UGH..EXERCISE...

if you decide to join a gym i'd suggest you do compound exercises like bench press, squat, deadlift and hang clean. you'll definitely gain muscle quickly

For the hell of it, here is the home workout I do:

Pushups:
Self explanatory. Figure out a good amount for yourself to do. Just remember that while it is good to have to really push yourself to make the last few that you do, you don't want to wear yourself out too bad.

Bicycle Ab Workout:
No idea what this is actually called. Anyways, I remember reading that it was the number one way to build abs without equipment. Lie on your back, and raise your legs to about a 90 degree angle. Then, put your arms behind your head like you would if you were doing situps, with your elbows facing outwards. Now, lean up nice and high with your upper body, and begin moving your legs as if though you were riding a bicycle. As each knee comes up close to your face, twist your body, and touch the opposite elbow to it. Just keep doing this until you decide it is enough.

Calf Raises:
Easy exercise for your legs. Simply stand with your feet fairly close together, and then raise up to your tippy toes, and slowly lower yourself back down.

Squats:
No weights required here. Simply stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, and then squat down till you are in somewhat of a sitting position. Your legs should be at about a 90 degree angle. You want to make sure you aren't just leaning forwards, but rather squatting down. To do this, just try not to let your knees go over your toes.

Tricep lifts:
Some equipment is needed for this, but it is stuff you definitely have. Just grab two chairs, or even just two things that are about the same height. Sit on one, and throw your feet onto the other. Now place your hands onto the armrests (or edge, I guess) and lift yourself. Make sure your bottom is off of the chair, and then just lower yourself until your arms are at a 90 degree angle (or more if you want). Then, just lift up until your arms are straight, and repeat.

Burpies with Tuck Jumps:
Hopefully you know what burpies are by now, but here is a rundown of the entire exercise anyways. Start in a sprinters position, crouched down, hands beside you, and feet a little ways behind. Then, jump into the push up position. Now, jump back into the sprinters position, and immediately explode into a jump. The modification here, is that I do a tuck jump. So when you jump, bring your legs right up to your chest, wrap your arms around them, and then unwrap, land, and repeat. These are very grueling, and it is recommended that you probably only do them once every second workout or so. They are, however, great for power and cardio.

In between exercises:
Generally when you are working out, you shouldn't just do one workout, sit down, and then do another. It is better if you slow down between your different exercises, but still be doing something active. I prefer to either jog around, or shadowbox. For those that don't know, shadowboxing is simply practicing punching in the air. However, keep it at a good, controlled pace. Arm flailing doesn't cut it.

So....yeah.

Well, a lot of this was off of a single workout routine I read about, and I mixed it with my own. Plus, when you really look at it:

Pushups: Biceps/Pectorals
Ab Bicycle: Uh... Abs.
Calf Raises: ......Calves
Squats: Thighs, maybe some calves.
Tricep Lifts: Triceps
Burpies with Tuck Jumps: Legs, cardio
Shadowboxing/Jogging on the spot: Cardio

The only thing I think I would really overwork here are my legs, but considering that they are the strongest muscles, I think I should be ok. On top of that, I still have all of my regular biking to work/friends, etc.

Ay Feld, have you read starting strength? I was going to buy it the other day but I dunno what to expect, could you write me a review no less than 500 words, with three body paragraphs discussing the pros and cons?

Scratch the Burpies with Tuck Jumps.

Damn those left me sore :P

Ugh, don't use machines. They suck ass.

That's fine if you're not looking for lots of muscle, because the good news is you're not going to get it unless you put in a specific shitload of effort. People stay away from lifting weights because 'I don't want to get a lot of muscle and look like those dudes on magazines', but that doesn't happen by accident at all considering the mindbreaking effort and time it takes to look like that, and for some of you, it couldn't happen if you tried. I know everyone has their own goals, but I always thought that in particular was weak reasoning. By all means, don't stop jogging or walking, though.

If you're losing weight, you should always train as if, you want to gain muscle. i.e. weight train. It's one of, if not the, most efficient way to lose weight and gain a healthy amount of muscle (which is good, because muscle burns fat just by being there, and you need muscle, whether its noticeable or not), unless you want to get skinnyfat (you don't).

For some reason I have it in my head that many reps with smaller weight helps tone. I'm not sure if it's true.

It's not.

I am by no means an actual professional, haha! However I have been interested and studying this field (as well as actively pursuing it by working out and whatnot myself) for years, and now I study it college wise and plan to make a career out of it, so take that as you will.

For an elaboration on why machines usually suck; they don't build as much balance for your body, they can put you body in an undesirable (and downright dangerous over time) range of motion, they neglect a lot of secondary and stabilizer muscles and tendons (they are TERRIBLE for muscle isolation) they're extremely limited, they don't allow a natural range of motion, they can, and often do, lead to pattern overload injuries, and it isn't functional for every day movements. I could literally write a thesis on this alone.

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If that is the case, then why are they popular in gyms (where I'm assuming specialists work)?

Simple; because uneducated people use them and people make money from it. There are a lot of not so relatively useful things floating around. And admittedly they can be useful when healing from an injury.

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Also, I'm guessing the alternative is free weights, and wouldn't a person use those in a very similar manner? Wouldn't it depend on the exerise regardless of if it is a machine or free weights?

Not at all. The balance, strength and coordination required in using free weights is incredibly different from any machine. For example, try using a Smith machine to do bench presses and actually doing bench presses using a barbell. Your body and muscular system has to make countless adjustments and corrections and you consciously have to be more careful and mindful of technique, which is good, because the more you do it and the better you get at it, you're hitting stabilizer muscles and building balance and natural motion you wouldn't otherwise.

When I was a lad and played sports all the time, I "worked out" and practiced with the idea of getting better at, say, hockey. So I had something to strive for.

yeah, precisely this. i used to be pretty well in shape when I was playing football because i was training for that purpose rather than just general fitness, and it's interesting that now that I can't play anymore I have rapidly lost most of that fitness!

I didn't mean to imply there was. I just meant that just being fit/looking good isn't a big enough draw for me to invest the time and effort to workout.