We’re back to the basics with this one! Bodyweight exercises are convenient and simple and they should certainly have their place in every fitness enthusiast’s training plan, whether it’s part of a lighter recovery day or included in a high-intensity workout. Bodyweight exercises challenge even the most seasoned of workout advocates. Think you have a pretty good squat? Try them without weight, hold the bottom of a squat and ask someone to analyze your position. You may find little discrepancies in some of your movements simply by moving without any weight at all. The best part about them though is that you don’t need to leave the house to get one heck of a workout in. Check out our top 5 favorite bodyweight exercises you can do just about anywhere!
1. Ab Rollouts
These are one of our favorite core exercises to perform. You can do this on your knees like Lauren below. Once you get a little more advanced, try performing it on your toes, while keeping your legs off the ground the entire time. The goal is to keep your trunk as rigid as possible without letting your lower back arch. Focus on tucking your hips underneath your core and keeping everything as tight as possible.
2. Air Squats
Air Squats are an extremely important compound movement for building strength and form. The squat is crucial when performing them with weight, so training this movement without weight is a great way to understand how to properly move. Air Squats will challenge your quads, hamstrings, glutes and core in a tremendous way. If your form isn’t the greatest yet, perform them facing a wall with your hands up over your head. If you lose your balance or touch the wall, take a step back. This will be a good indicator if you need to work on some mobility and flexibility issues. Believe us, doing these without weight can still get those legs burning. Try them on their own or within a circuit!
3. Push-Ups
These another extremely important movement everyone in the fitness world should be practicing. If you find that they’re too easy, there are a ton of different variations to make them more challenging. Grab a partner and try these high five push-ups, or bring your hands in a little closer and try some diamond push-ups. Doing push-ups properly is super important, so unlike the traditional way of pushing your elbows all the way out to a 90 degree angle, try bringing your elbows in a little closer to the body at about a 20 degree angle to ensure you keep those shoulders safe and don’t put yourself at risk for a shoulder impingement. Add push-ups or push-up variations into your bodyweight circuit for a great upper body workout!
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4. Pull-Ups
Pull-Ups are one of the best exercises to build strength and mass throughout your back and biceps. You can switch them up with a close grip, wide grip or mixed grip (one palm facing in and one facing out). A muscle-up is a fun progression to the pull-up. It does take a ton of strength and coordination, but it’s great if you’re looking to push yourself. The key points to remember for a pull-up are (1) keep the core tight and engaged the entire time and (2) focus on keeping your ribs tucked down towards your belly button.
5. Bulgarian Split Squats
If you haven’t added these bad boys into your training plan, you most definitely should. They are fantastic for tackling any imbalances in your legs and they have a tremendous strength-building component. With so many variations like the one shown below, you can get those legs burning and growing in no time. They are also great for working on ankle and hip mobility, so if you’re looking to work on your mobility or keep it light on a training day, these are a great choice. The main things you want to remember are (1) don’t let your front knee get out over your toes, (2) keep your knee in line with the toes by slightly sinking your back knee down and back and (3) keep that chest up!
Looking for more training posts? Check out Training for Pull Ups: Tips If You Can’t Do Them Yet.
