Bodyweight exercises are often regarded as a tool for beginners or as something for warm ups. But truth be told there are some bodyweight exercises that could humble lots of folks, including those of us who think we're more advanced. Here's my top 4 recommendations for bodyweight exercises:
Pushups - I can practically see some people rolling their eyes already. But in all honesty there's lots of guys and girls who can bench press a decent amount of weight, but pushups present a real problem for them. Pushups can be scaled from beginner to advanced just by performing different and more challenging variations of them. Check out the video below for some variations.
Chinups or Bodyweight Rows - Often touted as the "king of upper body exercises" the chinup is a great way to hit a ton of muslces in the back and arms to build muscle and strength. If chinups are a bit too demanding for you, simply perform bodyweight rows instead. Bodyweight rows can be scaled for multiple variations. I show them in this video:
Sprints - Anaerobic power development, conditioning tool, speed development. Sprints are a great option for all of the above and the best part about them is that you can literally do them anywhere. You'll definitely want to warm up to them. Start at what you believe is about 50% of your max speed. Run 3 sprints at that speed and then gradually scale up to your top speed. If you're an older lifter (like me) try sprinting up a grass hill for a more joint friendly option. Your knees and ankles will thank you.
Bulgarian Split Squats - Ah yes. The leg exercise that we all have a love/hate relationship with. Just like the pushups and chinups, this sinlge leg squat can be scaled using tempo techniques or by increasing the range of motion. The video below will tell you more.
The best thing about the exercises listed in this article is that you can perform them pretty close to failure and you can do it safely. Nothing drastically dangerous happens if you push these exercises close to failure. You can perform them as stand alone exercises or you can incorporate them into a circuit or giant sets. Whatever your preference, just make sure you're not avoiding them because they're too good to miss out on.
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