Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Fitness Tips - #3: The Best Bodyweight Exercises

Whether you can't afford to go to the gym, don't have access to one, or just don't feel like going, bodyweight exercises are a great way to stay in shape and a great way for a beginner to get accustomed to the world of fitness. Bodyweight exercises are a wonderful tool for developing the body, and best of all, they don't cost a thing!

One of the most basic and well known bodyweight exercises is the pushup. Pushups come in many shapes and sizes but they all target the same area: the triceps and the chest. Ordinary wide grip pushups work the chests more while "diamond" pushups (hands touching and under the chest) work the triceps the best. Once you progress past 15 or so reps, you may want to add to the difficulty to stimulate muscle growth. This can be achieved either by using a backpack with weights in it while you do pushups, or by elevating your legs (i.e. doing pushups off a couch).

Another good bodyweight exercise is the pullup. Pullups work mainly the biceps and the lats, or the upper back. Like pushups, pullups come in many variations, mainly depending on the grip used. When your palms face you it is normally called a chin up and targets the biceps more. When your palms face away from you, it is called a pull up and works the lats and forearms more. In addition to these differences, the wider the grip, the more focus is put on the lats, while the narrower it gets, more focus is put on the arms.

The last bodyweight exercise to be discussed is probably the least commonly known of the three: the hindu squat. Hindu squats were used for hundreds of years by Indian wrestlers to build enormous leg strength and endurance. And, contrary to what one might initially believe about the exercise, they are not detrimental to knee health at all, and are in fact beneficial to your knees. Hindu squats are performed by starting in a position where you are standing and extending your arms in front of you parallel to the floor. Then begin to descend into a squat position while simultaneously bringing your arms down until they are perpendicular to the floor. The squat position here is different than a regular squat position because, you should be on your toes with knees pointing forward, not on your heels with your butt sticking out.

Bodyweight exercises are very valuable resources both to fitness beginners and experts alike. It is great to be able to see noticeable results without having to buy expensive equipment or a gym membership.

Below is a great beginner bodyweight routine
Details about the exercises or routine can be found at the trainforstrength website.

UPPER BODY: 20-30 SECONDS REST BETWEEN SETS

REGULAR PUSH-UPS: Pyramid up to 12 and back to 1.

TRICEPS/DIAMOND PUSH-UPS: Until failure.

PULL-UPS:

REGULAR GRIP: Pyramid to 2 and back to 1.

NARROW GRIP: Pyramid to 2 and back to 1.

WIDE GRIP: Pyramid to 2 and back to 1.

DIPS:
4 sets of 8-10

LOWER BODY:
20-30 SECONDS REST BETWEEN SETS

SHOOTFIGHTING/HINDU SQUATS: 4 sets of 25

BOOT-STRAPPERS*: 4 sets of 25

LUNGES: 4 sets of 20

AB WORK: 10-SECONDS REST PERIOD BETWEEN EXERCISES

CRUNCHES: 20

SIDE CRUNCHES: 20

SIT AND TUCKS: 10


SIT AND TUCKS EACH CHEEK: 10.

V-UPS: 10

FLUTTER KICKS: 25

6-INCH CRUNCHES: 10

4 comments:

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