Lotta crap out there I mainly just stick to HIIT where I switch between a constant low stress cardio and lifting every few minutes. The products that work best put stress on specific muscle groups in atypical ways. (Kinda how like swimming is one of the best forms of exercise b/c of the low impact and range of motion. Anyways, if you're looking for some cheap starter equipment that actually works grab a cheap generic ab wheel $12 or less and the Perfect Pushup v2 w/ the wide grips. A few reps on the abwheel will have you have you feeling like you just did a shit ton of situps w/o the backpain. It works the muscle group in a longer range of motion and strengthens the core and upper body to maintain balance. The Perfect pushup thingies are just awesome b/c you elevate your feet to increase difficulty and they're hard as well the first time b/c of the increased core stability they require. Really helped me start getting tricep gains again after being in a benchpress rut. Really helped bring better definition to my shoulders where they meet the chest etc. Obviously everyone needs a pull up bar. One last thing I'll recommend that sounds like a gimmick but isn't is Ab-Straps. You hang em from your pullup bar and use em to easily hang longer while you target your core. All in you're looking at around the $50 - $75 dollar range. Only doing situps is a scam. The benefit to strain they put on the lower back isn't worth it and take endless reps. Over time you exercise less b/c of the abuse they do to your lower back. I've got a weight bench, tons of clays, and a treadmill I got super cheap/free on Craigslist b/c the cost of taking those items w/ you on long moves isn't cheap and it's easier to just get rid of. Gyms never worked for me b/c exercise is boring as shit and the time to drive there. This way I just do it all in front of the tv in a pair of boxers. Just be patient on finding a weight bench or treadmill. Just check craigslist every day for a couple months and you'll find a barely used treadmill for next to nothing or free b/c someone is moving long distance. Condition of the clays and bench don't really matter and it's a very common free item to get on craigslist b/c of the cost and effort to move em. If the clays have a little rust just touch em up w/ some flat black rustoleum spray paint. W/ in 6 months you'll have a decent home gym for a small fraction of the price of a yearly gym membership that you'll actually use b/c you can just do it in the convenience of your home in your boxers while watching the boob tube. No extra loads of laundry b/c of gym clothes either. So on to diet. Counting calories never worked for me and atkins while effective in the short term is a lifestyle choice you'll burn out on. My suggestion is to do it like this. Six months of Atkins to get to where you want to be fast then just modify your diet where you only eat carbs every third day. Use Sunday and a slow/pressure cooker to make yourself lunch for the week. Then just heat up some microwave vegetables and eat grilled chicken type stuff a lot. You can get bulk chicken breasts frozen in broth that you can cook up in your frying pan or oven w/o having to thaw em. I never ever count calories to this day. It's about finding a dietary and exercise balance that doesn't make any aspect feel like a job or hassle. The most general rule for lifting is carb free for cutting and definition, mass carb intake for bulking. Whey protein shake before or after exercise to aid w/ recovery. When doing the 6 months of Atkins also do a casein shake at night. It's a slow absorbing protein that keeps your metabolism active in the 6-8 hours of sleep. On atkins there will be days you just feel ravenously hungry. Fry up a ton of eggs and eat until you're full. Carb free really does work and it's simple as hell b/c you just check net carbs on the food labels of shit you buy. To figure out net carbs just subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbs. An item that has 19grams of carbs and 16grams of fiber only has 3g net carbs and is atkins healthy. Simplest diet in the world and cheap as shit w/ a little sunday prep for the lunches. Eggs w/ cheese topped w/ salsa, sausage, bacon breakfast eat until full, crockpot chicken recipe and maybe some leftover veggies for lunch(also eat until full), Chicken breast and broccoli for dinner(again eat as much as you like). Become a chicken connoisseur, it's easy and cheap to spice it a million different ways. It's about getting to a level of fitness that looks good and maintaining it. I'm at the point now where I just do light maintenance. Exercise enough and it does become addictive feeling b/c of the mental health benefits. A couple days w/ out it once you've gotten used to it over a couple months and it legit feels like your muscles crave it b/c you've acclimated and gotten used to the activity level. I'm no expert by any means and do what works for you. This is just what works for me. Once you really find your rhythm doing this it's super easy. Bacon and eggs takes a matter of minutes to make in the morning. Seriously you can fry em up in as little as 3 min w/ like 2 mins prep cracking and grabbing some shredded cheese or some shit. Crockpot recipes take like 30 mins prep tops on a sunday and then you can