Get The Most From Your Bodyweight Workout

Bodyweight workouts are getting popular thanks to people putting amazing workout videos on social media.

They’re a great way to workout almost anywhere, on short notice, and they also help you add cross-training to your routine. Not only that but according to the University of Notre Dame, bodyweight training helps boost your metabolism, which means they’ll help you lose weight. Bodyweight exercises are always a challenge and the movements also strengthen the muscles you rely on for daily movement. So, let’s look at some ways to boost your bodyweight workout:

Add plyometrics to your routine

Lunges and push ups are a great place to start but if you want to develop your routine a bit you can put some explosive moves into what you do. Plyometrics is also known as jump training and that’s a good name for it because they’re bodyweight exercises with added jumps to work on your explosive power. These can include exercises like burpees and clap press ups.

Change the pace

Changing the speed that you do bodyweight exercises can be a great way to challenge your muscles and break them out of a routine. For example, try a set of push ups at a really slow pace, and you’ll definitely feel the challenge. Not only are you giving your body something new to adapt to, but you’re also carefully improving your movements. Many also swear by increasing the ‘time under tension’ as a way to improve overall fitness.

Keep your core tight

It’s common advice and it’s something we should pay attention to. A lot of people describe this as making sure your belly button is held into your stomach tightly. Another way of thinking about it is that your lower back and front and side abdominal muscles are held tightly. Tension here at key points while you exercise will help to make you’ve got good posture as you exercise and if you want to increase your abdominal awareness, you can try adding some planks into your bodyweight workout routine.

Progression for bodyweight exercises

Weight training is easy to progress by adding more weight but bodyweight exercises are a little trickier, however you can still make them a little easier or harder to suit. For example, a push-up can be made easier by doing it from the knees rather than the feet. You can make it harder by using a single leg, or even one arm if you’re feeling brave.

If you want to change y0ur routine or get the most out of body weight exercises, speak to our personal training team at a UG club near you.

‍