Body Wise
The benefits of body weight exercises are often overlooked and therefore neglected during programme design. Including them into your workout will leave you feeling strong and promote a good-looking usable physique.
A couple of years ago whilst on holiday, we stayed in a hotel without a gym. I did not want to go for a week without training, so I sat down and planned a bodyweight session. 40 mins and a lot of noise later I vowed that this form of workout would come home with me and play a large part in my exercise programmes. Two years on I am still a huge fan. When I am at home (to the dismay of my girlfriend), it is not a rare sight to see me performing press-ups and jumping squats in the garden.
Not that I am saying you have to do this, but it is an excellent example of bodyweight strength with added resistance, so no bodybuilder can tell me that bodyweight exercises are not challenging enough, as you can add weight to a bar in the gym, so can we to our bodyweight.
Our muscles, joints and bones are day in day out subjected to dealing with hectic weight bearing movement patterns, up and down stairs, in and out of vehicles, running up a pitch. Everyday we take for granted hundreds of multi-directional, multi joint movement patterns that put our bodies under fantastic pressure.
It’s only when we are injured or unable to move correctly that we realise how much we depend on our ability to deal with bodyweight. Take a look around and you will see countless amounts of people young and old whose body’s struggle to deal with everyday stresses and strains.
Evidently more of us should employ exercises that require bodyweight and apply it effectively during exercise sessions. A whole session can be planned around just bodyweight and at the end you will be left with a feeling of superiority and achievement.
Please exercise cautiously, but explore all possibilities.
Embrace your potential!
Image courtesy of www.pendleton.usmc.mil.