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Body
Weight Exercises
 You
have probably heard the term body weight exercises but are
wondering exactly what this means. These are
basically strength training body weight workouts.
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When
performing the exercises you do not use any specific
equipment. Instead you simply exercise using body
weight to provide the necessary resistance in order to build
and
strengthen your muscles.
Although weight lifting is the most well known form of strength
training, not everyone has access to home
equipment or a gym
membership to get the benefits from this type of training.
Additionally, for people just starting out, any additional resistance
from even resistance bands or dumbbell weights may be more than they
need. A great (and totally free) alternative is to perform
body weight exercises.
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Benefits
of Body Weight Exercises
There are many different types of benefits for using your body weight
when exercising. These are a few of the benefits.
- Workout From
Home
One of the main reasons people choose this type of exercise is the
convenience of doing them from home. No need for a gym
membership or expensive home gym equipment.
- Variety
Body weight exercises include both strength training exercises as well
as cardiovascular exercises. These can range from walking,
jogging, jumping jacks and jumping rope. You can also perform
yoga and meditation exercises as well as strength training exercises
using your weight like push ups, crunches, and many upper and lower
body exercises.
- Great for
Beginners
These exercises are perfect for the beginner. You are
providing just enough resistance to start to strengthen and tone your
muscles without over extending yourself. You can start out at
your own pace and work up to adding additional resistance.
- Health
Benefits
As with any type of exercise you are getting all the health benefits of
other types of exercise. Although body weight exercises do
not provide you the maximum resistance, you are still providing your
body with the needed oxygen and resistance to help prevent and minimize
many health risks. Check out all the benefits to
exercise here.
Upper
Body Exercises Using Body Weight
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- Push Ups or
Wall Push Ups
You remember back in gym class push ups always seemed to be part of the
program. If it’s been awhile since you did a push up, try
starting
with your knees bent and on the floor. You can then
eventually work up
to bringing your knees off the floor. Or use a wall to push
from while
standing up (at a slight angle). Either way your body will
provide
enough weight to feel the resistance and strengthening of your upper
body muscles.
Primary
Muscles Targeted – Chest, Shoulders, Abs and Triceps.
- Pull Ups
Like the push ups, the pull ups are a great upper body weight
exercise. For this exercise you will need a bar or something
to grab
onto (that is sturdy) and then pull yourself up. To do this
exercise
you would simply grab the bar with arms shoulder width apart (maybe
wider) and then pull your self up as high as you can go.
These are
sometimes called chin ups as people generally try to pull themselves up
to where the chin touches the top of the bar.
Primary
Muscles Targeted – Arms, Lats and Upper Back
- Parrellel Bar
Dips
Again this exercise does require some equipment or your
imagination.
For this exercise you would place your hands on two bars (on either
side of you) and then dip your body bending your elbows.
During this
exercise you keep your feet off the ground so that you get the full
benefit of your body weight. You could do this at home with
two chairs
(if tall enough and sturdy enough) or other furniture items.
Primary
Muscles Targeted – Pectorals and Lats
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Lower
Body Weight Exercises
The selection here is basically the same as any exercise you can do
with resistance bands or dumbbell weights. However, in this
case you will simply be using your own body weight to provide
resistance in order to strengthen and tone the muscles.
- Squats
Squats are by far one of the most popular lower body weight
exercises.
These are done the same way as with dumbbell weights but just without
the weights. You can see how to do this exercise here.
Primary
Muscles Targeted – Thighs, Quadriceps, Glutes
- Lunge
This is another favorite amongst lower body exercises using your own
body weight. A fun way to do this exercise is to lunge around
the room
versus staying stationary in one spot. This will add a bit of
variety
to this exercise. You can see this exercise demonstrated
(with
dumbbell weights) here. Just remember the only difference is
you won’t
use the weights unless you are ready to add some more resistance in
addition to your body weight.
Primary
Muscles Targeted – Thighs (front and back) and Glutes
Just about any lower body exercise you can do with resistance bands or
dumbbell weights you can do with your body weight. Check out
these resistance
band exercises to get an idea of some lower body exercises
you can do.
Abdominal
Exercises
There are many abdominal exercises you can do with just your body
weight. These can be done on an exercise mat or with an
exercise ball. Rather than going into each type of ab
exercise here, just visit the abdominal exercise page to see the full
list of illustrated ab exercises on this site.
Creating
Your Body Weight Workout Routine
You can mix and match your cardio body weight exercises with the
strength training exercises. You can even create a circuit
training workout with nothing more than just your body weight for
resistance and challenge to your exercise routine. To build
your own body
weight exercises circuit training routine, check out these examples
workouts.
Related
Articles
Dumbbell
Exercises
If you are ready to add some additional resistance to your strength
training, then check out all the pros and cons of using dumbbell
weights.
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