Your Workout Today

[Slice of Life]

Yardwork and a motorcycle ride. Exhausted. :D

[RFKFREAK]

Oh, man, I'm exhausted. My friend bailed on going to the gym with me today but I still put in a solid workout. That said, I'm exhausted, haha. Burned 512 calories on the treadmill. I was curious if @Slice of Life or someone else knew and would share with me if there was a way to estimate how many calories one burns when doing strength training exercises. I've looked on the internet but haven't found much and I'm having trouble burning these last 10 pounds to get to my initial goal.

[Golfingdad]

Class was fun tonight ... Lunges, duck walks, walking planks, wheelbarrows, wheelbarrows with 5 push-ups every 2 steps, then bag work for the rest of the class - punches, elbow strikes, crescent kicks, etc. Feel good tonight.

[boogielicious]

Class was fun tonight ...

Lunges, duck walks, walking planks, wheelbarrows, wheelbarrows with 5 push-ups every 2 steps, then bag work for the rest of the class - punches, elbow strikes, crescent kicks, etc.

Feel good tonight.

Scott

Titleist, Edel, Scotty Cameron Putter, Snell - AimPoint - Evolvr - MirrorVision

My Swing Thread

boogielicious - Adjective describing the perfect surf wave

[RFKFREAK]

Class was fun tonight ...

Lunges, duck walks, walking planks, wheelbarrows, wheelbarrows with 5 push-ups every 2 steps, then bag work for the rest of the class - punches, elbow strikes, crescent kicks, etc.

Feel good tonight.

Christian

     

[Golfingdad]

Are you sore this morning?

No.  When I started, I was incredibly sore the next day.  In fact, after the first class, I was sore for the entire week (didn't even go to the other class that week).  After the second class, sore for a few days, etc, etc.  Now, a couple of months later, I usually just feel really good afterwards.  Every few classes we do something different that works a muscle I didn't know I even had, and I'll be sore again the next day.

Didn't realize you were taking classes.

Overall, I take it you find them helpful?

Yes, I'm loving it.  Two classes per week for the last (almost 2 months) and not a single class has been a repeat.  They're karate classes. Well, actually, not Karate, but technically an amalgam (with a name our Master made up :)) of karate, taekwondo, kickboxing and jiu jitsu.  Something I NEVER had on my radar until after we started the kids and I thought "hmmm, I wonder if I might like this."  Daughter stopped wanting to go, so I finished off her last month and its been off and running since.

And the fact that it's specific classes with a specific group every Monday and Wednesday makes it really hard to get lazy.  I can't just go "ah, I tired, I'll just go tomorrow," which would of course snowball into quitting at some point.  And earning the different belts is a really nice incentive to keep pushing.

[RFKFREAK]

No.  When I started, I was incredibly sore the next day.  In fact, after the first class, I was sore for the entire week (didn't even go to the other class that week).  After the second class, sore for a few days, etc, etc.  Now, a couple of months later, I usually just feel really good afterwards.  Every few classes we do something different that works a muscle I didn't know I even had, and I'll be sore again the next day.

Yes, I'm loving it.  Two classes per week for the last (almost 2 months) and not a single class has been a repeat.  They're karate classes.   Well, actually, not Karate, but technically an amalgam (with a name our Master made up :)) of karate, taekwondo, kickboxing and jiu jitsu.  Something I NEVER had on my radar until after we started the kids and I thought "hmmm, I wonder if I might like this."  Daughter stopped wanting to go, so I finished off her last month and its been off and running since.

And the fact that it's specific classes with a specific group every Monday and Wednesday makes it really hard to get lazy.  I can't just go "ah, I tired, I'll just go tomorrow," which would of course snowball into quitting at some point.  And earning the different belts is a really nice incentive to keep pushing.

Oh, I didn't realize it was a martial arts class.

Interesting stuff.

[RFKFREAK]

Abbreviated workout today due to Game 7. 497 calories burned on the treadmill.

[rkim291968]

Abbreviated workout today due to Game 7.

Excuses, excuses, and excuses.  Where's your priority, young man?

As for me, I put in a full day's worth of workout, recovering from cold and all.   AND did some indoor practice, AND went to range for more ball striking practice.   Oh, yeah.   I went to work, too.

[SoundandFury]

Bench press 1RM - 205 (pretty sad). 21-15-9 - Deadlift @ 225/Push Press @115

[RFKFREAK]

Excuses, excuses, and excuses.  Where's your priority, young man?

