Hi! I posted in r/weightloss and r/thelastfifteen asking for advice on my body and was redirected here.
I was trying to lose weight by CICO but my body is pretty stubborn and if there’s any progress it seems unnoticeable, I think it’s time to get into fitness
I was wondering if it’s possible to achieve a visual difference with only bodyweight exercise, I do have access to a gym but I find the machines and programs overwhelming.
I’m 5,5” and 130 pounds, right in the middle of a healthy BMI (21.6) but as you can see my fat distribution is not exactly the aesthetic I would like lol. And to be fair I’m a bit bloated in the pic but there’s not much difference to when I’m not.
Edit 2: I just want to say thank you to everyone for your comments! I wasn’t expecting much feedback but everyone is so helpful and encouraging here
@tianguis What will be easier for you, maintaining a strict diet and doing bodyweight exercises regularly, or a looser diet and hitting the gym regularly?
Weightlifting is honestly just more efficient in terms of aesthetics. There's a reason body builders (even lean ones) are going to the gym instead of yoga studios. Also the caloric deficit created by lifting is often comparable to the amount of cardio most people do (unless you are say, swimming a ton).
It's okay to be overwhelmed at the gym the first few times! I've been going years and I'm still learning. Pick a few exercises to do that you enjoy, do them well, and then do bodyweight exercises from there if you like.
In short, do whatever you think you'll adhere best to, as that's the most important factor, for both diet and exercise.
@tianguis Have you tried changing your diet stuff like cutting out dairy? I'm not a doctor but it seems like it's mostly bloat (concentration of weight gain in mostly just the abdomen).
@tianguis I have been doing mostly body weight training for the past 5ish months. It's all my physical therapy exercises, which are pretty much legs/butt/core. I also walk uphill on my treadmill 3xweek and do yoga (Yoga with Adriene on YT) once/week. My body has MAJORLY changed even though I've remained the same weight, actually, I've put on a few pounds, if I'm being honest. I think it basically ended up being a dirty bulk and I'm not working to get back down to a lower weight, but yeah. Anyway - yes, it worked for me. I'm super consistent on my workouts and my body composition has definitely changed. I'm much stronger and my tummy is less flabby (but there's defo still a layer of fat there). I was coming from a place where I was basically sedentary. I'm a LOT more active now and so much stronger. I think as long as what you're doing feels challenging, and you are consistent in your efforts, you will see some sort of improvement.
@tianguis When I first started working out, I found free Body Rock videos on YouTube and did their beginner and intermediate bootcamps a few times. Then I moved onto Kayla Itsine's BBG and repeated that for a few years. Bodyboss is ok too. You definitely notice changes in body comp, but it takes A WHILE. Like months. So take progress pics occasionally, but focus on what you can do and how fast you can do it or how many reps you can do. That's a better measure of success when you're doing HIIT workouts. I'm only now starting to go to the gym after like 4 years of body weight/light weight HIIT stuff.
@tianguis Some are saying that bodyweight is a good start for a beginner, but personally I found lifting (with dumbbells) actually helped me with the bodyweight stuff! For example while you can progress on push-ups using incline push-ups, in the beginning I struggled to even do them on the third step. I still can’t do full ones, but after dumbbell shoulder and triceps exercises I can at least do the incline ones. For me the bodyweight progression still involved leaps that were a bit too large. Vs. the smaller progression from say 12.5 to 15 pound dumbbell on tricep extensions.
@dawn16 That a fair point! I still can’t do a proper push up, so I try to do the one that from the knees and can make a few reps of those. The dumbbell suggestion seems like a great in-between!
@tianguis I think bodyweight is great. I mostly do cardio now but I used to do a lot of bodyweight fitness and got to a point where I could do pull ups, pistol squats, and one armed push-ups. I looked great. I would recommend following a body weight progression such as the one on startbodyweight.com so you can keep challenging yourself as you get stronger. The mistake some people make is that they don't keep making the exercises more challenging. Remember, your body doesn't know if it's lifting itself or weights. All it knows is progressive muscle overload.
@sasha277 Thanks! TIL there are other people with a similar body! It’s crazy how much we get bombarded with the “ideal body” on adverts that we feel like our body is out of the standard.
@tianguis If you're looking for ideas I have some suggestions. I am a couch potato who prefers bodyweights and activities to the gym. Been doing HIIT and the 7 min exercises. There are a number of apps out there that you could start with maybe? A friend recommended this one to me recently and I quite like it.
I also enjoy dance and do pole, which is way more enjoyable to me than lifting weights. I also follow several IGers for #fitspo haha. Some have their own training programmes (with and without weights) so maybe you'll find one that you enjoy. Check out @beverleycheng@trainlikeaballerina and @lillysabri
@tianguis I transformed my body pretty extensively by just working out consistently with bodyweight and 2 pairs of dumbbells and CICO (and IF, in my case) in about 6-7 months (if you're in /r/gainsis, I can show you my results in 6 months only.) That gave enough confidence in my muscles to sign up to a free weights gym, which is now taking me to the next level.
I would definitely add dumbbells as it'll help you gain much more muscle, as bodyweight exercises can either be too easy or too tough and are harder to modify imo. I can share my upper and lower body routines that worked really well for me if you want. I'm also pretty well-read up on nutrition (am also a trained chef) so feel free to ask anything about nutrition as well. Best of luck, but you won't need it as long as you're consistent and keep coming back
