Guest Post: Getting into Shape Without a Gym (II) by Anthony Myers

Here is the second part of Anthony Myer's post on getting into shape without a gym. It contains more great tips, and may help you to save a lot of time and money. Enjoy!

Jump Rope

When I first started working out I was mostly concerned with losing fat. I couldn’t afford a gym membership, and I hated jogging. I’m asthmatic and my chest would be burning and I’d be ready to throw in the towel after only running a block or two. Plus, jogging was just plane boring. I decided to ditch the jogging for a while and get a jump rope.

A jump rope is about the cheapest, but most effective pieces of cardio equipment you can get. I’d opt for a jump rope over a treadmill any day. I started jump roping every morning at 6:30. Not only was jump roping a lot more fun than jogging, but it also seemed a hell of a lot easier. My chest didn’t burn, I didn’t feel like giving up after only a few minutes. The best part? It seemed to be much more effective than jogging. I lost nearly 40lbs and jumping rope was my only source of cardio.


Dips

Here’s another killer bodyweight exercise. Dips will put more mass on your triceps than pretty much any weighted or machine exercise. It’s unfortunate that they are so underrated. There are two ways to do a dip.

Method #1:

Method #2:

If you have access to the right equipment, opt for method #2. It will not only help you build killer triceps, but with a little tweaking you can turn it into one of the best chest exercises ever. Simply lean forward a tad and dip lower than you would when targeting triceps. If you don’t have the access to the right equipment, no worries. The first method pictured is still really effective for building triceps. Plus, you do it almost anywhere. I used to do these with my hands on my bed and my feet on my computer chair!


Hanging Leg Raises

There’s no shortage of expensive and useless exercise equipment. Especially equipment designed to target your abs. Most of the equipment is designed to make the exercise easier, which to me, is absolutely ridiculous. An exercise shouldn’t be made easier. If anything, it should be made tougher by adding more resistance. I’m not going to lie, hanging leg raises are tough. However, they are the ideal exercise for achieving six pack abs. It’s no secret that the bottom two abdominal muscles are the hardest to target. If you’re having a hard time getting them to pop out, start doing hanging leg raises.


Planks

You’ve probably noticed by now that since I started talking about abs I haven’t mentioned sit ups or crunches. Those are OK, but exercises like planks will do much more for you. If you can only hold an abdominal plank for 30 seconds, don’t worry. Keep practicing. Eventually you’ll be able to hit a minute or even more. Also, you can throw side planks into the mix to target your obliques.


Bicycling

I have great calves. I get compliments on my calves more often than any other muscle group. It’s almost weird. Either way, I know for a fact that biking 5+ miles a day is the primary reason for my bad-ass calves. It’s also a great form of cardio. If you’re trying to get abs, you need to lose the fat on your stomach, and riding bikes is a great way to do that.

There you have it, a list of the most effective exercise that require little to no workout equipment. The fact is, most people use an unnecessary amount of machines and equipment. There are plenty of people who use machines and equipment on a regular basis, but if you asked them to do a few sets of pull ups or other exercises in the list above they would be huffing and puffing as if they’d never worked out in their life. Master these exercises and you’ll be well ahead of the “average” guy.

The Final Word on Height

I get annoyed when people try to attack me for my "negativity" when I tell them that height matters a great deal. Yes, if you you are short, you shouldn't be afraid of "cheating" by wearing shoes with a (slight) heel, and possibly height-increasing soles. After all, many women were heels as well. This strategy, however, is limited, and if you think you could gain some more inches by artificial means, then I'm sorry to tell you that doing so will completely mess up your proportions. In this post I thus want to present some strategies for successfully dealing with the issue of height, if it is a concern for you.

Becoming skinny and (slightly) muscular

Looks do matter. If you want an easy way to improve your success with women, improve your image. Hit the gym, get clothes that fit you better and find a gay hairdresser to get a cutting edge cut. Those steps will be much more effective than memorizing yet another "routine" (don't even get me started on this issue).

I am a very lean guy. While I don't fit the classical image of male beauty, enough girls seem to like my body. However, the advice in men's magazines and bodybuilding forums is usually geared toward bulking up, but what if you wanted to become really lean?

For your information, my level of body fat is around five percent. One of the more interesting compliments I have received was that I was skinny and brawny and therefore "the best of both worlds."

One of my readers recently wrote:

At your seminar [in London], I noticed you had the same body type as me but that you were slightly muscular and seemed to be more lean.

I am a skinny guy also, but I find when I eat, it all goes to my stomach and nowhere else. In advertising and mens mags there are only the steryotype of muscle man, which is why I havent bothered with them in years. Whereas you are a real life guy who eats some stuff and drinks some stuff also.

Do you have any tips on how to get your type figure?

I am aware that people react differently to different kinds of food. Nonetheless, this is what keeps me in shape:

• avoid sugar as far as possible (yes, this includes chocolate and ice cream)
• skip sauces
• eat lots of fruits and vegetables
• dairies
• have plenty of carbohydrates: wholewheat bread, pasta, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals
• exercise

This diet is rather minimalistic (and also very cheap, for those that worry about their budget). Yet, it's very healthy and will probably improve your general well-being as well.

One of my goals is to exercise more. I used to be much more active, but these days I still do some yoga exercises, squats or push ups every day. Swimming is also excellent, and it certainly makes you want to eat those big bowls of pasta salad.

I switched to this diet in my late teens after having grown a bit too tired of my mother's cakes and cookies. During that time I also got into Zen meditation and read books like Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, which had a profound effect on me. I life a fairly spartan life since then --- and nobody who sees me nowadays wants to believe me that I was an overweight teenager.