Bodyweight Workout Exercises
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TurbulanceTraining
Most guys don't give much thought to bodyweight workouts, but some of the toughest exercises I've ever done have used only my bodyweight. The two that come to mind immediately are the Pistol Squat and the 1-arm pushup. You have to be very strong and fit to do either of those exercises. If those are too advanced for you, you can try 1-leg Squats (only going down half as far as the Pistol Squat) and Decline Pushups (elevating your feet on top of a second stair of a staircase). There are also a lot of abdominal exercises you can do with only your bodyweight, and I don't just mean crunches. Better exercises include planks, side planks, mountain climbers, and cross-body mountain climbers. Those are all total body ab exercises and are not as hard on your low back as situps and crunches. You don't need a cardio machine to burn calories. For years, my clients have been using bodyweight circuits for interval training. Most bodyweight exercises are the perfect hybrid of strength training and interval training, and unlike cardio machines, they don't put as much repetitive stress on your joints (from doing the same thing over and over again) and they help improve your athletic mobility. Bodyweight exercises and workouts are a much better way to train than with machines!
About the AuthorCraig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit TurbulenceTraining
