Exercise Using Your Own Body Weight!
If you are someone who is always on the go and doesn’t have time to get to the gym, don’t let that deter you from getting into shape. You can even burn body fat and build lean muscle tissue with just some simple body weight exercises.
As a celebrity trainer, working with clients on movie sets and sometimes in remote locations, I can’t always rely on the luxury of a gym to train my clients. Instead, I get my clients to do specific exercises that raise heart rate by using the larger muscles of the legs as well as body weight exercises such as pushups and pull-ups to tone and shape the torso and arms. Core exercises are an essential part of my program and the plank, which can be done anywhere anytime, is the most effective exercise when looking to cinch in the waist and strengthen and support abs and lower back.
“The plank, which can be done anywhere anytime, is the most effective exercise when looking to cinch in the waist and strengthen and support abs and lower back”
While body weight exercises are very convenient to do, making them effective requires some program planning. This brings me to my 3-2-1 training method. The reason the actors I train look good has a lot to do with the frequency, intensity and duration of the program I put them through. Keeping the workouts consistent, doing enough repetitions of the exercise and spending at least 20- 30 minutes daily on them, will get you the results you are looking for.
To begin with, find a space that you will use to train on a regular basis and choose a time of the day that is convenient. Begin with 10 minutes and work your way up to 20 and then 30 minutes. Add some music that inspires you and try to completely focus on the exercise session. Remember, the key to making significant goals is by connecting muscle to mind.
Key Points To Remember
- Don’t speed through the workout. Keep the tempo of the exercises at a slower pace to make greater gains.
- Perform the exercises with a full range of motion. For example when doing a push-up, make sure to touch your chest almost to the ground as this is the proper way to do it.
- Do enough sets of each exercise. Often doing three sets gives the best results.
- If an exercise feels easy, consider ways to make it harder. For example if you do squats without any problem, then try to do a single leg squat or maybe try to do a squat with a jump in between. Adding a plyometric element makes it harder and challenges balance and agility as well.
Some of the most common body weight exercises are squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups, plank, jumps, balance moves and any combination moves such as mountain or burpees. Put these into a 10 minute 3-2-1 workout (Three cardio, two circuit and one core) in the following way:
- Warm up by jogging in place for one minute.
- Cardio- Speed squats for one minute.
- Circuit – Push-ups (one minute).
- Triceps Dips – one minute.
- Lunges – one minute.
- Cardio – Skaters (side to side like your skating) – one minute.
- Circuit – pull-ups – Try to get as many as you can in one minute – or just hang from a bar.
- Shoulder push-ups – Take most of the weight onto your shoulders by lifting the body – one minute.
- Step up onto a set of stairs or anything high enough – one minute.
- Cardio – Jumping jacks – one minute.
- Core – Plank for one minute.
Getting in shape using your own body weight is as easy as 3-2-1!