INORITE?

Haha.

As for me, I put in a full day's worth of workout, recovering from cold and all.   AND did some indoor practice, AND went to range for more ball striking practice.   Oh, yeah.   I went to work, too.

I caught a bug and started feeling it Sunday.  I think I'm at the tail end of getting rid of it, though, and luckily, thus far, it hasn't been bad enough to prevent me from working out.  I'm planning on hitting some balls after work today and then the gym afterwards.  I'm planning on playing Saturday and Sunday so hopefully the bug will be gone by then.

[RFKFREAK]

Hit the gym pretty hard today.  Not sure doing as much as I did is a good thing since I'm playing golf at 8AM tomorrow and soreness probably won't help my score but, here's my workout:

[RFKFREAK]

So, I'm getting close to losing the 50 pounds which was my original goal and, once I reach that goal, I think it's a good idea to start transitioning to building muscle and losing fat.  As I'm sure many of you know, there's a ton on the internet about this and I ran across this one particular thing that seemed interesting and wanted to see what people thoughts were about it:

by Bill Geiger

Last updated: Mar 30, 2015

Star in your own transformation with this complete 8-week diet and training plan that'll help you build muscle and burn fat!

There are several mysteries of the universe that continue to baffle us: the infinite nature of time and space, the popularity of Justin Bieber, and—more relevant to readers like you—whether it's possible to build muscle and lose body fat at the same time.

When it comes to getting in shape, most people opt for choosing a singular goal: Either they go on the see-food diet (that is, see it and eat it) for mass gaining, or a calorie-restricted plan that saps their strength, size, and energy in an effort to lose fat.

"I think it's inaccurate to say that it's impossible to build muscle and lose body fat at the same time, which is, in my opinion, a true transformation," says Stephen Adele, fitness coach, best-selling author, and owner of Colorado-based iSatori, a maker of nutritional products. "I've coached hundreds and thousands of people over the years and I've seen it firsthand—individuals who can gain muscle mass and lose body fat at the same time.

"It presents unique challenges, but it mainly comes down to your approach. I've come to realize there are five rules that I have lived and coached people by on how to transform—encompassing eating, supplementation, training, and mindset—that allow individuals to undergo a transformation in which they can accomplish both goals."

It's truly hard work, but Adele maps out a plan that's worked for thousands of people.

1. CYCLE CARBS WHILE REMAINING NITROGEN-POSITIVE

Gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus, while cutting fat requires a caloric deficit, so the plan here is to cycle each phase short-term. That's achieved mainly by cycling carbohydrate intake. "I'm a big proponent of carb cycling because it allows your body to burn body fat and build muscle at the same time," says Adele, who has decades of experience taking individuals through transformation programs aimed at reducing body fat while simultaneously increasing muscle size.

Adele recommends you first determine how many calories your body needs each day. This can be estimated with a calculator or by multiplying your bodyweight x 15. Using this formula, a 200-pound lifter would require 3,000 calories daily.

From there, Adele recommends you get 40 percent of your calories from protein, 40 percent from carbs, and 20 percent from fats (40/40/20). Hence, the 200-pound individual would consume 1,200 calories from protein (300 grams), 1,200 calories from carbs (300 grams), and 600 calories from fats (67 grams).

The carbohydrate rotation comes into play like this (shown over 10 days) for a 200-pound lifter:

Remember, protein and fats don't cycle, so they remain consistent over the course of the entire program: 300 grams of protein and 67 grams of dietary fat per day, which is usually naturally occuring.

With carbs and calories cycling down and then up, your body enters short-term periods of caloric deficit in which body-fat stores can be tapped for energy, and higher-carb and higher-calorie periods in which the body's energy stores are restocked and muscle-building is emphasized.

What's important to remember, says Adele, is that you always remain in a state of positive nitrogen balance, meaning your protein intake is stable and high throughout: "You're taking your body through calorie-positive and calorie-negative phases, but not long enough for it to become catabolic," which would initiate the burning of lean muscle mass for energy.

He warns against staying on a low-carb diet for too long, saying it compromises the body's ability to build and maintain lean body mass. "You just can't do it sufficiently without adequate carbohydrates," Adele says.

Adele doesn't recommend anything beyond your standard bodybuilding fare: lean protein sources, complex and starchy carbs over simple sugars (except post-workout), and healthy fats in addition to the saturated ones you naturally consume when eating animal protein. He also realizes that not everyone's going to count calories, but you'll want to learn how to eyeball foods—especially what 35-40 grams of protein looks like—and read labels. What you really need to keep your eye on, he insists, is carbohydrate intake.

