Bodyweight workouts have advantages and disadvantages over no nonsense muscle building style weight lifting at the gym. In this article we will look at these factors and also go over a number of bodyweight exercises that you can use for your home workouts.
The advantages of bodyweight workouts is that no gym membership is needed so you save money. You can also do the bodyweight workouts at home and as a result you can do it anytime. This saves time out of your day as it saves travelling to the gym.
However, there are advantages of doing a no nonsense muscle building style weight lifting workout. Weights are better for building muscle quickly and help you get that bulky look. You can also increase your strength a lot quicker with weights.
But it is always a good idea to still use bodyweight exercises even if you do currently go to the gym. They are great for enhancing tone, endurance and strength in a different way than weights do.
Here are some to try out:
Abdominal Butt Raises. Start in a push up position but instead of your palms being flat on the ground place your forearms onto the floor for support. You should balance your feet on the ground using your tip toes. This bodyweight exercise involves raising your butt into the air in a manner that places an emphasis on the abdominal muscles. Really squeeze the abdominal muscles as you do this exercise as part of your bodyweight workout. Lower your butt and waist to the starting position and repeat. This is quite a challenging exercise as you never quite get a rest – you are constantly working your abs and developing your core.
Oblique Twists. Abdominal crunches tend to work the middle part of your abs, and oblique twists are similiar exercises but work the side of your abs (the obliques). Lay flat on your back, with your feet on the floor and knees raises. But you arms behind your head. Raise your shoulders a few feet off the floor as you would do with a normal abdominal crunch, but this time do it slightly to the side. So for you first rep you will do it in the direction so that your right elbow goes towards your left knee and for the next rep your left elbow will go towards your right knee. As with basic ab crunches, focus on squeezing the abs throughout the exercise to make sure they are being worked out to maximum effect.
Hopping Planks. For the standard plank you hold a position that is effectively the push-up in its top position (before you lower yourself) but instead of supporting yourself with your palms on the floor you support yourself with your forearms on the floor. Make sure your back is flat. With a hopping plank you hop your legs from side to side every 1-2 seconds. So first of all you will swing your legs 30 degrees to the left, and then hold, then back to the starting position, and hold, and then swign them 30 degrees to the right and hold. Hopping planks are a killer but well worth the effort!
To learn more about no nonsense muscle building, take a look at the no nonsense muscle workout website.