Bodyweight/low equipment routines for the time-strapped? (hexbear.net)

submitted 7 months ago by Doubledee@hexbear.net to c/fitness@hexbear.net

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Hey comrades. I'm not trying to build a crazy body or get jacked or anything, but I'm getting older and want to ensure I'm not neglecting my body so it keeps up as I go. I've been doing pushups 3x a week (got from being unable to do them on level ground to doing a set of 30, 25, 20 with 5 minute gaps, nothing too crazy) but that's all I'm currently doing. I got dip bars to try and add inverted rows to my routine, so here's my questions:

is there a reason I shouldn't just do rows as part of the same 3x a week pushup thing I do?
will it be bad if I alternate, assuming I can't do them both the same day, in terms of maintaining a baseline level of fitness?
are there very easy/no equipment exercises that do not take much time you would include/add for someone in my situation? My partner and I work alternating shifts, and we have children, so it's not really realistic for me to plan to have even an hour where I can do intense exercise away from the kids/go to the gym, part of why I've been doing basically just pushups is that I can drop and do them while I'm in the same room as the kids without leaving them unmonitored.

I know if I was really committed to building muscle mass I would be doing a bunch of other stuff but I can't devote that kind of time, I'm basically asking for the bare minimum "reasonably healthy" routine.

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[-] durings@hexbear.net 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

from my experience, even 1 set of pull, push, and legs every so often each does wonders compared to doing nothing.

nah go for it
sometimes i do just pull exercises on one day, just push on another etc. somedays i just hit every body part i can manage. never had issues
my very basic routine is

--push: dips and pushups --pull: pullups and rows, leg raises for core --legs: regular squats, jump squats, bulgarian split or assisted pistol squats, cardio/biking/sprinting/jumprope --if you have extra time or energy you can add some isolation stuff for specific muscles and lat raises --try for 2 sets of 6-12 reps of each where you give it your absolute all, works better for me than spamming sets and reps. repeat ideally 3x a week, more if you got the energy, and at least 1x a week if not

having a pair of gymnastic rings helps immensely to widen range of exercises + where you can do them, but most of these things can also be achieved with random household features/furnishings or at a park

[-] Doubledee@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago

from my experience, even 1 set of pull, push, and legs every so often each does wonders compared to doing nothing.

I've been surprised that there's a visible difference just from the pushups, so I totally believe you here.

I'll look into gymnastics rings, for some reason I assumed they interfaced with other gym equipment and would not be too helpful for me, but I am very likely wrong.

try for 2 sets of 6-12 reps of each where you give it your absolute all, works better for me than spamming sets and reps

Do you mean this in reference to all exercises, or isolation?

[-] durings@hexbear.net 7 points 7 months ago

you just need somewhere to hang the rings from so if you have one of those door pull up bars or you could get some ceiling hooks, outdoors you can get pretty creative about where to hang them. i used to also just jam a towel or blanket in a closed door and use that for some exercises when i was younger

for the reps yea all exercises, the exact numbers don't matter too much the range is just an estimation, my personal philosophy is pushing yourself as hard as possible to the point where you cannot do anymore even if its like 2 sets of 6 not only saves time but has more beneficial results versus doing an easier variation of an exercise that you could crank out like 5 sets of 20 reps or something. hope that makes sense

this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025

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