For many of us, dieting means cravings. "I'm not a big believer in just giving up on certain kinds of foods," he says. "You have to be creative and not totally give up on something, but rather find ways to satisfy your sweet tooth, which for most people is the hardest part of dieting. Maybe you can turn your BCAA drink into popsicles; we also have a chocolate-flavored Eat-Smart MRP that tastes like a Jell-O pudding dessert."

2. TRAIN ANTAGONIST MUSCLE GROUPS WHILE INCLUDING ACTIVE REST + HIIT CARDIO

"When you're on a calorie-restricted diet (as part of this program is), it can be easy to start losing your strength along the way, and when you start losing your strength, you can start losing potential muscle mass," says Adele. "There's some research to support the idea that a muscle is stronger when its antagonist is immediately contracted beforehand, which is the basis of this training program."

Doing opposing muscle groups—think biceps/triceps, quads/hamstrings, chest/back—back-to-back is called supersetting. You rest only after you've completed a movement for each body part.

Supersets are intense, but Adele has upped the intensity even more. By engaging in active rest—not to be confused with sitting on a bench and texting between sets—you follow your superset with 30-60 seconds of work, whether it's jumping rope, box squats, step-ups, or any activity that keeps your body moving. Only after this bout of active rest can you take a minute of full rest.

"[The active rest] doesn't have to be extremely intense by any means; it's just to get your heart rate up, the intensity of the workouts maximized, and should be done at a comfortable pace," Adele says. "After completing all three exercises, rest for a minute and repeat the cycle for the prescribed number of sets. So you get strength, volume training, and cardio work done over the course of your workout.

"The idea here is that active rest during weight training can deplete most—if not all—of your glycogen (stored form of carbohydrate) levels in the body. So when you do your cardio session after your workout, you've completely depleted almost all of your glycogen and are now burning mostly body fat."

The training split Adele prescribes follows a two-on/one-off approach, so you'll be in the weight room two out of every three days. But you'll be doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) 6-7 days a week to help strip off fat.

The week breaks down like this:

Admits Adele: "Yeah, [this program is] intense. These workouts aren't easy, but they are extremely efficient and rewarding. They take a couple of weeks for your body to get adjusted to, but you'll find you get a lot done and you feel good when you're done."

Each superset follows a pyramid structure—sets of 12, 10, 8, or 6 reps to failure. Ultimately, the number of sets and reps ensures there's a high volume of work done, which provides an important anabolic stimulus, says Adele. "The high volume is important, but it's not so much work that you get too exhausted and can't recover sufficiently between sets."

All that movement during your hour-long weight workout is meant to exhaust your muscle glycogen, so the ensuing HIIT cardio goes right into tapping body fat for fuel. HIIT training, as you probably know, alternates all-out cardio with periods of slow recovery, whether done on the treadmill, stair-climber, or other cardio equipment.

"The research says you're going to burn more calories over a longer time period using HIIT over steady state," explains Adele. "By the time you get to cardio, you're going to burn body fat as fuel right away."

Adele warns that anyone who's not used to doing cardio on zero glycogen is going to be challenged: "When you first start this workout, you're going to be sucking wind. You're going to feel like you can't do it because you don't have enough oxygen. It's going to take a little time to build up those red blood cells and get yourself to the point where you don't feel as winded. That means at first you're going to sacrifice a little bit of strength. That's where a good pre-workout supplement with caffeine and beta-alanine can help, delaying muscle fatigue and helping you push through it.

"You may start at only 10-15 minutes of cardio HIIT, but work your way up over time. I like going to 25-30 minutes; it hits that sweet spot. And you're definitely going to notice the difference because your body is pretty depleted."

3. MAKE "BIG MOVEMENTS" THE BACKBONE OF YOUR TRAINING

While Adele has provided a companion superset workout that he gives to individuals whose transformation he oversees, the one critical factor he says every lifter must do is include "the big three" exercises: squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. These compound movements are irreplaceable because they produce results in extremely efficient fashion.

But there's one caveat: You don't want to attempt any of these movements on a low-carb (25-percent) day. You need enough energy to fuel a hard workout and give it your best shot. Adele's recommendation: Manipulate your workout just enough so that these big moves fall on other days in your training schedule.

