A lightweight program to stay fit in a small space and time

Question

I am 1.72cm and 70 kg.

I have limited space in my house, and don't really have time to get out of it to places for exercise.

I have very small motivation to put my time into exercising in a day, one factor being the lack of space.

In any case, I decided I will dedicate my time to this activity to stay fit, that's the one thing lacking in my life.

I used to be active in the past, weightlift 50kg with dumbbells etc.

My goal is to get used to being active and up my cardio. Turn excess fat into muscle. Finally build up to my old physique, where I used to lift 50kg.

I figured I would start small, like 4-8 minutes in a day, and build up to at least half an hour 3 days / week.

I don't plan to buy dumbbells for now, until at least I work out my core to an active stable position.

My favorite activity is crunches, those 30 min workout videos. Then pushups. Unfortunately I don't have equipment to do any pullups, and I am not sure if I can hang a pullup bar in my door, that would fit, and be stable. I am also interested in bodyweight calisthenics, like planche or handstand progression.

I ask for any tips to activate and stick to my decision. Secondly a nice small program to get things going and let me stay fit and motivated.

Answer 1

I would suggest more than 4-8 minutes, even if its just walking as 4-8 minutes is almost useless-- but if you really want to ease into working out and not lose motivation, I would suggest the following:

1. Most importantly, before you even start exercising --Start by eating healthier foods and good energy foods and cut out junk. This will make exercise not suck, as trying to work off a donut and coffee while you're dehydrated as opposed to a bowl of plain oatmeal/eggs/fruit and several cups of water will make you enjoy working out instead of feeling like death.
2. (If you're really out of shape)Start by walking 20-30 minutes a few times a week, and then everyday. walking is easy to do and low intensity, and if you're out of breathe walking, then you should stay in this zone, otherwise move up. Graduate to walking 50 min or more a day if you have time. This isn't something you have to do forever, but it can be your workout until you have a basic foundation of energy. This may not be you, but several people cant even handle walking for 10-15 minutes at a park without feeling exhausted.
3. jog a couple times a week, and jump rope a couple times a week. jump rope is very quick cardio, but burns a lot more than just jogging. while it mainly uses carbs as an energy source, it can help you get into exercising quickly, and you only need 10 minutes to get a very good workout as opposed to 30 minutes of jogging.
4. Add air squats(no resistance) squats to your day. it doesnt have to be a workout, but you can literally just stand up every couple hours and do 20-30 squats and pushups. This will help your body get more in an active mindset, and is not necessarily a workout, but just something to get you used to being active.
5. Buy a set of resistance bands. you can get a set of 5 ranging from 10-50 lbs for as cheap as $50, and you can combine the resistance bands together either by using multiple, or by folding them in half. Combining them, you can get as much resistance as ~10+20+30+40+50 or ~150lbs. You can do a full body workout with literally nothing but resistance bands. You will have to look up different exercises depending on your space and setup and get creative.
6. If you have outdoor space or a park, you can bring the resistance bands with you and workout or even tie them to park equipment to get creative.
7. With steps 6 and 7, form a workout plan using bands at least 3 times a week with a full body routine, and add a couple cardio days. It all depends on the time you have, but I would highly suggest to use bands if you want to make decent progress.