house, buy equipment, and exercise in the day, however this is all the precise opposite of what I asked for. Thanks anyway though.
 
There's a limited number of bodyweight exercises you can do. Pushups, crunches, lunges, squats, calf raises, and yoga (off the top of my head).

If you can afford a doorframe pull-up bar, that'd help round things out for back and biceps. A crunch ball would give you a few options for plyometrics, and there's also isometric exercises you can research.

You might be limited in your choices but you're not screwed.
 
I know you don't want equipment ideas. However you can get an exercise bike for really cheap online usually for 20 or less. If I was you I would just get a cheap simple exercise bike. It takes up hardly any space and is the best cardio you can get for that cheap.
 
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i did the P90X routine, it was all right in my home, most of them required low impact excercises. the only jumping one was the plyometrics, and all you needed was resistance bands, a chin up bar and yourself.

It is really effing hard though. struggled to keep up with it. thats why they call in eXtreme.

works like a charm and just may be your ticket.

you can get pirated copies off of craigslist for like $25.
 
I do most of my training in my garage but could equally do it indoors. Don't believe the advice that you NEED to have a 'cardio machine' to burn calories. You can acheive great results using some metabolic conditioning workouts (varied movements and moving rapidly between exercises) that will raise your heart rate and help to build strength and strength endurance.

I have some ideas that you might be able to use at my blog:
 
There's a limited number of bodyweight exercises you can do. Pushups, crunches, lunges, squats, calf raises, and yoga (off the top of my head).

If you can afford a doorframe pull-up bar, that'd help round things out for back and biceps. A crunch ball would give you a few options for plyometrics, and there's also isometric exercises you can research.

You might be limited in your choices but you're not screwed.

Do the exercises you mention work for weight loss much though? I'd been told they don't burn many calories.
 
Jangorang:

Bodyweight/free weight metabolic conditioning circuits are invariably harder than traditional cardio as they require far greater muscle recruitment. Hence, if lots of muscles are working your heart will have to work harder to supply them with oxygen.

Try the following metabolic conditioning circuit and see how hard your heart has to work:

10 Pull Ups
20 Push Ups
30 Sit Ups
40 Squats

5 rounds in as fast a time as possible.
 
Jangorang:

Bodyweight/free weight metabolic conditioning circuits are invariably harder than traditional cardio as they require far greater muscle recruitment. Hence, if lots of muscles are working your heart will have to work harder to supply them with oxygen.

Try the following metabolic conditioning circuit and see how hard your heart has to work:

10 Pull Ups
20 Push Ups
30 Sit Ups
40 Squats

5 rounds in as fast a time as possible.

Yes but your not answering the question. The OP wants to lose weight, are the exercises you have mentioned aimed at weight loss? As far as I am aware you need to raise your heart rate considerably to make an exercise a weight loss exercise. I wouldn't have thought the exercises you have mentioned would get the heart rate to around 100bmp if you try very hard but a basic starting point for a heart rate during a calorie burning exercise would be around 120bpm and the higher the better in terms of calorie burn and weight loss.

Yes building muscle will help in the long run to aide calorie burn but its limited. Its never going to be as helpful as a cardio session.

OP, you are in a small space and cannot move around alot. For cardio exercise you need to move around alot. Its not really going to be possible unless you get in a machine (elliptical? they run pretty quietly though can take up space if you want a decent model or a stairmaster, also quiet but not as good as an elliptical in terms of calorie burn and not as variable in terms of workout variety). Is there really no way you can go outside for a run? its going to be very difficult if your housebound.
 
Yes but your not answering the question. The OP wants to lose weight, are the exercises you have mentioned aimed at weight loss? As far as I am aware you need to raise your heart rate considerably to make an exercise a weight loss exercise. I wouldn't have thought the exercises you have mentioned would get the heart rate to around 100bmp if you try very hard but a basic starting point for a heart rate during a calorie burning exercise would be around 120bpm and the higher the better in terms of calorie burn and weight loss.

Yes building muscle will help in the long run to aide calorie burn but its limited. Its never going to be as helpful as a cardio session.

OP, you are in a small space and cannot move around alot. For cardio exercise you need to move around alot. Its not really going to be possible unless you get in a machine (elliptical? they run pretty quietly though can take up space if you want a decent model or a stairmaster, also quiet but not as good as an elliptical in terms of calorie burn and not as variable in terms of workout variety). Is there really no way you can go outside for a run? its going to be very difficult if your housebound.

I'm sorry but you don't know what you're talking about. These exercises are more than sufficient to elevate the heart rate to an appropriate level - in fact, far more effectively than any of the 'hamster' machines you talk about. I know of professional athletes who can take their hr's to 180+ following these kind of metabolic conditioning circuits and they are the only kind of 'cardio' that I do.

You question whether the exercises are aimed at weight loss - your heart rate is directly related to the current work output of your body. And I guarantee that my suggestion will make you think twice - try it.