"You've got to do them, but plan them on higher-carb days," he says. "It really goes without saying, but it's important to get your technique right before you start moving the weight up. When you do get the technique right, your weight just goes up quickly with consistency of doing the exercise."

4. STIMULATE, THEN MAXIMIZE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

When you're cycling carbs and your daily calories are already running a deficit, it's incredibly important to ensure you're getting your daily protein requirements.

While eating whole-food meals six times per day is a challenge even for someone who works from home, supplements can conveniently fill in the missing spaces between meals. Now it's just a matter of making sure you get the right supplements at the right times.

To ensure you're getting adequate protein, two scoops of whey protein isolate or hydrolysate typically provides 40 grams of quickly digested protein. Besides a good protein powder, additional BCAA mixtures like Amino-Amp are useful when you're in a caloric deficit to ensure the body doesn't strip amino acids away from building muscle to be used to fuel your body's energy needs.

Adele lists one additional supplement as necessary for success in a transformation program: bioactive peptides. "Bioactive peptides are cleaved protein fragments that contain growth factors that are essentially bioactive. These growth factors are what's doing the heavy lifting in the muscle cells, the signaling for amino acids to be used to accelerate the rate of protein synthesis. The faster the rate of the protein synthesis, the faster the muscle repairs and rebuilds itself—bigger, stronger, or faster [depending on your training goals.]" Adele says they're especially important for individuals who are also on a calorie-restricted diet because they can help you at least maintain and develop new lean body mass.

5. MAKE YOUR LIFESTYLE FIT YOUR GOALS

You've no doubt heard that success doesn't happen by accident. Adele sums it up this way: "Success comes from following a disciplined approach. That means timing your meals, timing your supplementation, timing your sleep, and planning, planning, planning. If you take that kind of disciplined approach to this program, you're guaranteed a much higher level of success."

Success requires purpose and discipline, traits many of us have difficulty mustering on a daily basis. That's why Adele suggests following an intense program like this for just eight weeks.

"During the first four weeks, you won't see a lot of changes," he says, "but takes pics about every two weeks anyway. By the end of the second four weeks, you're going to see some huge differences. At that point you're seeing your hard work and you're really motivated. If you can make it through another four weeks, you're going to see incredible results—cuts you never knew you had."

Adele also recommends you put your transformation on the calendar. "Having a deadline is important," he says, "whether it's doing a contest or just wanting to look your best for a vacation or photo shoot. Set that deadline date and lay your plan out and work toward that date. That's probably the most powerful tool to motivate you in that direction."

THE 8-WEEK TRANSFORMATION WORKOUTS BY STEPHEN ADELE

Follow this six-day split using a two-days-on/one-day-off format. You'll repeat workouts every seventh day.

Choose a weight that lets you reach muscle failure by the target rep. If necessary, add warm-up (w/u) sets, but those don't count as part of your working sets.

Superset all antagonist muscle groups, completing one exercise and immediately doing the other without resting.

Neither squats nor deadlifts are supersetted; use straight sets for each.

Engage in "active rest" (step-ups, jump rope, burpees etc.) after you complete each superset. You'll perform active rest for this amount of time:

Weeks 1-2: 30 seconds

Weeks 3-6: 40-45 seconds

Weeks 7-8: 60 seconds

Rest one minute after completing all three components, and repeat for the prescribed number of sets listed.

After all weight-training sessions (and on days in which you're not lifting weights), do HIIT cardio according to this schedule:

Weeks 1-2: 20 minutes

Weeks 3-4: 25 minutes

Weeks 5-6: 30 minutes

Weeks 7-8: 40 minutes

WEEKS 1-2

Workout 1: Chest/Back

Superset

Bench Press

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Narrow-Grip Pull-up

5 sets of 10-15 reps

Superset

Incline Dumbbell Press

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Bent-Over Barbell Row

4 sets of 10, 10, 8, 8 reps

Superset

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Fly

3 sets of 15 reps

Reverse-Grip Lat Pull-Down

3 sets of 15 reps

Workout 2: Delts/Traps/Abs

Superset

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Hanging Leg Raise

5 sets of 15-20 reps

Superset

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

4 sets of 10, 10, 8, 8 reps

Weighted Decline Crunch

4 sets of 15-20 reps

Superset

Bent-Over Lateral Raise

3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Shrug

3 sets of 12-15 reps

Workout 3: Biceps/Triceps

Superset

Incline-Bench Dumbbell Curl

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 12, 10, 8, 8, 8 reps

V-Bar Push-Down

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 12, 10, 8, 8, 8 reps

Superset

Standing Barbell Curl

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Lying EZ-Bar French Press

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Superset

Preacher Curl

3 sets of 15 reps

Triceps Dip Machine

3 sets of 15 reps

Workout 4: Quads/Hamstrings

Barbell Squat

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Superset

Single Leg Press

4 sets of 10-12 reps (each leg)

