How to make bodyweight exercises work
Written by: Brad Pilon
I just made the decision to install some Stahl bars in my home gym.
They’re hard to describe (googling them is best) but if I had to describe them, I’d say they look like a giant floor to ceiling magazine rack.
The reason for this addition is because I’m relying on body weight exercises more and more in my workouts, and Stahl bars are a cool way to add in some extra variety.
Truth be told, the older I get, the more I love body weight training.
The best part about body weight exercises is that you don’t really need any equipment (the stahl bars are really just a treat for me), and you can do them anywhere.
Now, I’m not talking about just jumping jacks, pushups and squats – these are a great starting point, but I think that body weight exercises eventually have to become body MOVEMENT exercises… They should become more complex as you get stronger.
In fact, the big issue I have with Body Weight Exercises is if the movements don’t progress, then you end up doing a super high amount of reps in order to properly challenge yourself, and if you’re not careful this can lead to overuse injuries.
This is very similar to what happens with runners, only now it’s your shoulders, elbows or wrists. This is why you need a TON of variety in your exercise repertoire – You can’t just do push-ups, squats and chins.
But if you have enough of the RIGHT exercises – then your body is actually the BEST piece of home gym “workout equipment” in the world for helping you GAIN muscle and BURN fat without spending tons of money.
…and for a little extra money there is basically nothing you can’t do with your own body weight (my Stall bars are going to cost 1/10th of what I paid for my squat rack, and you can pick up a chin-up bar for dollars).
Here’s a quick example – the next time you do pushups, squeeze your butt and flex your thighs for the entire time you are doing your push ups. You can also try spreading your shoulder blades at the top of your pushup to make them even more complex, and you can play with your hand positioning.
People like to neglect bodyweight training, but when done properly you can get an impressive workout completed in around 20 minutes.
When it comes to making body weight exercises ‘work’ it’s all about execution – it’s how you do them that matters (actually, this is probably true for ALL exercises)
If you are interested in body weight training and / or body weight exercises you can check out BODYWEIGHT BURN (YES, it is a video infomercial… and an amusing one at that, however the product is excellent).
PROMOTIONAL LINK → BODY WEIGHT BURN
