I have heard many great things about BFL and want to know its general premise before buying the book. Do I need to invest in a ton of equipment? I am 40 miles from nearest fitness facility so need something I can do at home. I do have a home wieght machine for legs and arms and abs. I am also purchasing a treadmill this week. Help!

Ypu don't need to buy expensive equipment. A few sets of hand weights and a bench is all you need, you can always go running outdoors. free weights are far better than machines. go to the website and get some ideas ont he excercises you can do at home.

Good luck

I live in Alaska and have a baby at home so running outside is out of the question for much of the year. Hubby also works long hours so only time to run or walk is early am or late pm when its dark and cold and kids with homework etc...Thank you for your input.
What is the website that gives out the workout instructions for free???

and to add...no room for bench with treadmill and weight machine taking up the room.

It would be really hard to do BFL with no weights, or time for cardio. The simplist answer is to go to the library and get the book. Most of it is filled with success stories and motivation.

Also check the sticky at the top. It gives a link to pdf pages to print out. They do not tell you how to do exercises though, as there are no specific exercises to do. You work specific body parts. Lower body days you do quads, hamstrings, calves and abs. Upper body days you do chest, shoulders, back, triceps, then biceps. Three days a week you do cardio.

What makes it BFL is you do it pyramid style, basicaly doing 6 sets, with specific reps each set and raising resistance or weight each set. That is why it would be hard to do it without weights.

Best thing is to see if you can find a gym with child care, or someone to watch the baby for 1 hour 6 days a week. On lifting days you would spend about an hour working out, and on cardio days 20 min.

I have a baby at home too, along with a 4 year old, so I know how hard it can be to find time. What may suit you better is to find workout tapes that you can do while the baby is napping, or before bed. Yoga and Pilates are great choices and don't take up much room. You only need enough room to lay down. There are also books you can look into on exercises and yoga you can do with the baby. That could be fun for both of you

Hi Smidgie:

I have a weight machine and treadmill in our home too. But I don't think I could do BFL without a set of dumbbells. Luckily, they aren't that expensive. As for the bench, you probably don't really need it. I have a cheapie one, but you could get creative. For instance, if you bought a fitball, some exercises with the dumbbells could be done sitting on it or leaning a body part against it. To take the instability out of the ball, lean it up against the wall, anchor it between your legs, or brace it with one hand, depending on the exercise. Besides, the fitball is an excellent tool for exercises and stretching. The machine also has benches you might be able to use as well. You just have to think creatively.

Check out http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html to help you customize something for yourself. If you are in the book store, check out a book called "Personal Fitness" by Simon Frost. You may not want to buy it, but flipping through it will give you some ideas. It has dumbbell exercises, fitball exercises and fitball used with dumbbels and cables.

As for the book, I don't think I would have started BFL without reading the book. I just wasn't motivated enough b/c I had to overcome some psychological barriers from previous fibromyalgia, which causes chronic pain in the muscle.

There's more info on this site about how to do BFL than there is in the book, but I haven't seen anything as inspiring as what Bill Philips says in the book. If you need motivation, invest in the book. Besides, all the proceeds from the sale of his book go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

HTH,
Wanda

WOW! Who needs the book to inspire...I've got all of you. Thanks for the info. I was thinking about the ball and now plan on getting one. The kids will love it too! As for free weights, I was planning on getting some along with the treadmill. Thanks so much for all the priceless info people.
Its nice to also hear from other moms who understand just how tough it can be with those little ones always under foot.

Under foot, under bottom, everywhere else you can think of. When my son was 2 he would find me in yoga poses and try to push me over. Now he tries to do the stretches with me and has his own yoga tape for kids. The baby will crawl under me and try to climb on me while stretching. I think occasionaly she tries to copy me to, though some of her normal positions look like yoga moves. I seriously wish I was that darn flexable.

LOL ladybelle....everyday with abs is like being a human jungle gym for the 14mo. old. She giggles the whole time which makes it even harder. Ever tried working out and laughing at the same time...?!! Oh those little nerds!!