Haven't lifted since February.

[fendertele]

Hello all hope everyone is well.

I haven't lifted since Feb and due to the lockdown i havent bothered looking for alternatives to the gym.

On the plus side i dont seem to have lost all that much muscle if any due to being inactive and slowly putting the pounds/fat on overtime.

However i dont want or plan on returning to work/life whenever that may be ten times heavier than i was before so plan on taking up some sort of cardio whilst the gyms are shut be it running/cycling etc...to try and lose a lot of this fat i have put on.

So how do i do this without losing too much muscle esp since im not lifting at all at the moment... to even stimulate my muscles.

thanks

[xTeTe]

Are you opposed to doing any sort of resistance training? Even doing body weight exercises a couple days a week will drastically reduce the rate at which you'll lose strength.

[fendertele]

Are you opposed to doing any sort of resistance training? Even doing body weight exercises a couple days a week will drastically reduce the rate at which you'll lose strength.

not particularly ive just never really done them or enjoyed what i have tried. i have body lastics but again limited space has stopped me from setting themup... if i had balls of steel i would just set up in a part or something but im to self concious.

[OldFartTom]

I don't greatly enjoy calisthenics, just prefer barbell, but you need to do SOMETHING if you want to slow the loss.

My experience is there's bad news.. Calisthenics exercises are very different to barbell, almost incomparable. There is little crossover from barbell ---> calisthenics. Don't bother trying to think it through. Suppose you can bench a bar that's your own bodweight, well a little math says you should be able to do a one arm pushup... right? WRONG!
You can squat with a barbell that weighs your own bodyweight the math would say you can do a one leg squat (pistol) WRONG.
You are going to have to start calisthenics like a novice so expect your ego to get kicked in the pants, and forget trying to work out equivalents with basic math.

Good news is it's widely stated there's reasonably crossover back from [strength] calisthenics ---> barbell (can't personally confirm yet). Also you should be able to get through the progressions quicker than an exercise novice for some things. My experience is progression on say push ups is way faster than handstand or bridging because of gym experience, things may progress at very different rates.

Really not sure why you need much space for this!

[xTeTe]

Jeff Nippard just posted a great video in regards to this about 20 minutes ago

youtu.be/P0vHR2mAw2U


Can't post the full link... Edit, looks like it still works

[ElrondHubbard]

I don't greatly enjoy calisthenics, just prefer barbell, but you need to do SOMETHING if you want to slow the loss.

My experience is there's bad news.. Calisthenics exercises are very different to barbell, almost incomparable. There is little crossover from barbell ---> calisthenics. Don't bother trying to think it through. Suppose you can bench a bar that's your own bodweight, well a little math says you should be able to do a one arm pushup... right? WRONG!
You can squat with a barbell that weighs your own bodyweight the math would say you can do a one leg squat (pistol) WRONG.
You are going to have to start calisthenics like a novice so expect your ego to get kicked in the pants, and forget trying to work out equivalents with basic math.

Good news is it's widely stated there's reasonably crossover back from [strength] calisthenics ---> barbell (can't personally confirm yet). Also you should be able to get through the progressions quicker than an exercise novice for some things. My experience is progression on say push ups is way faster than handstand or bridging because of gym experience, things may progress at very different rates.

Really not sure why you need much space for this!

Can confirm this. That one-arm pushup attempt was a humbling experience.

[blue9steel]

Find something heavy, then lift it. Are you saying you don't have anything heavy or can't make / find / buy something? Furniture, sandbags, scrap metal, concrete, old tires, whatever, surely you can find one or more objects that have weight and move them around.

[bemegc]

Body weight exercises and some rubber bands can go a long way as a temporary stop gap. No reason to go completely cold turkey.

[Garage Rat]

My observations,
You need to stay active even if it's walking,biking or other movement to keep the weight in check.
You need to make good decisions with food choices and amounts if you want to keep the weight down.

If you haven't lifted since February I'm going to go out on a limb and say you didn't have much muscle to begin with, and how do you know you didn't lose much muscle?
By looks or did you have it measured accurately before and now?
You need to do some type of resistance training as mentioned above and have an eating/diet plan.
If you just play it by ear you will be on a path to failure.
So start recording your diet with all macros and calories to see exactly what your eating/drinking and i mean everything.
It's the only way you'll have an accurate accounting of your diet.
Set forth a training plan with bodyweight or what ever resistance methods you can find and train with some intensity.
Also record your training and cardio exactly what you do.
When you do these thing you can see exactly whats happening and adjust to helping you with your goals.
Dont mean to sound as if I'm putting you down I'm just trying to be real with you if your serious.
Good luck.