Bodyweight training which is done via using only your body weight for resistance can be an effective means of training and you should definitely think about adding it to your workout plan. The resistance training via using your body weight can be as effective if not more effective than training with weight machines or free weights.

What do the experts say?

United States Department of Health and Human Services conducted a research study in 2017 which suggests that bodyweight training exercises of all the major muscle groups should be incorporated into your workout plan or fitness routine. The study also recommends that you should do at least 150 minutes of bodyweight training once a week or you should go with 75 minutes sessions of bodyweight training twice a week. The study also observed that the fitness effects were more sustainable in individuals who did bodyweight training than individuals who didn’t.

For using bodyweight training you should incorporate exercises like lunges, squats, pushups, step-ups, pullups, or abdominal crunches into your workout routine. You should keep your movements controlled and smooth while indulging in bodyweight training exercises. You should also keep a special focus on strengthening opposing muscles like the back and chest muscles. While doing this, you should also strive for attaining muscle balance.

Are bodyweight exercises scalable?

The bodyweight training exercises are very efficient in the way that you can scale them up or down according to your fitness level. Once you are easily able to do 12 to 15 reps of a certain exercise, you can increase the difficulty level by trying an alternative form of the same exercise. This will give you more challenge as the resistance will be increased. For instance, if doing a conventional pushup is too difficult for you, you may start by doing a wall push up. Once you are comfortable with doing a wall pushup, you can move on to doing a modified pushup. It is similar to a conventional pushup but in a modified pushup, you keep your knees on the ground while exercising. Once you are comfortable with doing the modified pushup you can finally move on to performing a conventional pushup. This is how you can keep scaling up the difficulty level of bodyweight exercises according to your fitness level. This allows you to have sustainable and effective fitness results.

When should I perform bodyweight exercises?

The best part about doing bodyweight training exercises is that they affect all the major muscle groups. And bodyweight exercises need no extra exercise equipment so you can do perform these anywhere without any extra cost. However, you should use proper form and technique throughout every bodyweight exercise in order to avoid injury and get the most benefits.

If you are thinking about doing bodyweight training exercises but can’t figure out from where you should start then you needn’t worry. You can join our SpeedFit program to learn how to perform bodyweight exercises properly. You can download our app which is available on both the app store and google play. It will provide you with all the tips and techniques required to get the most out of the bodyweight exercises.