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Bodyweight Exercise Is Perfect For Everyone, Everywhere, on Every Budget And Every Fitness Level
Many exercise systems often sound great at first glance, but in reality simply will not make a good fit for your
life. Thankfully, there is something else you can try called bodyweight
exercise, which is so flexible that it answers every possible concern
you might have, including time constraints, prohibitive cost, and
location concerns.
It got its name because your own body provides all the
resistance needed to take you to the peak of fitness... and it does so
at your own pace, without requiring a personal trainer to design the
perfect system for your lifestyle and fitness level.
You likely already know that exercise is necessary for good health
and a long life. What is not always clear is how you should go about it.
There are a countless number of different plans and theories about how
to exercise.
Of course researching and careful reflection is important, but it's
confusing. What's the best plan? How hard or easy should your workout
be? Then, there's the day-to-day reality, and the inevitable challenges
of implementing an exercise regimen:
Not enough time… The equipment is too expensive … Traveling to the
gym or other facility … You like outdoor exercising, but it's snowing.
Bodyweight exercises resolve all of these problems! You can do them
anywhere, anytime, at your own pace and level, alone or with a
friend—even if you and your friend are at different levels. It doesn't
cost a single penny.
Yet, you can get a perfect workout as if it had been designed just
for you. That's because it has—you will have designed it yourself!
It is not a newfangled idea. It's well researched, so you do not need
to be concerned that you might hurt yourself. Bodyweight exercising
uses your own body to provide resistance, so you do not even need
weights—though you can use them if you wish. The method is not only
effective, allowing you to train every muscle in your body, but is
simple and let's you work out at your own pace.
Health Benefits of Bodyweight Exercise
In the Huffington Post Greatest series, Dave Smith discusses some of bodyweight exercising's benefits.
- Workouts are highly efficient. As Dave points
out, the goal is fitness, not to look like "Arnold circa 1977." No
equipment means that there's minimal time transitioning from one
exercise in your self-defined set to the next, so your heart rate is
boosted quickly and keeps pumping.
- You get both cardiovascular and strength training.
It is not necessary to do two separate workouts to achieve both types
of fitness. Simply alternating exercise sets from cardiovascular to
strength training keeps your pulse up.
- Your core strength is improved. The Mayo Clinic
tells us that 29 muscle pairs located in the pelvis, abdomen and lower
back form the core that's needed to support your body and maintain
balance.
Your athletic ability, posture and all the little things you do every
day—like just plain sitting or doing the laundry—will be improved when
your core is strengthened and stabilized.
- You'll be more flexible. Increased strength
without improved flexibility won't do you much good. Good posture and
athletic performance require good flexibility. Inability to stretch and bend is related to lack of flexibility.
- Your balance will improve. As you progress into
more difficult variations of exercises, your ability to balance is
trained. Better balance helps give better body control.
Since age and infirmity do not usually hinder performance of bodyweight
exercises, they can be a great way for the elderly to maintain and
improve balance.
Almost Anyone Can Improve Fitness Health
Bodyweight exercise can be done by just about anyone. A study has documented that it benefits stroke patients.
In fact, if bodyweight exercise can help someone who's suffered a major
stroke and has difficulty walking, it's apparent that nearly anyone can
benefit. Adaptability is what makes this system so good: It's
adjustable to almost anyone, from the least fit to the professional
athlete. Just learn the basics and try different approaches until you
find what works best for you. If you get bored doing the same thing all
the time, you can vary your workout. As your strength and endurance
develop, you can modify the program. It's the ultimate personalized
system—as if you had your own personal trainer. In fact, you do...
yourself!
With Bodyweight Exercising, You Can Become Your Own Personal Trainer!
So how do you do it? Just watch this video of Jill Rodriguez, one of
the personal trainers at Mercola.com, as she demonstrates basic
exercises and how to add levels of difficulty as you're able:
You can do the exercises almost anywhere... at home, outdoors, or in a
gym. If you and a friend like to exercise together, you can do the same
basic program, but work out at your individual levels. It doesn't take a
lot of time. There's no equipment to buy. Exercise to music or while
watching television. Make it part of the transition from your work day
to your personal time. You can just make it fun!