And elliptical trainers are not effective at 'burning calories' - it's just that the digital display tells you that.
 
I'm sorry but you don't know what you're talking about. These exercises are more than sufficient to elevate the heart rate to an appropriate level - in fact, far more effectively than any of the 'hamster' machines you talk about. I know of professional athletes who can take their hr's to 180+ following these kind of metabolic conditioning circuits and they are the only kind of 'cardio' that I do.

You question whether the exercises are aimed at weight loss - your heart rate is directly related to the current work output of your body. And I guarantee that my suggestion will make you think twice - try it.

And elliptical trainers are not effective at 'burning calories' - it's just that the digital display tells you that.

Elliptical machines are not effective at burning calories?

What?! That gets me my highest heart rate after the treadmill. High heart rate = high calorie burn, thats the impression I am under. So if a high heart rate (which I always get from the elliptical machine) does not = higher calorie burn, please explain to me 1. why not and 2. what does.

Now I am really confused! Can you please explain this- and also how I'd get a max heart rate from a sit up too- thanks being that the highest heart rate a sit up has ever gotten me was around 110 after an intensive session. 110 is nothing, I may as well stand on one leg to get that heart rate!
 
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. 110 is nothing, I may as well stand on one leg to get that heart rate!

tried it... not recomended. lol

it is odd that the elliptical is not a good piece of cardio equipment- i should probably remove them from my gym! USELESS! and after all of these years!

listen. ANYTHING you do to get excercise is going to burn calories. whether it be muscle training or cardio. It seems like you have a lot of excuses why you cant do this and you cant do that. CHUCK THEM OUT THE WINDOW!! get determined to schedule at LEAST one day to run outside, even if its only for 10 minutes.

the more muscle you have, the greater the calorie burning potential you have.

good luck
 
Elliptical machines are not effective at burning calories?

What?! That gets me my highest heart rate after the treadmill. High heart rate = high calorie burn, thats the impression I am under. So if a high heart rate (which I always get from the elliptical machine) does not = higher calorie burn, please explain to me 1. why not and 2. what does.

Now I am really confused! Can you please explain this- and also how I'd get a max heart rate from a sit up too- thanks being that the highest heart rate a sit up has ever gotten me was around 110 after an intensive session. 110 is nothing, I may as well stand on one leg to get that heart rate!

High heart rate and calorie expenditure do not have a linear relationship - for example, my friend has a resting heart rate of around 90 (not good). He therefore should be burning far more calories than me at rest but that isn't the case. I would argue that calorie expenditure is also directly related to the recruitment of muscle fibres in a particular exercise that dictates how many calories are 'burnt'.

Thus, metabolic conditioning circuits (like the one I mentioned) can be very effective as 'cardio' workouts as you are recruiting lots of muscle fibres and demanding a pulmonary response to compensate for that.

I think this thread has gone off topic though - the original question asked whether it was possible to burn lots of calories at home with no equipment and YES, IT IS.

I don't like ellipticals for the following reasons:

1. The calorie readings on them are, at best, guesses.
2. Biomechanically, they produce a movement that is unnatural in humans.
3. Impact, even low/moderate, is important in exercise. Lack of impact contributes to all manner of injuries and osteoporosis.
 
High heart rate and calorie expenditure do not have a linear relationship - for example, my friend has a resting heart rate of around 90 (not good). He therefore should be burning far more calories than me at rest but that isn't the case. I would argue that calorie expenditure is also directly related to the recruitment of muscle fibres in a particular exercise that dictates how many calories are 'burnt'.

Thus, metabolic conditioning circuits (like the one I mentioned) can be very effective as 'cardio' workouts as you are recruiting lots of muscle fibres and demanding a pulmonary response to compensate for that.

I think this thread has gone off topic though - the original question asked whether it was possible to burn lots of calories at home with no equipment and YES, IT IS.

I don't like ellipticals for the following reasons:

1. The calorie readings on them are, at best, guesses.
2. Biomechanically, they produce a movement that is unnatural in humans.
3. Impact, even low/moderate, is important in exercise. Lack of impact contributes to all manner of injuries and osteoporosis.

Point taken re: muscle helps to burn calories but you have to take time to build that muscle, its not going to be burning an awful lot right away and it could take a while whilst you bulk up the muscle to lose the fat. I assumed the OP wanted fairly fast results which is why I suggested cardio. Muscle building stuff goes without saying but can often be created as a direct result of cardio under resistance (eg running up hill, spinning under high resistance or ...the elliptical machine with high intensity).

