Body Weight Exercises

Bodyweight exercises are exercises that strengthen your body without using free weights or the conventional strength training equipment (machines) used in gyms. The weight of your own body is used to provide the resistance to strengthen your muscles. Exercises like pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and sit-ups are examples of the most common types of bodyweight exercises.

All you need is just a small space in your home, garage, outside, or in your hotel room.  Anyone can do these exercises whether you are a business traveler, a stay at home mom, someone trying to get their golf swing right, or a hard core weight lifter. They will help to promote strength, flexibility, and overall fitness with very little space or time.  Life will suddenly become easier for you.  Your energy level will rise and your joints will no longer ache. 

Bodyweight training exercises date back into ancient times. They were usually the training method used by the warriors of those times, like the ancient Greeks, Indian Wrestlers, Egyptians, Romans, Shaolin Monks, and so on. In fact, bodyweight exercises are used by all branches of the military and martial artists even today.

Of course, over time, bodyweight exercises have taken many forms, such as yoga, isometric exercises, gymnastics, calisthenics, rope climbing, hand balancing, breathing exercises, and so on.

Why are bodyweight training exercises so powerful?

Bodyweight exercises are founded on three main principles, which are contraction, leverage, and resistance. While most exercise programs have leverage and resistance in them, but bodyweight training' s contractions are far more effective. Many bodybuilding movements are 2 dimensional, meaning it’s a straight line from start to finish. This doesn’t allow the stabilizer muscles to work very much which is why a lot of movements don’t carry over very well into real life activities. If you’re going to lift weights, using free weights is definitely the way to go. Don’t rely on machines. Body weight exercising, in my opinion, is a more fun and challenging way to workout. What do you think is more fun - climbing ropes, or doing rows sitting on a bench?

Why are body weight exercises more effective than machines?

Because, when you perform these exercises, the harder the contractions of your muscles are, the more will the effectiveness of your training be.  Many of the exercises in bodyweight training require full-body contractions, along with various static holds. While the full-body contractions increase your workouts effectiveness, the static holds, such as one-armed push-ups, increase your body' s resistance, and improve the strength of your joints and connective tissues, and enhance the overall strength of the body.

The only thing you will require if you take up bodyweight training is staying power. And that is because this is not one of those exercise programs where you will begin seeing awe-inspiring bulking-of-muscles results in two weeks flat. Sure, the results will happen, but it will take some time. By incorporating consistent and incremental gains and improvements, you will certainly begin to notice the results and you will get stronger triceps, biceps, abs, chest, legs and glutes. Plus body weight exercises increase stamina, finesse, balance, confidence and flexibility instead of decreasing it.  All of that using just your body!

My theory is that an exercise is only as good as a person makes it. The main problem is that most people think of bodyweight exercises as simply push ups, squats, and sit ups.

There are 100's of exercises that can be extremely effective at increasing flexibility, strength, muscle, and endurance.

If you want to be more flexible, have fun, and be able to use the strength I gain in real life situations, then body weight and core strength exercises are for you!

In my page about core exercises I talk about how your core is involved in every movement you make. Your core is the vital link of having a strong body because this is where all of your energy and strength comes from, and this is where your body is balanced. Your arms might be strong, but if you have a weak core you probably can’t exercise your arms very well.

One of the main differences between gym machines and bodyweight exercises is that when you exercise using your body, you do it in a way that uses your core much more.  This helps you stabilize yourself, and build a tremendously strong core.  A strong core will help you develop the other muscles of your body much faster and easier.

It also helps that it's MUCH cheaper than going to the gym. If you're broke, you don't have to spend anything but your creativity. If you have a little more money, you can spend $200 or less and have a completely functional home gym that works every single muscle of your body and you never have to pay for a gym membership again.

No matter how you workout, I think you should use some of the movements from this website in your routine. It will help to mix things up a bit while also giving your muscles a different type of stimulation, which will cause them to grow and get stronger.  Plus you can work out your entire body in 10 minutes.  No more excuses about no having enough time to workout.

Using a variety of different types of exercise is a great way to keep your fitness program fun. I don't stick strictly to bodyweight exercises, and I don' think anybody else should either. Do what you enjoy, it's as simple as that. After all, what good is working out if you can’t enjoy it!

I think you’ll agree, these exercises are a lot more fun than traditional weight lifting.

If your ready to take your training to a different level...

Contact Ryan at 949-697-2364 or

fitness.solutions@hotmail.com