Personal Benefits of Bodyweight Exercise
Aside from the improvements to your physical state, bodyweight exercise provides some other goodies:
- Fat is burned quickly. If you want to shed a
few pounds, bodyweight training can help simply by including some
burpees—which I'll tell you more about a bit later. You'll be amazed at
how the metabolic increase will help melt the pounds.
- It's convenient. So often, the reason people do
not exercise is simply that it's inconvenient. You have to go to a gym,
or go outside when it's raining, or stay inside when it's beautiful
outdoors. You do not need to pull equipment out and get set up. You do
not need to fit exercise into a particular schedule. You just do it when
it's convenient and fits your schedule.
- It's cheap. There is no equipment required. Your own body is all the equipment you'll need.
- It's fun! There's no boredom because you can
vary your workout if doing the same old thing makes you want to quit. As
the above video of demonstrates, there are all sorts of variations that
you can try... and keep in mind that the video doesn’t show every
possible exercise you could do.
- It's satisfying. You'll see and feel results
quickly. Your mind will be sharper. You'll feel better. If overweight,
you'll probably start losing weight quickly. You'll look better. Your
energy levels will increase.
Do the Burpee for a Concentrated Workout
The burpee is a bodyweight exercise developed by Dr. Royal H. Burpee.
It's both aerobic and anerobic, and provides both strength and
cardiovascular workouts in one exercise. Doing burpees can shorten
exercise time because it burns 50% more fat in short bursts. Like other
bodyweight exercises, there are burpee variations that can make it
easier or harder, depending on your requirements. All you need to know
about it, including step-by-step instructions and a video demonstrating
the burpee and variations can be seen here, along with all sorts of fun facts about it.
Technology to Support Bodyweight Workouts
Okay, it does seem a bit contradictory to suggest that these
workouts, which do not require any more equipment than your own body,
can be helped with technology. In today's world, though, we do have
technological allies in fitness.
With prices ranging from free to $3.99, a previous article brings you information about six bodyweight apps
for your iPad or phone. One helps you work out your own customized
workout for your skill and fitness level. Another can keep your body
challenged. Other non-bodyweight training apps help you track your
progress in jogging or running, keep track of your workouts, or
calculate heart rate with a range of tools to keep you on track.
Technology lets you bring your own personal trainer along on every
workout!
Proper Form for Maximum Benefit and Injury Avoidance
Bodyweight exercise is effective and frees you from the expenses and
restrictions of most other exercise programs. However, it's critical to
understand that you shouldn't just go slinging your body around or
acting as if you're immune to injury. If you obey proper form, you will
gain the most benefit and avoid injuries.
Two of the best strength-producing exercises are pull-ups and
push-ups. To gain the most out of either one requires performing them
properly. Men tend to focus on pull-ups and push-ups, but women, who
often lack upper body strength, should give them a go, too.
Pull-ups are not the same thing as chin-ups. They're not as hard, but
if you do them correctly, they're more beneficial. Not only do they
build strength in upper back muscles, but they're also good for the
central body core. Be sure to watch a recent video we did that shows you
the proper form for doing pull-ups. If you aren't able to do full pull-ups yet, the article also gives information on how to work your way into them.
Believe it or not, if you want to strengthen your midsection, a great
exercise is push-ups. They do, of course, increase upper body strength,
but when done properly, you must keep your abdominals still, which
requires keeping them taut. We also have a video that shows you how to
do push-ups correctly. You'll learn how to target other muscle groups while doing perfect push-ups.
No One 'Correct' Way to Exercise
Every person is different, so there's not just one "correct" way to
exercise. With all the exercise plans out there, it can be confusing and
zap your motivation to even try to get started. So when you learn about
the bodyweight system, which resolves all those excuses for not
exercising, it can still be difficult to overcome the inertia to get
started. To help you get through that difficulty and start making
exercise a regular part of your life, Chris Freytag has offered 12 Steps to help you get going.
Because we're all different, what works for one person does nothing
for another. You may need to set aside the same time every day, while
your co-worker does better by keeping the time flexible. It will
require, though, that you make a real commitment to exercise regularly
and make it a routine part of life.
Bodyweight exercising is terrific for many with tight time or
financial budgets or schedules—but it isn't right for everyone. Some
people do better exercising in gyms with trainers. Some do not care what
the weather is like. Cold or hot, wet or dry, they want to be outside
on a regular basis, so they can best bring exercise into their outdoor
activities.
Source: Mercola.com