Body Weight Exercises - Do they really work?
Friday January 9, 2009
Because I train clients in their homes, it's typical for me to show up at a new client's house to find they have no fitness gear - no weights, no exercise ball and, a lot of the time, not much room to maneuver in. They worry that they can't get a good workout without equipment and look at me a little funny when I tell them otherwise. Or maybe I just look funny.
While I almost always recommend my clients buy weights at some point, I've found a number of ways to make body weight exercises work for just about anyone. Here are some of the tricks I've used with my clients:
- Be creative. Even if you don't have traditional weights, there are other things you can use to add resistance. A staircase is a great place for step-ups, decline pushups or dips. A briefcase or laptop bag can be held in one hand while doing squats or lunges. Even a phone book can be used to add resistance to some exercises.
- Slow things down or add slow, controlled pulses. If you don't have weights, some lower body moves like squats and lunges may feel a little easy. You can add intensity by slowing things down (e.g., 4-8 counts for each part of the movement) or adding small, controlled pulses. A short range of motion can really get the blood flowing to the muscles.
- Try unilateral moves. Doing exercises on one leg or with one arm at a time can add intensity when you don't have much equipment handy. One-legged squats and one-arm triceps pushups are good examples of challenging unilateral exercises.
- Try compound exercises. Sticking with multi-muscle exercises like pushups, squats, lunges and dips will add intensity to workouts by engaging the entire body.
Those are just a few ideas and I'd love to hear yours as well. Do you do body weight exercises and, if so, how do you make them challenging? Leave a comment to tell us about your experience and then check out some of the resources below if you're interested in body weight workouts.
Comments
I believe as long as your body is moving, you are working out. Running the vaccuum, dustin, doing the laundry, etc.. all can be considered workouts as long as you are off your duff. If you don’t have weights, I’ve heard of using cans of food instead and there are lots of floor exercises that are weight less.
Bodyweight is definitely challenging. I love the one’s by Craig Ballantyne, he has them on yahoo. I did his 100 the other day- minus the push ups because I’m doing the challenge from hundredpushups.com right now, too.
I workout 5-6 days a week in the gym for 2+ a time. I can get more exhausted in 20 minutes doing bodyweight squats, hindu pushups, and bridging than I can in the gym with a full weight regimen. The key is not to take too long to rest between exercises. It is good for both muscle toning/growth and cardio. The military has been using them for years to get their troops in shape, so don’t think that they are ineffective. I would recommend a pullup bar though.
I have a question: When muscles are sore from a hard bodyweight workout - I usually give myself enough rest time that the paid goes away - this can be 2-3 days or more (if I never worked the muscle in that way)
Is this a good way to do it or just jump back into the exersises after a 48 hour rest?
I’ve been working out for years. Run one day and lift weights plus some body resistance workouts the next. So I get quite a mix of exercise. I cant imagine why someone would use a telephone book or briefcase or some weird item for simple workout. I believe if you look for USED weights, dumbells, barbells, weight bench, etc the average person might stick with it longer. How many folks say they’ve been lifting their ironing board or phone book for 15 years? The actual weights/etc are cheap and worth buying. I’m in my mid 50’s and notice that I dont build muscle mass like I used to, and have put on a gut the last few years. So will have to start watching diet more. Younger folks will see quick results with weights. Again, the cost is almost inconsequential for the benefit.
one of mine is 50 jumping jacks followed with 2 minutes run in place followed by 25 push ups. Rest
and repeat - I do 3 sets.
Is there a good excercise I can do for flapping arms? I have a torn rotater cuff that stops me from doing the exercises that have worked in the past.
I think it is foolish to think you can’t get a good strength training workout in without weights. Have you ever heard of Herschel Walker? He is famous for his bodyweight only workouts. Plus there are websites devoted solely to bodyweight only workouts. Try 25 burpees, followed by 25 warrior lunges, followed by 25 bicycle crunches. Rest 2 minutes, Repeat 4 times. After your done puking, then tell me you need weights for a solid workout. The burpees alone will crush you!
I’ve been doing a lot of bodyweight exercises lately including Push-ups to Side Planks, Incline Push-ups, Reverse Push-ups (bodyweight rows) although you need some sort of stationary bar for this one, pistol squats (one-legged squats) along with ab exercises: planks, side planks, bicycle crunches, lying hip twists.
I supplement this with a few dumbbell exercises (one-arm upright rows and military presses, stiff-leg deadlifts, side lunges, toe raises) and a couple machine exercises (knee raises, leg curls).
The one-leg and one-arm version of bodyweight exercises are excellent ways to make these exercises more challenging although it might be too tough for beginners. Beginners could “cheat” a little with the free arm or leg to get them through the exercise.
Oh man are you kidding? You can get an incredibly fierce and humbling workout with body weight only exercise! Crunches, push-ups, lunges, a whole hurt bag of “evil” plank stuff, etc. I saw some one mention burpees! I remember those things from hell week in high school football. How about mountain climbers? Like the gentleman said earlier, “after you’re done puking…”. I’ve been having my trainer focus me on core routines lately and he puts me through plenty of body weight moves that come together to thoroughly kick my butt. If you don’t have some body weight training moves in your routine, you’re missing out on an opportunity to mix up your workout and shock your body into the next level. They are really tough but worth every second!
I am of lean built, 160lbs, use light to moderate weights and usually use my body weight for exercises. My routine includes push ups, chin-ups, squats, presses, sit-ups for abs, and it works.
I didn’t have excess weight problem. Infact i was under weight at 120 lbs. I gained those 40 pounds through regularly eating, never missing my breakfast and exercising hard.
Kathy,
If you enter “shoulder exercises” at the upper right corner of this web page, you will find many shoulder exercises in Paige’s blog. With your condition, however, rehabilitating the shoulder should be with the consult of an orthopedic specialist or physical therapist, assuming you haven’t already done so. Good luck.
Of coarse you can get a great workout with bodyweight exercises…the military proves that:) But as the top fitness trends show…bootcamp style workouts are hot….they are hot becuase they work! You can get results. Bootcamp style workouts are built on bodyweight training primarily.
great article!
Having started exercising again with an extra 40lbs on my body, of course I’m gettting a very good workout with body resistance only. It’s much harder to squat, lunge, run with the extra weight. Once the muscles have built back up and the weight starts coming off then I can work on more reps and intesity. Having joined a ‘fitness boot camp’ 3 days a week, my butt is KICKED by the end of the hour and I’m averaging 450-500 calories burned. I love it and will keep doing it. I travel a lot, and getting a great workout in when I’m in a hotel with no ‘weights’ to work with makes me concentrate on my workout even more!
I use body weight excercises in public, while waiting in line I stand on one foot and balance or suck in and out my abs, I do believe isometrics and body weight excercises do help and are convenient if you travel or have little time for excercise one day a week. I don’t recommend them for everyday but in a pinch they work.