The fitness workouts I find most beneficial throughout my life are bodyweight exercises. Pull-ups and push-ups are my favorite go-to drills. I do pushups regularly at home, but pull-ups are the most strenuous and are mostly done at the gym or where I can find bars for pull-ups. It is essential to start small initially and build yourself up to more reps as you go. Strength training should be more comprehensive than lifting heavyweights with lots of equipment. The best workouts are the ones I can do anywhere without carrying much. Push-ups, chair risers (sometimes called sit-to-stands), and pull-ups can be done at most parks and recreational sites. Doing these workouts correctly and consistently is very effective, and you can always add weight training as you progress.
What Exactly Are Bodyweight Exercises?
Bodyweight training uses your own body weight as resistance in weight-bearing exercises. This sort of exercise can help you gain strength and muscle while also improving your functional fitness and cardiovascular health.
When practicing bodyweight training, eccentric and concentric contractions (stretching and flexing) of the muscles are performed to work your muscles so that they adapt and become stronger in response.
Bodyweight Exercises Have Many Advantages
Bodyweight exercise, like other types of resistance training, is helpful for developing strength and muscle mass while decreasing visceral fat. This influences body composition, metabolism, and daily functioning while also preventing certain illnesses and diseases.
Bodyweight training can result in some strength increases, especially if you are new to the kind of exercise. To keep seeing improvements, you must progress your routines with progressively difficult forms of bodyweight motions.
Bodyweight exercise is efficient and convenient for workout planning because it requires no setup or equipment. Bodyweight movements can be used to perform HIIT or circuit-style workouts because the lack of equipment allows for quick and easy transitions between exercises.
How Do Bodyweight Exercises Work?
Bodyweight exercises can be performed with just your body weight and the ground, or using props and other equipment to vary the angle and positioning of your body. You can, for example, elevate your feet or hands using a bench, table, step, or chair to change the intensity or muscles involved during the activity.
Here are some bodyweight exercises you can attempt:
Push-Ups
Push-ups are a useful, compound activity that works your chest, back, and core. Push-ups are an efficient movement to try because they can improve your spinal stability and core strength while also developing your chest.
Put your hands flat on the floor below your shoulders and extend your legs behind you, balancing on your toes and balls of your feet.
Squeeze your glutes and contract your core to hold your hips up.
Bend your elbows and drop your chest to almost touch the floor, feeling a stretch across your chest and front shoulders.
When returning to the starting position by pressing through your hands and straightening your arms, don’t let your hips collapse while you’re braced.
Try 5 to 10, or as many as you need to challenge yourself.
Lunges while Walking
Walking lunges are unilateral motions that aid in the development of strength and athleticism. They also improve your balance and stability, lowering your risk of falling and injuring yourself.
Stand with your hands down at your sides and place your feet shoulder-width apart.
Step forward with one leg and your other foot behind you in a lengthy stride.
As you walk down toward the ground, bend your knees while keeping your back straight. Your knee should be about an inch off the ground.
Hold for a count of three, then rise by pushing through your front foot and straightening your knees. Bring your foot forward, adjacent to your front foot, after rising.
Rep with the opposite leg to complete one rep.
Try 15 to 20 repetitions.
Crawling Bears
Bear crawls are a delightful workout that tests your entire core as well as your legs.
Place your knees beneath your hips and your hands beneath your shoulders on the floor. Lift your hips and stretch your legs and arms while maintaining a neutral neck.
Step forward with your right hand while simultaneously stepping forward with your left foot. To advance forward, repeat with the left hand and right foot. This is one repetition.
Alternate between moving the opposing hand and foot forward each time. Maintain a firm core throughout.
Try 10 to 20 repetitions or 30 to 60 seconds.
Shoulder Press with Your Own Weight
This bodyweight shoulder press is difficult and may surprise you if you are used to using weights. Elevating your feet will make it more challenging (on either a chair, table or exercise ball). The greater the verticality, the more difficult the movement.
Start with a push-up and then push your bum up, walking your feet into a downward-dog stance.
Bend your elbows and lower your shoulders to the ground slowly.
Tap your forehead lightly on the ground, then push back up into the starting position.
Rep for 8 to 10 times.
The Glute Bridge
Glute bridges work the glutes, hips, hamstrings, and core muscles. They are an excellent form of exercise for relieving and avoiding back pain.
Lie on your back, legs bent, feet flat on the floor.
For support, place your hands at your sides, palms pressing against the floor.
Extend your hips by pressing your feet into the floor and lifting your glutes off the floor.
Raise your arms until your back, hips, and thighs make a straight line. Hold your glutes for a count of three. Avoid arching your back.
Return to the starting location with control.
Rep 15 to 20 times more.
Suspension can help you improve your game
A suspension trainer can be used to add diversity and challenge to your bodyweight workouts. Suspension trainers allow you to use your body weight in the air rather than being constrained by the floor. You may execute hundreds of motions in this manner, increasing and decreasing the difficulty of some bodyweight moves.
A Final Thought from Doc T Elliott
Bodyweight training is a type of resistance exercise that may work your complete body regardless of fitness level. Introduce additional workouts and increase repetitions or modify the angles to create more resistance to continue noticing results. Remember, it is vital to be the most effective with bodyweight exercises to progress gradually. It is good to be on a routine, and when you are unsure of the best method to do these workouts, seek help from a personal trainer that can assist you. Consult a healthcare provider if you are experiencing pain or discomfort.