See, where I stand on the Elliptical (cross trainer) machines is that they do get me a high heart rate- I don't buy the calorie readings on ANY machine- not even my heart rate monitor though would expect its a more consistant result (even if they all do exaggerate.) Hence I watch my heart rate, not my calorie burn. I aim for machines which get my heart rate as high as I can. This used to include running but I have shin problems which I wont rest (know I should but can't let myself! It would take months to repair, I tried a fortnight and it made no difference). I have problems therefore with any high impact exercise. I can run up hills and its just about OK but running flat causes me too much pain. Hence the reason the elliptical machine is very useful. Its exactly because its no/low impact. Agree elliptical machines are not helpful in aiding a natural movement, I don't use only the machine for my workouts, I use about 10 different machines and occasionally run outside (-although I pay for it for about a fortnight after!). Any machine used by itself wouldn't be advised I think. Not just the elliptical machine. (They are great for HIIT though!)

Look, I have been told I have osteoperosis of the spine. (this is partly genetic and partly due to an eating disorder I had 10 years ago which never fully recovered because I cut out dairy because I am intollerant-doctor checked.)
I have been told my legs are fine as a result of the exercise I do which is no/low impact and 80% of the time based on my legs doing all the work.

I was told its more of a 'use-it-or-lose-it' thing when it came to osteoperosis and exercise, not so much about impact which can even cause pain and fractures if you do have osteoperosis (google horse riding and osteoperosis!)

Anyway, back to the topic!

I was thinking today that your replies reminded me of a personal trainer I once met. He was all for muscle work and dead against any cardio what so ever claiming cardio was pointless.

Now I am not saying you are from the same school of thought as he is, but its safe to say there are different schools of thought, different opinions and different ways of doing things perhaps? maybe a good idea is for the OP to do a little of everything and see what works. It would seem if there are different proven ways to do things that each would suit a different person and its about finding what works for that person.
 
I'm certainly not against cardio - I just think the industry has it wrong. There are plenty of ways to get your heart rate high, you don't need to use a traditional cardio activity. I have better cardio than most of the people that spend hours per week on cardio machines.

The workout I suggested isn't going to build or bulk up muscle - it is designed to burn calories there and then and produce a moderate gain in strength over time.

I think the attitude (not yours, but the fitness industry) that things like the elliptical and bike are for burning calories and resistance training is for building muscle that will eventually help you to raise your metabolism has been over simplified. A person can burn plenty of calories with a metabolic conditioning session.

We're still not on topic....
 
I don't like ellipticals for the following reasons:

1. The calorie readings on them are, at best, guesses.
2. Biomechanically, they produce a movement that is unnatural in humans.
3. Impact, even low/moderate, is important in exercise. Lack of impact contributes to all manner of injuries and osteoporosis.

1. agreed, the same goes for treadmills, bikes, and the heart rate watches and chestbands because they are calculated for the average person, NOT the athlete OR the couch potato.
2. a movement that is unnatural for humans? what do you think working out is? If ANY workout was a natural movement for humans we wouldn't need to work out because we would all "naturally" be fit
3. Is Impact good for those that have knee injuries or even shin splints? since we dont "elliptical" ourselves around the grocery store, we all get impact.

Its okay to NOT LIKE ellipticals, heck I dont like ellipticals. But dont say that they are not good cardio and ineffective at burning calories. that is lying and not why were here.

I googled(well binged) "at home fat burning" and found this site. the excercises and advice is good. it may be just what you are looking for.


agreed on this forum going the wrong way. lets help this guy get fit!
 
1. agreed, the same goes for treadmills, bikes, and the heart rate watches and chestbands because they are calculated for the average person, NOT the athlete OR the couch potato.
2. a movement that is unnatural for humans? what do you think working out is? If ANY workout was a natural movement for humans we wouldn't need to work out because we would all "naturally" be fit
3. Is Impact good for those that have knee injuries or even shin splints? since we dont "elliptical" ourselves around the grocery store, we all get impact.

Its okay to NOT LIKE ellipticals, heck I dont like ellipticals. But dont say that they are not good cardio and ineffective at burning calories. that is lying and not why were here.

I googled(well binged) "at home fat burning" and found this site. the excercises and advice is good. it may be just what you are looking for.


agreed on this forum going the wrong way. lets help this guy get fit!

If your exercise programme includes movements that have no parallel in life then I'd always question them. A training programme should include exercises to improve all of the major movement patterns and since the elliptical doesn't really fit into a movement pattern I don't recommend it.

Your point about being naturally fit is mute because man, by modern definition, is lazy. Therefore we train to counteract the absence of a fully hunter gatherer lifestyle. We also train to increase performance for particular reasons.

People have injuries for a variety of reasons and inability to cope woth excessive impact is one of those. Therefore I feel it is important to consider this.

I liked your link though, it had some good stuff in it.

Oh, and I don't really appreciate being called a liar. My opinion regarding ellipticals comes from many years of coaching others and forming an opinion based on that. I find them "ineffective" at burning calories and a poor cardio option based on the fact that there are far better things out there. I should be allowed to express my opinion.

If you have some evidence comparing the effectiveness of the elliptical to other forms of cardio and met con I'd gladly read through it.

Matt
 
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