I heard a guy defending his need to belong to a fitness club where he could work out with their expensive Nautilus machines say, “bodyweight workouts aren’t hard enough to get me in shape.” Oh, really.
Are you one of those people who thinks you need to spend a bunch of money on a fitness club membership to get a good workout? Here at IDF we think the fitness club fad has just about run its course. Oh sure, it’s a nice, healthy social outlet, but don’t kid yourself. Its not necessary to belong to a fitness club to get in great shape.
I won’t go into all of the ways you can workout using just your bodyweight, but here are a couple of teaser exercises to get you going, and if you are doubting whether bodyweight exercises are really beneficial, these two exercises should make a believer out of you.
Develop Your Upper Chest with super-slow feet-elevated push-ups.
This is what Jon Benson calls the 20-second push-up. I don’t know what your current level of fitness and strength is, so I’ll give you some alternatives.
If you’re a beginner:
If you are not strong enough to do regular push-ups, start with knee push-ups. Just balance your body on your knees rather than on your toes, and work your way up to three sets of 20 reps.
When you can do three sets of 20 reps, switch to your toes. Work your way up to three sets of 20 reps.
If you’re more advanced:
When you can do three sets of 20 pushups, get a chair and elevate your toes so your body is at an angle leaning toward the ground. That way, you are working more of your upper chest.
Once you can do a few sets of 20 of those, try what Jon calls the 20-second push-up: Lower yourself to the ground in perfect form for a count of 10 (about 10 seconds). Then explode halfway up – but only halfway. Then count another 10 seconds to raise the rest of the way up.
Odds are you will only be able to do a few of these the first time you try, but once you work your way up to sets of 10, you will have wonderful upper-chest development to show for it.
Think You Need a Leg Machine? Wrong! Try This.
Back yourself up to a wall or door. Put your back flat against the surface of the wall/door. Now slide down bending your knees until you upper leg (hip to knee portion) is parallel to the floor. Now just relax and sit there in your invisible chair. Easy, right? No problem, you say. Well, give it about 30 seconds to a minute and get back to me.
How are those Quads (front of thigh) feeling now? Oh, by the way, don’t cheat and put your hands on your knees or legs for extra support. Just keep those arms folded in front of your chest.
Now, my belief is that if you tried these two exercises, you no longer doubt the efficacy of bodyweight exercises. Save the fitness club dues. You can do this at home. It’s cheaper, saves you valuable time and it’s even better for the environment (no driving back and forth to the club).
Further Reading:
If you’re interested learning more about bodyweight exercises, and want to see a guy who uses only bodyweight exercises, is over 50, and has a physique that puts most 20 year olds to shame, get (and read) John Peterson’s Pushing Yourself to Power. Here’s the link:
Pushing Yourself to Power: The Ultimate Guide to Total Body Transformation