just reheat in the microwave all week long, the chicken in the frozen broth takes me like 10 mins in a frying pan. I know it sounds redundant at this point but there is a reason I'm explaining all this. It's made my marriage happier. You'd be amazed how much mental effort you waste just figuring out what you want to eat. Get a couple recipes under your belt, pick up a trick here and there like the individually packaged chicken in broth you can cook from frozen, and sunday prep of lunches for the week. I don't think about what I want to eat at all anymore b/c I've found balance. No more food debates b/c we just spice to our own personal liking, and the most interesting byproduct of doing atkins for 6 months by far. Go to your favorite fastfood place. Order something. You'll feel sick as hell b/c your body is telling you how toxic that shit is but you don't notice the effects if you're used to it. Anyways the purpose of typing up this whole rant is personal motivation. I'm going to do another 6 months of atkins soon and heavy exercise b/c I want to get to the next level. I was always active my whole life endless sports as a kid and boot camp after HS never got me a sixpack. When I finally achieved the aesthetic in my 30s while working a desk job it felt amazing. Best I ever had before was a weird 4 pack type deal. This is about getting to the next level of definition. I don't exercise to get big. I exercise to look good and find balance. 6 months of work, then maintenance of that physical level is just easy and low impact after. Biggest mistake I've made w/ exercise is trying to go too hard all at once. It wears down the body over time and burns you out. Fitness isn't about weight loss. People that think like that lose the weight quit the diet and just gain it back. It's about finding a healthy balance where no aspect whether it's diet or exercise feels like a job and you're going w/o. The people who tell you "calories in and calories out" aren't wrong. Counting calories turns you into the drug dealer of your own food. Carefully measuring amounts on a scale and adding up total daily calories. It's a second job is what it is. These people go hungry so they don't go over a limit burning themselves out further. Going low carb for a period resets the body then only eating carbs once every three days lets you eat what ever you want every 3 days w/ exercise b/c your body is good at burning carbs now b/c you're not overloading it w/ em. It sounds like work but it's just acclimating to lifestyle change. Once you've devoloped the habit and the rhythm of it all you'll find you don't waste time worrying about what to eat b/c you can just make something healthy and filling fast. I spend less time worrying about, preparing, waiting for in drive thru lines, etc of all the deathfats I work with. Healthier than I've ever been in my life in my mid 30s looking to go next level. The best thing is the smug feeling you get when people rage about you being able to eat anything you want b/c you got that "good metabolism" lol. Cardio isn't work. You get the best benefits by simply keeping your heart level over a certain point for like 30 minutes. I just walk briskly on the treadmill w/ it inclined watching tv, go make a protein shake in my shaker bottle, then do four sets of four different exercises w/ the weights. You don't have to bang thru the lifting fast. Do a set, shitpost online/read news, another set, find something else to put on the tv then shitpost online again. When done like that it's not work but just passing the time doing the same shit you always do but unproductively. Getting fit isn't sacrifice it's work. Live that basic lifestyle and you'll never feel hungry. Once you are fit maintaining it is as easy as 30 mins of HIIT 3 times a week or as I prefer casual but light exercise where I just do a set here and there while doing other shit. Upper body one day, lower the next. Once you've found your balance it's easier to be healthy than it is not to be. All the habits you develop just replace the old ones you had before. That balance makes everything in life feel like less work. Anyways autistic rant over. I've done 4 sets of hammer curls in btw intermittently typing this and watching netflix. I'm not gonna proofread it either. Let it be repetitive and poorly written. An intermittent and stretched out approach to exercise is a must when you've got a desktop. A quick set here and there breaks up your day but most importantly keeps you from just sitting constantly for extended periods of time. Sitting on your ass all day is just as bad as a pack a day habit. The healthier you are the better you look, the better you look the better people treat you (they seriously do). Not one of the better aspects of humanity but it is what it is. Those fat acceptance faggots just want the desert w/o eating their vegetables. They want the special treatment while not engaging in behaviors that attract it. The tragic saga of the spoiled man-children and women of my generation. They demand their participation trophy. Gonna go relax w/ a couple drinks, watch the next episode, of this series, and intermittently shitpost whatever's amusing me or irritating me at any given moment. So pretty much what I've been doing all day. See you space cowboys.