Broke with dreams of strength training..

[OneFishTwoFish]

Hello everyone, I just started college and wanted to start strength training.

The only catch is after tuition, books and car insurance, I am poor. really poor. oh, and I don't have any weights!

I've narrowed down some of the exercises into these categories:
pushups
squats
pullups
leg raises
bridges
Edit: should I add more here?
crunches?
hyper-extensions?

Again, I don't have any weights, but I do have one of those pull up bars that attaches with screws into a door jam that my brother left when he moved.

I've been trying to figure out on my own how much I should increase per week of working out.

For example, I found a 'pull up progression' list from another thread:

Week 1 = 20 sets x 2 reps @ 20 minutes
Week 2 = 13 sets x 3 reps @ 13 minutes
Week 3 = 10 sets x 4 reps @ 10 minutes
Week 4 = 8 sets x 5 reps @ 8 minutes
Week 5 = 7 sets x 6 reps @ 7 minutes
Week 6 = 6 sets x 7 reps @ 6 minutes
Week 7 = 5 sets x 8 reps @ 5 minutes
Week 8 = 4 sets x 10 reps @ 4 minutes

All of this looks good, but how do you start out the progression to a pullup? Just push through the pain and try a little each day? Hrm, thinking about it, I suppose I could start by jumping up and holding myself and slowly lower myself down..

Well, any suggestions for routines, progression, etc. that anyone could offer into these exercises would be helpful!

Thanks!

 

[binö]

bro can't you lift at your college?
i went to a CC school for a few yrs and even that little school at a gym that was available to students.
personally, i don't see the point in putting a time limit on pullups, you need time to recover to maximize your rep potential.

 

[gatemoney]

If can't do a pull up
Use a chair, put 1 or both legs on it to assist.
It's fine to cheat just
get full range of motion always !

 

[themondtster]

Like Bino said. Most colleges have a gym thats free to students. My fiance uses the one at her school every now and then and all she needs is her school ID.

From My Droid MoFo!

 

[alocsin]

Using your body as a weight is an excellent idea. Does your local park or playground have fitness stations you can use to supplement your workout. These are free.

 

[ramnares]

First of all, like bino said, most colleges have gym facilities that are 'free' to students. Free in quotation marks because your tuition covers it. So the first piece of advice would be to investigate your college and find the gym.

Secondly, if you're now starting pull-ups, don't put a time limit on your sets. You should focus on getting your pull-up form right before moving on to sets like you've outlined. By pull up form, I mean your pull-up depth (or hang). That pull-up progression is for more advanced lifters. If you can't do pull-ups right now, here's a few ideas:
- practice static holds - use a chair or jump on the bar and hold yourself on the up position for XX time (1 min, 2 min whatever you're comfortable with)
- do some cheat sets with whatever feels comfortable for you, hands outboard (palms away) or hands inboard (palms facing you)
- if you find a gym, the usually have the assisted dip/pull up machine where you can set a weight on the machine to help you, use this
- finally, once you start getting better at pull-ups, vary your grip. By this I mean, do pull-ups at shoulder-width, very wide grip, narrow, hands outboard/inboard and then once you can do sets of these progress to using a dip belt with added weight.