Romanian Deadlift

4 sets of 12-15 reps

Superset

Leg Extension

3 sets of 15 reps

Standing Calf Raise

3 sets of 12-15 reps

WEEKS 3-4

Workout 1: Chest/Back

Deadlift

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Superset

Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press

4 sets of 12-15 w/u, 8-10 reps

Front Lat Pull-Down

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Superset

Decline Press

3 sets of 12-15 reps

T-Bar Row

3 sets of 12-15 reps

Workout 2: Delts/Traps/Abs

Superset

Barbell Shoulder Press

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Hanging Leg Raise

5 sets of 15-20 reps

Superset

Bent-Over Lateral Raise

4 sets of 15 reps

Weighted Decline Crunch

4 sets of 15-20 reps

Superset

Plate Front Raise

3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Shrug

3 sets of 12-15 reps

Workout 3: Biceps/Triceps

Superset

Single-Arm Preacher Curl

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Single-Arm Skull-Crusher

5 sets of 8-10 reps

Superset

Standing Barbell Curl

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Extension

4 sets of 8-10 reps

Superset

Incline-Bench Dumbbell Curl

3 sets of 15 reps

Triceps Dip Machine

3 sets of 15 reps

Workout 4: Quads/Hamstrings

Barbell Squat

5 sets of 15-20 w/u, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Superset

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

4 sets of 10-12 reps

Seated Calf Raise

4 sets of 12-15 reps

Superset

Leg Extension

3 sets of 12-15 reps

Lying Leg Curl

3 sets of 12-15 reps

WEEKS 5-6

Workout 1: Chest/Back—Repeat workout from Weeks 3-4

Workout 2: Shoulders/Traps/Abs—Repeat workout from Weeks 3-4

Workout 3: Biceps/Triceps—Repeat workout from Weeks 1-2

Workout 4: Quads/Hamstrings—Repeat workout from Weeks 1-2

WEEKS 7-8

Workout 1: Chest/Back—Repeat workout from Weeks 1-2

Workout 2: Shoulders/Traps/Abs—Repeat workout from Weeks 1-2

Workout 3: Biceps/Triceps—Repeat workout from Weeks 3-4

Workout 4: Quads/Hamstrings—Repeat workout from Weeks 3-4

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/build-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time.html

[mvmac]

[RFKFREAK]

Couldn't get to the gym because I wanted to watch the Rangers from the comfort of my living room so did a quick workout at home. Felt good afterwards. For as much as I did, thought I'd feel worn out what with walking 36 holes of a hilly course between Saturday and Sunday.

[Golfingdad]

Couldn't get to the gym because I wanted to watch the Rangers from the comfort of my living room so did a quick workout at home. Felt good afterwards. For as much as I did, thought I'd feel worn out what with walking 36 holes of a hilly course between Saturday and Sunday.

Nice.  I only have classes 2 days a week for now, so the other days I'm working out at home as well ... however, to this point those work outs have only been 30 minutes on the elliptical and maybe some pushups as well.

If I wanted to try and add some weight lifting in as well, what is the simplest way to do that ... and by that, I mean what is the fewest amount of things I can buy and still get some decent work in?  I guess, really what I'm asking is what is your setup at home?

I know @mvmac is the kettle bell guy, and I know @Slice of Life has the sweet garage gym setup, and for now, all we have at my house is (somewhere in the garage) a pair of 25 lb dumbbells.  Probably too heavy for me to do much with at this point, except maybe some bench press (but I don't have a bench). ;)

---

Class last night started with laps across the mats of various activities:

10 laps of running, 2 laps of duck walk, 2 laps of bunny hops (my knees aren't the best, so I'm mixing in lunges for those), 2 laps of army crawls (hard AF since you can't use your legs AT ALL, also since your pants are sliding off every few strokes), and two laps of ... I don't know what they're called, but you sit with your legs straight out and you "walk" backwards using only your hands (makes me think of Lt. Dan or some zombie from Walking Dead).

