Sometimes the day escapes us, or a common excuse for not exercising is time. We also think we can’t do a good session at home without any equipment. This is incorrect. Our body weight is the best weight to use when training and there are so many exercises and workouts you can do at home without any equipment.
Firstly I would like to explain a little better, the benefits of body weight training and then I am going to give you some examples of exercises and a workout to complete at home this week.
Benefits:
- Its quicker
High-output, bodyweight-based exercises such as plyometrics yield awesome fitness gains in very short workout durations. Since there’s no equipment involved, bodyweight workouts make it easy to transition quickly from one exercise to the next. Shorter rest times mean it’s easy to boost Heart Rate faster and burn some serious calories.2.
2. Want to hit cardio and toning at the same time?
If you are stuck for time but need to hit cardio and strength in one workout performing quick bodyweight cardio sessions (such as one minute of burpees or a set of jumping jacks) in between strength exercises will keep the heart pumping while still encouraging muscle and strength development. Just a few minutes of a body weight circuit (series of exercises grouped together) can have a major impact on the body’s metabolism
3. There is exercises to suit everyone
Bodyweight exercises are a great choice because they’re easily modified to challenge any fitness level. Adding extra repetitions, performing the exercises faster or slower, and perfecting technique are a few ways to make even the simplest exercise more challenging. And progress is easy to measure.
4. Improve Abdominal and Core Strength
The “core” is more than just abs. In fact, at least 29 muscles make up the human core, and many simple body weight exercises can be used to engage all of them. Such exercises improve core strength for better posture and improved athletic performance. Pilates is the best kind of exercises you can do to improve, strengthen and tone your core, With specific exercises for abdominal and spinal muscles than can be adapted or progressed to suit every persons individual strengths and weaknesses.
5. It is fun
Heading indoors for exercise is not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s another beauty of bodyweight exercises: They can be performed inside or outdoors in the sun, alone or with a group of friends, which is particularly enjoyable and can also push you to work a little harder. Maybe time yourself doing a number of body weight exercises, take a break and then repeat those exercises again, aiming to do them faster etc.
6. Most importantly, RESULTS!!!
Body weight exercises get results partly because they often involve compound movements (meaning numerous joints and muscles are engaged in each move). Compound exercises such as push-ups, lunges, and chin-ups have been shown to be extremely effective in gaining muscles strength and performance. The results from bodyweight training are amplified even more because of the core strength they develop (see #5 above). And research shows improved core strength gained through bodyweight training translates into improved strength gains throughout the entire body, so why not give it a try??
Here is a few body weight exercises, for example you can do at home:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Push Ups
- Crunches
- Plank
- Side Planks
- Box Jumps
- Step Ups
- Glute Kicks
- Burpees
- Star Jumps
- Jumping Jacks
- Mountion Climbers
- Hip Thrusts
- Shoulder Bridge
- Leg Raises
- Tuck jump
- Bear crawl
- Jump squat
- Jump lunge
- Pistol squat
- Single leg deadlift
- Calf raises
- Tricep dips
- Diamond push up
- Handstand
- Handstand pushups
- Flats sprints
- Hill sprints
- Shuttle sprints
- Sprint on the spot
All to name just a few of the exercises you can do with no weights or equipment. For a quick and tough workout to do at home this week I want you to pick 5 exercises from the above list. Try incorporating all body parts in your choices ie: legs, core, arms, and cardio.
Do each exercise for a minute and recover for 30 seconds between, and repeat all, 3- 5 times, depending on your personal fitness level. You will have a tough workout complete in 15-20 minutes, you will be sweating and so happy you did it.
If you are uncertain of any exercise, please don’t do them without help from a trainer or supervision.
