Improving Body Strength without Weights

Improving body strength without a gym membership and access to bodybuilding machines is possible. The human body is like any structure that requires a solid foundation before it is able to efficiently deal with any external resistance. As such, it is always a good idea to build a strong body weight workout before you start throwing around heavyweights.

Every day, gym rats who have been constantly banged up from lifting heavyweights are keen on shifting into a more calisthenics-based strength training. Despite its obvious advantages, which include improved joint health, increased mobility, and greater proprioception, these people are unable to fully commit to body weight training without hesitation. For most people, the thought of strength training without external resistance is unfathomable. This, of course is a misnomer. When done right, bodyweight exercises can in fact be just as efficient in building muscles, burning fat, and improving overall athletic performance. Here are a number of body weight exercises that are efficient alternatives to weights-based strength training workouts.

• Push-Ups Instead of Bench Press

Over the years, push ups have earned a reputation of being too easy as far as strength training exercises are concerned. However, this isn’t necessarily true. Push ups is efficient not only in building the chest, shoulders, and triceps. It is also great in stabilizing the torso and the lower back. Trainers understand that enough resistance is needed to induce fatigue within 5-15 reps, and develop significant strength and muscle gains. The trick is not to forgo of push-ups entirely but to explore its many variations. If you can complete a set of 50-rep push-ups without breaking a sweat, then it is time you try other push-up variations, such as close-grip push-up, the clapping push-ups, and the classic one-arm push-ups. And if that is still too easy for you, feel free to try the one-hand clapping push-ups.

• Handstand Push-Ups Instead of Military Press

The military press is among the most fundamental strength training workout for a good reason. Military press efficiently builds not only upper body strength but a strong core as well. The handstand push-ups basically gets you the same workout and helps you achieve the same result. This workout is basically military press turned up-side-down. Unlike the traditional push-ups, hand-stand push-ups require substantial amounts of strength, and balance. If you are still unable to properly execute a hand-stand push-up, you can instead try doing a pike press. A pike-press is a hand-stand push-up, only with your body bent in half while your hips and feet rest on a bench.

• Pull-Ups Instead of Pull-Downs   

Regarded as the king of upper-body pulling, even lifters who are so used to throwing around heavyweights acknowledge the inherent intensity and difficulty of pull-ups. Everyone should do, or at least try to do pull-ups. If you are unable to properly execute pull-ups just yet, then a good alternative would be to do flex hangs, or negatives. For most people, completing a set of 15-rep pull-ups is difficult enough. But if regular pull-ups become too easy, then it is about time you explore its many variations which include the clapping pull-ups, muscle-ups, and one hand pull-ups where your opposite arm grips and assists your forearm. And if these still prove to be too easy, there is always theone-arm pull-ups.

Deborah Jones