Then laps back and forth working on kicks - which is a lot more tiring than it may seem.  Mixed in with that - a lot of ab work.

Tonights gonna be elliptical again.

[RFKFREAK]

Nice.  I only have classes 2 days a week for now, so the other days I'm working out at home as well ... however, to this point those work outs have only been 30 minutes on the elliptical and maybe some pushups as well.

If I wanted to try and add some weight lifting in as well, what is the simplest way to do that ... and by that, I mean what is the fewest amount of things I can buy and still get some decent work in?  I guess, really what I'm asking is what is your setup at home?

I know @mvmac is the kettle bell guy, and I know @Slice of Life has the sweet garage gym setup, and for now, all we have at my house is (somewhere in the garage) a pair of 25 lb dumbbells.  Probably too heavy for me to do much with at this point, except maybe some bench press (but I don't have a bench). ;)

Class last night started with laps across the mats of various activities:

10 laps of running, 2 laps of duck walk, 2 laps of bunny hops (my knees aren't the best, so I'm mixing in lunges for those), 2 laps of army crawls (hard AF since you can't use your legs AT ALL, also since your pants are sliding off every few strokes), and two laps of ... I don't know what they're called, but you sit with your legs straight out and you "walk" backwards using only your hands (makes me think of Lt. Dan or some zombie from Walking Dead).

Then laps back and forth working on kicks - which is a lot more tiring than it may seem.  Mixed in with that - a lot of ab work.

Tonights gonna be elliptical again.

I literally went on craigslist and found a guy who was selling a 2 dumbbell bars and weights and bought 100 pounds worth broken up between 10's, 5's, and 2.5's.  IIRC, all told, it cost me like $60.

As for the exercises, if you have a bench, you can do most workouts.  If you don't, it somewhat limits you but you can still do lots of leg, arm, and shoulder exercises.  The only thing I really found difficult doing without a bench are bench presses and inclined bench presses.  For example, if you wanted to do a dumbbell row, one arm, bent over, you can do it in a room with a bed.  I'm not expert, and It's probably not the best thing, but in a pinch, it works.  The cool thing I've found is that there are different exercises you can do that will allow you to workout the all your muscle groups with just dumbbells.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Nice.  I only have classes 2 days a week for now, so the other days I'm working out at home as well ... however, to this point those work outs have only been 30 minutes on the elliptical and maybe some pushups as well.

If I wanted to try and add some weight lifting in as well, what is the simplest way to do that ... and by that, I mean what is the fewest amount of things I can buy and still get some decent work in?  I guess, really what I'm asking is what is your setup at home?

I know @mvmac is the kettle bell guy, and I know @Slice of Life has the sweet garage gym setup, and for now, all we have at my house is (somewhere in the garage) a pair of 25 lb dumbbells.  Probably too heavy for me to do much with at this point, except maybe some bench press (but I don't have a bench). ;)

Class last night started with laps across the mats of various activities:

10 laps of running, 2 laps of duck walk, 2 laps of bunny hops (my knees aren't the best, so I'm mixing in lunges for those), 2 laps of army crawls (hard AF since you can't use your legs AT ALL, also since your pants are sliding off every few strokes), and two laps of ... I don't know what they're called, but you sit with your legs straight out and you "walk" backwards using only your hands (makes me think of Lt. Dan or some zombie from Walking Dead).

Then laps back and forth working on kicks - which is a lot more tiring than it may seem.  Mixed in with that - a lot of ab work.

Tonights gonna be elliptical again.

I literally went on craigslist and found a guy who was selling a 2 dumbbell bars and weights and bought 100 pounds worth broken up between 10's, 5's, and 2.5's.  IIRC, all told, it cost me like $60.

As for the exercises, if you have a bench, you can do most workouts.  If you don't, it somewhat limits you but you can still do lots of leg, arm, and shoulder exercises.  The only thing I really found difficult doing without a bench are bench presses and inclined bench presses.  For example, if you wanted to do a dumbbell row, one arm, bent over, you can do it in a room with a bed.  I'm not expert, and It's probably not the best thing, but in a pinch, it works.  The cool thing I've found is that there are different exercises you can do that will allow you to workout the all your muscle groups with just dumbbells.

Once I quit my job and have no access to the company gym, I was going to do what you are doing above - buying dumbbell bars & build a bench to workout at home (garage to be exact).   I don't want to be a mini-me version of Arnold.   Just want to keep my muscle from shrinking that comes with getting old.