Over the years I’ve learned a bit about the effectiveness of bodyweight training. My first experiences with working out was for football in high school then started doing bodybuilding style stuff and then dropped it and began training with body weight, almost exclusively. In the past three years I’ve added kettlebell training and in the past year a little more weight training. All of these are great ways to train if you know how to use them but I’m going to talk a little about body weight training.
Five years ago if you asked me to do a pushup workout I would have thought you were stupid. I was just out to get bigger and you’re not going to get bigger, or stronger doing pushups. Wrong.
I started boot camp at a healthy 185 lbs. During boot camp I dropped down to 175lbs. This doesn’t bother me. The part that bothers me is that I lossed strength, endurance, musclemass AND I gained body fat. After getting out of boot camp I started working out on my own again, using body weight calisthenics, running and swimming. In two months I was back up to 185lbs, was running and swimming faster and could do more pullups and pushups.
The key to using body weight training, just like weightlifting, is progression. Unlike using weights, progression isn’t as simple as adding more weight to the bar. There are a few ways to progress.
1)Add more reps
2)Decrease rest periods, or get rid of rest altogether. One of my favorite workouts is a crossfit workout called “cindy”. All it is is as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of: 5xpullups, 10xpushups, 15xsquats. It’s quick and will exhaust you.
3)Change your leverage i.e. incline and handstand pushups, one leg squats
4)Do explosive moves, i.e. clapping pushups and pullups, jumping lunges, squat jumps
The greatest thing about body weight training is the lack of equipment required. All you need is a bar, tree branch, basketball hoop, doorway or wahtever else to do pullups on and about 15 square feet of ground space and you’re in business.
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