41/M. I want to be able to play with and lift grandkids one day. I’m looking for suggestions on dumbbell only functional/compound training

@bridgida Honestly just go on youtube and look up a few beginner yoga routines, thatll do fine for most of us. I also do the tried and true stretches that you probably did in HS after I warm up a bit.
 
@bridgida I made the change 4 years ago a 43. Most of it is diet. For me it is diet and hard cardio. Leaned way down and am far more mobile and have far more energy than 4 years ago. So I do things like stretching and body weight exercise. As well as a lot of running, stair climbing and other cardio. All things that increase mobility and endurance.
 
@bridgida Basically, I spent 2 years at a caloric deficit to lose the weight. In the first year I did just walking hiking, etc. The second year I added in more intense cardio and slowing increased the amount I was doing over the year as the weiught continued to come off. I do stair climbing, running, cycling, etc. I do some basic stretching exercises (lots on youtube), yoga session, etc. And then I will do things like planks and some basic work with kettle bells. But most of my exercise is hard cardio.

I have a longer post on my results here with more info if you are interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/comments/14b2g4f/results\_post\_47m\_4\_years\_doing\_168\_2\_years\_at/
 
@bridgida I really don't worry so much about the type of workout I do anymore. Hard cardio just means anything like that - running, stair climbing, cycling, etc. For me the order goes - Rest/Sleep, Diet, and exercise. Get the first two right and the third is so much easier.

I don't have a plan on any given day. One day might be a run and stair climb. Another might be a long bike ride. For me what matters is that I am doing whatever I am with intensity and purpose. That happens when you enjoy and look forward to what you do. For me this means keeping it fresh instead of a regimented program where I force myself to do something on a given day just because I am scheduled to do that. For example I don't go to a gym because I don't like working out inside. You on the other hand might love that and to have the regimented schedule. So all of this is to say you can take advice but in the end you have to do what works for you.
 
@bridgida Get some kettlebells. They are exactly what you are looking for. There are tons of videos out there to show you how to use them and build a program for longevity and strength.
 
@bridgida Patel Tsatsouline (I think I spelled that right) has several books that cover the fundamental of kettlebells. There are several YouTube channels that put out a ton of good content, Swing that Kettlebell (I might be a little off on that one) and Mark Wildman are two good resources in that space. Steve Cotter and Dan John are also two good names to check out. Kettlebells are fantastic for strength endurance and are a terrific “bang for your buck”, both in the workouts you do and the money you’ll spend.
 
@bridgida What you're looking for comes in three parts. Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, having the flexibility to do a variety of movement patterns, and being in good enough cardiovascular shape.

Training through a full range of motion in your movements will help with the 1 and 2. Working on mobility work to help improve your range of motion, while strengthening things, will help a lot. And finally, you're going to have to suck it up and do some dedicated cardio. I'm talking, 20-30 minutes a day of sustained cardio, where your heart rate is around 120-150 throughout.

If you have the time do do so, I would probably try to do 1-2 yoga workouts a week, 2-3 lifting sessions a week, and 2-3 cardio sessions per week.
 
@bridgida Do you have access to a gym? If so, you can do the basic beginner routine or gzclp for your lifting. If not, I'd suggest the recommended routine from r/bodyweightfitness

For cardio, C25k is designed to get people from the couch up to a 5k jog and can be done 2-3x a week.

For yoga, just follow along to one of the many free yoga videos on YouTube.
 
@bridgida No not really. Just started light (e.g. milk jugs) with low volume and worked my way up the weight and reps. Never really focused on it or pushed a lot of weight with it either; since it’s a good full-body stabilization exercise, I just added it as a general warm up routine to other main lifts
 
@bridgida This seems like a totally fine idea. As long as the weights are reasonably heavy they should hold you for a long time. Certainly enough to keep you strong enough to pick up grand kids and meet the physical activity guidelines.

If you want to keep progressing, you'll maybe want to get something like an open-ended trap bar and some plates, so you can load your lower body more, but you'll likely do just fine with everything you listed.

I believe the Beginner Prescription by Barbell Medicine can be adapted to use with just dumbbells. It would give you a great place to start.
 
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