When you’re trying to decide on a new exercise routine, you want to be sure that you’re getting the best possible benefits for your body. Bodyweight exercises can help you build strength and endurance, not to mention offering a number of other key benefits.
If you haven’t been bodyweight training, it’s time to change up your routine and experience all of these great benefits.
About Bodyweight Training
Bodyweight training is exercises that use only the weight of your own body to provide resistance. There’s no special equipment required, and you don’t have to head into the gym to add these exercises to your routine.
Let’s talk about strength training and body weight.
Strength training is not just about lifting weights. It’s all about using resistance to engage your muscles, reduce injury, and develop more power. You can use strength training to enhance and preserve your muscle mass at any age.
Bodyweight exercises aren’t for weaklings or people who can’t lift. That’s simply not true. It’s a safe, fun, and easy way to add tone to your muscles and improve your overall health and well-being. Edward Laskowski, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic states that “the resistance training effect you get from using your body weight can be as effective as training with free weights or weight machines.”
It’s true that you won’t bulk up and gain lots of mass. For those types of results, you need to concentrate on low repetition exercises with heavyweights. Bodyweight exercises will get you shredded fast, improve your range of motion, and give you more functional fitness strength that you can use in your everyday life.
Benefits Of Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercise has a number of key benefits that you’ll quickly see as your training progresses–not to mention several benefits you’ll experience right off the bat.
Here Are The Benefits Of Bodyweight exercises:
1. You can work out anywhere
Sometimes fitting a trip to the gym into your schedule just feels like way too much effort. There are kids who need your attention, deadlines approaching, and a spouse who feels like you’re never at home.
With bodyweight training, on the other hand, you can do your exercise anywhere, at any time. It’s the perfect solution for exercising on the road, whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure.
2. You don’t need to buy expensive equipment
These days, it seems as though everything is expensive–including getting in shape. Thankfully, bodyweight exercises don’t require you to buy expensive equipment before you can get started. All you need is your own body and a set of comfortable clothes.
3. Bodyweight exercises combine cardio and strength training
You’ll be able to increase your endurance, torch calories, and firm your muscles all at the same time. That’s something your treadmill can’t help you do!
4. Bodyweight exercises are highly efficient
You can quickly and effectively move from one exercise to the next with little rest in between, especially since there’s no equipment required. Not only that, using your own body will help increase the efficiency of your workout as you get that great extra punch.
5. Bodyweight exercises burn fat fast
The struggle is real when you’re trying to shed those extra pounds–and bodyweight exercises are one of the best ways to reach those goals. Circuit training can help amp up your calorie burn and increase your metabolism all day long.
6. Strength-training exercises can help reduce muscle loss
This is particularly important if you’re on a low-calorie diet in an effort to lose weight, since your low-calorie diet may not provide your muscles with the amount of fuel they need to remain healthy.
7. Bodyweight training can help boost your flexibility
Tight muscles are the bane of your existence–and bodyweight exercises can help boost your flexibility and reduce those issues. Many bodyweight exercises include dynamic stretching, which is a great way to make your whole body more flexible.
8. It’s easy to measure results–and you’re going to see them
Not only does bodyweight training make it easy to measure your results in terms of the number of exercises you’re able to complete or the increases you’ve made, it creates greater potential for results.
When you add bodyweight training to your training routine, you’ll quickly discover that you can reach your goals faster and more easily–whether those goals include increased strength and flexibility, losing weight, or improving your performance in other areas.
9. Bodyweight training are easy to customize
There’s something for everyone in a good bodyweight workout. You can easily adapt your routine to your current fitness level, then gradually increase the intensity of your workout as your strength grows. Over time, you’ll be astonished by what you can accomplish!
When you use traditional machines to help with your exercise, you’ll find that you’re limited by the range that the machines offer. Bodyweight exercises, however, have a wider range of custom options that will make it easier for you to keep meeting your fitness goals.
10. Bodyweight training increase your core strength
It’s not just about getting that six-pack you’ve always wanted, though there are several bodyweight exercises that can help you reach that goal.
Your core is made up of multiple different muscles that help stabilize your whole body and increase your overall athletic performance. Performing bodyweight exercises, many of which engage more than one key muscle group, will help build that important core strength.
11. You’re less likely to be injured with bodyweight training
Many people end up working with dumbbells or other weights above their strength level, resulting in muscle strain and injury. Bodyweight exercises, on the other hand, can help protect your joints.
You’ll also find that as you build strength with bodyweight exercises, your overall resistance to injury will improve. With a strong bodyweight workout, you’ll quickly strengthen your muscles to help protect you no matter what activity you’re doing.
12. Bodyweight training is easy to swap up
Have you ever found yourself bored with an exercise routine just a few weeks after starting it? With bodyweight training, you can easily change it up, helping to prevent boredom and increasing the odds that you’ll make it to your scheduled workout session every day.
13. You can take your bodyweight exercises outside
Tired of staring at the walls in your living room or of seeing the same old sights you always see at the gym? The good news is, your bodyweight workout can go anywhere! Take it outside for a great change of scenery and a punch of Vitamin D.
14. Bodyweight training will improve your balance
Many exercises are designed to help increase stability and balance, which will benefit you in your everyday life as well as in your overall athletic performance.
A-List Of Basic Bodyweight Exercises:
- Classic Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Chin-ups
- Squats
- Dips
- Leg Raises
- Planks
- Burpees
- Lunges
- Jumping Jacks
- Calf-raises
- Sit-ups
- Crunches
- Mountain climbers
- Wall sits, and a wide range of other familiar exercises.
Chances are, you’ll remember some of them from gym class in middle school. Others are more advanced versions of the exercises you didn’t know your body needed.
Closing Thoughts
There are many reasons to give bodyweight training a shot–and it’s time to experience all of those great benefits in your own exercise routine! Add some bodyweight training to your regular plan to discover just how many of those great benefits you can experience in your own life.