Exercise using your Bodyweight!
Use Body Weight Exercises to bring the best out of your workout. Using your body weight to get the body you want has several advantages. For one, it puts less strain on your muscles and joints therefore preventing injury, whilst also giving your muscles ample weight to tone and tighten. Also, this method costs nothing! ... bodyweight exercises do not require expensive equipment or monthly gym memberships. They can be carried out anywhere, anytime.
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Do some Bodyweight Exercises every day! - Get into a routine and establish a set of exercises that you can do daily, from home. They do not have to take up much time and it will not cost you anything. Just allowing yourself 15 minutes in the morning and/or 15 minutes in the evening, you could easily complete 3 sets of exercises focusing on 3 different muscle groups.
Below I have listed a handful of exercises, using purely your bodyweight, that are very effective and can be done at home. Alternatively, you could Click Here for access to over 1000 HD exercise videos.
- Squats - These are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises you can perform. When completed properly, squats provide a full body workout, even though you may only feel like it is exercising your lower body, it actually also targets large muscle groups in the upper body.
As demonstrated in the picture, a squat is basically a deep knee bend. Keeping your spine slightly arched backwards by pushing your chest out.Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel with the ground. Then extend your legs out again.
To test yourself, try doing them as fast as you can without losing balance or good form. Keep increasing the speed and repetition amount when you feel they have become easier. This exercise can also be performed using freeweights.
Target: Try and complete 60 squats in 2 minutes or less the more you can do within this time, the better. The key to losing weight with this exercise is to perform them relatively quickly without breaking the squat exercise posture.
2. Press-ups/Push-ups - These are probably the most well-known bodyweight exercise, and if executed correctly, you can see and feel the results in a matter of days. Push-up styles can vary dramatically, primarily targeting the chest, upper body and shoulders.
If you start by placing your hands shoulder width apart, then as you find them easier, move your hands closer together and challenge yourself. Doing pushups with your hands in varying positions will exercise different parts of the pectoral muscle group.
Tip: For the best pushup, keep your back straight and perform them slowly. (The whole movement should not be done in less than 2 seconds from start position, down, then back up to the extended start position). This allows more muscle fibres to be targeted.
Target: Try and complete 3 sets of 12 push-ups, with 1-2 minutes rest in-between sets. Use 1 different hand position for each set, training a different area of the pectoral upon each set.
3. Pull-ups/Chin-ups - This exercise is one of the most effective in targeting your upper body muscle groups. In this single motion alone, pull-ups work your biceps, forearms and your latissimus dorsi, whilst also flexing your abdominals.
When adopting the pull-up/chin-up position, you can either grab the bar with your palms facing away or towards you (as demonstrated).The difference between the variations is simple; palms facing towards you are pull-ups and these greatly include the use of biceps. Palms away from you is a chin-up, and targets less of the biceps but more of the latissimus dorsi.
Tip: This exercise can be really effective in toning your abdominals to a max; either cross your legs by your ankles or keep your knees together and, as you pull yourself up, bring your knees as high up to your chest as you can. Then extend your legs back out again as you lower yourself down.
4. Sit-ups/Crunches - These are the most commonly used exercises to tone the abdominal muscle group. There are many variants of these that can be used to tone the different parts of the abdominals; upper, lower and obliques.
Place your hands across your chest, or either side of your head (not behind your head).
For a sit-up: pull your body up, between 30-45 degrees off the ground, whilst keeping your bottom and legs on the ground. Then lower back down again.
For a crunch: whilst laid down, place your feet closer to your bottom (within reaching distance). With the crunch movement your back is going to be more curved as you curl your body inwards. Crunch in as far as you can and tap your ankles with your hands, before extending back again into start position.
Tip: Whilst doing crunches, as you contract in, try and go as far inwards as you can (asif you were actually trying to crunch your abs!). If done properly, these are really good for targeting the hard to reach lower abdominals.