I got the BFL book from the library and Im making TONS of copies! I should stop being cheap and just buy it hehe. Anyways! Im excited to tone up and build muscle. I have skimmed through and read some of the book (Im working on reading it cover to cover) but I have a few questions. I already went through the Sticky BFL post and it did answer a few questions but I still have some. I am underweight right now and need to gain about 7-10lbs, as long as I eat enough is this SAFE for me? I see that with each rep you change the weight, so is it best to buy the individual dumbells? I was hoping to save myself some money and buy the bar with the nut on the end that you can take weights on and off, or is this too time consuming while working out? Is it necessary to buy anything other than the weights? I could use a chair, or piano bench (or any other suggestions?). I have NO space and since I live at home and am a teenager I kinda have to follow what the parents says. I have questions about the creatine and things because Ive heard bad things about it, but Ill make sure to read through that part of the book before asking questions. I AM SO EXCITED! I may be underweight but I do get a bit winded going up a flight of steps and I am by no means TONE. I just dont have much body fat! I am nervous about gaining weight but I know I need to, I would be more comfortable gaining some of the weight in the form of muscle. Thanks so much in advance!!!

HI el corazón,

Welcome to the BFL forum and congratulations on your decision to start.

We had a discusion a little while ago about home gym vs. a gym membership, here is the link. In this discusion we also talked about what type of home equipment we prefered.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=145977

My personal #1 choice is to workout at a gym. But there are others here that workout at home and are doing great. So what ever works for you. The important thing is to do it.

When I was working out at home, I tried working out with adjustable dumbbells, but I found it a real pain to be taking off weight and putting it back on all the time. I ended up buying individual dumbbells. But in the link you will see another link to some pretty cool easy to adjust dumbbells. The other thing that you will find most useful is a bench and barbell. A piano bench sounds slippery and won't hold the bar up for you.

If you want to gain a little weight this is the way to do it. You want as much of that weight as possible to be muscle rather than fat.

I hope you enjoy doing this as much as I have. It is tough some mornings to do it, but it's well worth it. And we have each other, to help us through the tough spots. I've had good results and so have most people that stick with it. Be sure to read and do the motivational stuff that is in the book. It will help you down the road.

Arnie

Thanks Arnie for the info! There wouldnt happen to be an earlier discussion about not being able to workout in the mornings would there? And since Im not trying to burn fat really anymore do I still not have to eat before cardio? I find it VERY VERY difficult to not eat as soon as I get up, I usually feel like Im starving first thing. Im reading through the book as we speak maybe Ill find some of my answers in there. Back to reading....!

Make sur eto read the book on calories and protien. In order to keep up on the exercises and build lean mass instead of doing damage you are going to have to work on raising both.

The eating 6 meals a day you should do great with though

Hi el corazón:

That's great you are taking the plunge.

The bodyforlife website has some discussion about doing BFL without losing weight. You don't have to focus on working out on an empty stomach since fat loss isn't your goal. He also mentions that you add more carbs to your first 3 meals of the day. Here are the Q&A links:
Working out on an empty stomach
I'm already lean?

I personally think you would get more out of the program if you join a gym, given that money and space are both tight. I workout at home with pretty good equipment and often think it would be nice to workout at a gym (although I do prefer working out at home). If I had to workout with substandard equipment, I would find it very frustrating.

Good luck!

Wanda

Hello el corazón,
congrats on taking the challenge!

As a relatively newcomer (I just finished week 3 and my husband week 2) I started out just like you. I could either buy very minimal equipment (adjustable weights and possibly an adjustable bench) or look into joining a gym for my birhtday. I opted for buying equipment and jogging for cardio, but after a week of extremely frustrating workouts (my minutes between sets were spent in a mad frenzy trying to take the collars off the weights, get the new weights on and get those $&*# things back together, and refer to the book to see how to properly do the exercise. then there was cardio. I jogged one day in circles around the parking garage and the next time drove to the beach to jog on the sidewalk (at 3am). It was dark, empty, my fingers were frozen, my radio didn't come in, and the air chilled my lungs and made me cough all day! I came to the conclusion that BFL was going to lead to either bursting a blood vessel from frustration, perpetual sickness from winter morning jogs, or giving up. So I was going to hunt down those elusive probell or power block Wanda showed me and think about buying a compact rowing machine from a coworker for $20 for cardio. I knew I'd soon want to have other equipment though, like a stationary bicycle. I returned the freeweights and bench. On the way to the store to look at them I saw a gym fairly close to me had a $19 a month special so lo and behold- I not only joined but I fanagled my couch potato exercise-free hubby join too. We were both weary of the money we'd spend AND the fear we both had of working out in front of people.
but 2 weeks later, we are both feeling the benefits and what looked impossible is now becomming a stronger habit each day. I don't feel as apprehensive about working out in front of people, even the muscleheads that hang out in the free weight room. My husband quickly got over the jokes and fun his friends poked at him for joining a gym and (gasp) exercising! (Jealosy, if you ask me) And now the small sacrifices we have to make to pay our gym memberships seem small compared to all the problems our limited budget and small space allowed to work out at home.

Sorry to make a short story long.. I've been reading BFL success stories this morning and I guess it fueled me up.

Good luck!

Hey everyone! Thanks for the encouragement! My friend is gonna give me her weights cuz she doesnt use them. Its the kind that you can add or take weight off, with the bolt thing on the end. Im imagining its gonna be a pain but I dunno. We'l see how it goes, and if it doesnt work I havent lost much and Ill look into joining a gym. I dont like working out in front of people though, blah..I wouldnt mind an all womens gym though. We'll see!!