Use Bodyweight Exercises To Help Transform Your Body
Discover How To Workout Without Equipment
To Build Muscle And Burn Fat
Bodyweight exercises are perfect for anyone. Especially if you’re bussy and looking to transform your body. They’re so important, I recommend them to every client. There is a bodyweight exercises in every workout. When I say everyone, I meant it.
The most advanced trainee to the newcomer does some form of body weight training. It doesn’t even matter if you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle, or just tone up. Body weight exercises can be modified for anyone and can help you transform your body.
If any of the reasons have below keep you from exercising you are going to love the flexiblity of working out without weights.
Are any of these keeping you from working out…
- the gym is too busy
- you don’t know where to start
- you don’t have any gym equipment
- you don’t have the time to go to the gym
- money is tight, who can afford gym equipment, or a gym membership for that matter
I hear you. At one time or another I could relate to every one of those statements. I still battle with time. And when I travel, it’s next to imposible to find a hotel with a decent gym.
With these body weight exercises those roadblock will become a thing of the past. They have for me. You’ll be able to workout anytime, anywhere. You’ll see yourself become healthier and look better.
Bodyweight Training The Perfect Solution.
With bodyweight exercises you are able to work out without equipment. This is perfect for you because…
- it fits into your busy schedule, you can workout anytime, anywhere
- a bodyweight workout means there is no equipment to buy
- a workout without equipment means you don’t have to go to the gym, saving money on gas, and gym memberships
- you can workout at home, in a private setting, no need to feel intimidated or embarrassed at the gym
As I mentioned before bodyweight exercises can be used to build muscle and burn fat or replace your typical cardio routine.
How you structure your workout will shift emphases from either fat loss or muscle building.
Selecting the most difficult exercises that create muscle fatigue around the 8 – 10 rep range will stress muscle building and tone. Burn fat with bodyweight exercises by setting them up in a circuit fashion and using variations that allow you more reps. If your goal is fat loss, do each exercise for 20 – 60 seconds. Have your circuit last at least 4 minutes and you have a great fat burning cardio routine.
Below is a list of over 25 different exercises that you can do at home, on the road, or in a crowed gym instead of using dumbbells and barbells. If you put them in a fat blasting cardio circuit you don’t even need typical cardio equipment. Your body becomes your machine. Discover how to transform your body with bodyweight training.
Chest Workout Without Equipment
Typically the first thing people think of when it comes to building and shaping the chest is the bench press. If you’ve been in any gym on a Monday, chances are are good that every bench in the place has been taken. No need to wait for a free bench, or even head to the gym. You can work your chest and build muscle without weights. To tighten and tone your chest, shoulders, and triceps, here are a few bodyweight exercise options:
- push up variations
- close-grip, hits the triceps really hard
- elevated
- decline
- pike
- spiderman
- off-set
- hands on a ball
- push ups with your feet on a ball
- to really take it up a notch try the close-grip spiderman pushups with your feet elevated
- handstand push up or hold
Body Weight Workout For Legs
Working the legs will really help burn those calories and help shed that unwanted belly fat. So if weight loss is your goal, make sure you include plenty of leg exercises in your cardio circuit.
- Squats
- pistol
- single leg sitting onto bench
- counter balanced single leg
- Bulgarian split squats
- step-ups
- high box
- low box
- 1-leg lying hip extensions
- Lunge
- forward
- reverse
- off low step
- 1-leg deadlifts
This quick video gives you a few options for the single leg deadlift. Each variation gets progressively more difficult.
Workout Your Back Without Equipment
Working your back is a little more difficult without equipment. Because the muscles of the back used for pulling, you need something to pull against. But it can be done. You don’t need any machines, or weights.
Instead of doing dumbbell rows or using a pulley machine, work your back with some of these body weight exercises.
If you’re in the gym setting use a smith machine. You can also go to a park and use some playground equipment. The monkey bars, and jungle gym steps are perfect for working your back. Another alternative is to buy some gymnastics rings or blast straps. These are relatively inexpensive and open you up to a world of different exercises. They can take your bodyweight training to a whole new level.
Here are a few things he can do to work your back with with to smith machine, playground equipment, or suspension straps…
- Inverted rows
- neutral grip
- underhand grip
- feet elevated
As you get stronger there a bunch of different pull up variations you can do too. But for this you need something or had to grab like a pull up bar or the monkey bars.
- pull-up variations
- jumping
- towel
- eccentric only
- sternum pull-ups
- side to side pull-ups
- change your grips, over, under, and neutral
- the most difficult, a 1 arm pull up
As you can see, with bodyweight exercises you’re able to work every major muscle group. You have your pushing exercises, pulling exercises, and your leg exercises. You’re even going to hit your core at the same time.
To build muscle with0ut equipment using bodyweight exercises, select the most difficult variation in each exercise. Making sure that you reach muscle fatigue around rep 8.
To use bodyweight exercises for cardio, string a few of the easier exercise variations together to make a circuit. Do each exercise for 20 to 60 seconds at a vigorous pace. Getting in as many reps as you can.
You have total freedom on how many exercises you put in your circuit. The more you add in the less time you will spend on each.
I prefer high intensity cardio. That means each circuit will last around 3 minutes. Give or take a minute. You can make them last longer, but I wouldn’t recommend you go any longer than 6 minutes. Feel free to do multiple circuits. Rest 1 – 2 minutes between each round. 20 total minutes of these circuits is all you really need.
A few no equipment needed CrosFit workouts:
- 4 Rounds: Do 5 handstand push ups, then sprint 400 meters. If you can’t do a handstand push up hold the position for 30 seconds
- 5 Rounds: 10 vertical jumps for maximum height, 10 push-ups
- 10 Rounds: 5 push ups, then into a 30 second plebs plank.
- 100 jumping jacks, 75 air squats, 50 push ups, 25 burpies
- 3 Rounds: 1/2 mile run, then 50 air squats
- 10 Rounds for time: Run 100 meters, then 20 air squats
- 3 Rounds: 20 jumping jacks, 20 burpies, 20 air squats
- 10 Rounds: 30 second handstand hold, then hold bottom of squat for 30 seconds
- “Susan” – Sprint 200m, 10 squats, finish with 10 push ups. 5 Rounds as quick as you can
- 3 Rounds: 20 tuck jumps, 30 second handstand hold or 15 handstand push ups
- 10 sets of: 100 meter sprints followed by 100 meter walk.
If you are looking for more ideas or a workout routine be sure to grab…
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