Ask HN: Advice from people who strength train from home
Don&#x27;t underestimate the benefits you can get just from bodyweight exercises (no equipment necessary).  This is especially true for someone just starting out, but it is still useful for an experienced weightlifter.<p>Exercises<p>The squat is one of the best health and strength building exercises you can do.  Search the web for a breakdown of why it is so beneficial.  You can do a standing squat with no equipment - although I find a full-height mirror useful for noticing left&#x2F;right imbalances and other mechanical problems that should be corrected.  As you get stronger, and you can comfortably do a squat at least to the point where your femur is roughly parallel to the ground, you can then start holding something heavy in your hands to add weight to the exercise.  Exactly where and how you hold is really up to you - and you&#x27;ll find a natural position which helps you balance.  For a real challenge, and some variation, you can do a one leg squat (often with a chair or something behind you to stop on).  This one can be challenging.<p>Push-ups are great, and obviously require no equipment.  Search for tips on how to start, assuming you aren&#x27;t already capable of doing a single pushup with only your toes and your hands touching the ground.  Keep it simple in the beginning.<p>Yoga is good to mix into your routine, as it will help you stretch and develop better flexibility (and balance!).  You just need space and a mat, or a rug or other non-slippery but slightly soft surface.<p>The kettlebell swing is excellent.  It requires only a kettlebell and a little space around your body.  The kettlebell swing works multiple muscle groups at once, and it is also a cardio exercise.  If you want to build a nice posterior, this will get you far.  Search for &quot;Kettlebell Swing Tim Ferriss&quot; for a very clear guide.  Side note - some people show and do other exercises with kettlebells which are very dangerous if you get fatigued and make a mistake.  But this exercise is low risk to your body (although if you fling the kettlebell across the room, you&#x27;ll have another problem :) ).<p>Pull-ups are good, assuming you have a tall enough doorway that you can mount a pull-up bar.  There are other wall and ceiling mount versions, but in all cases you must be really sure you&#x27;re mounting it in a way that it won&#x27;t break while you&#x27;re hanging!<p>Don&#x27;t do sit-ups.  The aforementioned exercises will build a strong core.  In general, don&#x27;t waste your time on isolation exercises.<p>Lastly, learn how to stretch, and try to stretch after the workouts.  Current sports science says you shouldn&#x27;t do much stretching before - especially static stretches.  But regular stretching after workouts will help you get more strength building from the work you&#x27;ve already put in.<p>Diet<p>There&#x27;s so much info on this (much of it conflicting).  The general rule is to get a variety of vegetables, nuts, legumes, and other protein sources.  Grains are not really necessary, especially since most of what you can get is highly processed.  Protein shakes and other supplements are not necessary for 99% of people who exercise.  If your diet is reasonable, you&#x27;ll get adequate protein for the level of muscle repair that you need protein for.<p>Avoid sugar, even if you&#x27;re not working out :).<p>My Journey<p>I had to take some sports class in college, so I picked weightlifting.  It ended up being fun, and my teacher was good on teaching technique.  So I continued on and off.<p>Later I went to Mark Rippetoe&#x27;s gym, and he started training me.  You can search the web for him, and you&#x27;ll see he&#x27;s quite enthusiastic.<p>In my 40s I had a period where I prepared to compete at the amateur level.  But I also was working in finance at the time, and there was a lot of drinking and partying.  That&#x27;s not what you want if you want to get the most out of your workout effort.  Still, I got really strong for my weight class (although I only competed on paper since I didn&#x27;t reach the level I was satisfied with).<p>Random Observations<p>Once you significantly increase your strength and muscle mass, even if you quit for years you&#x27;ll find it easier to get back to your previous level.  It&#x27;s as if the muscles have a memory about how big&#x2F;strong they once were.  Since I usually only workout for 2-6 months, and then life or travel throws me out for months or years, I have restarted many times.  Each time I am shocked at how much strength and visible fitness I recover just after 3-4 visits at the bym.<p>After a couple of weeks of 2-3 workouts per week, you start to feel more energy.  It&#x27;s really just the beginning where it feels super hard and tiring.  Later, you can get exhausted but still feel energized.  And believe it or not, you can start to feel so energized and motivated that you want to workout hard every day.  You don&#x27;t want to do that, usually, as recovery time is as important as workout time.  So don&#x27;t overtrain, even if you&#x27;re having a great time.<p>Anyone can do this stuff, and feel strong and capable and more confident.  I&#x27;ve taught a few women and my kids.  And for the ladies, don&#x27;t worry that you will bulk up.  That will not happen unless you are training very seriously and with significant weight.<p>Good luck!  It&#x27;s worth the effort.