Have you heard of the 3-minute pushups drill? You can use this interesting technique anytime you have an extremely short period of time to workout. The method is actually very simple, but it requires knowledge in knowing how to perform differentpushup variations.

Here is the main idea: choose 6 pushup variations, and perform each of them back to back for 30 seconds each. That’s 3 minutes of total exercise. You can implement this same method usingpullup variations and squat variations.

Sample workout:

• Plyometric Pushups, 30 seconds
• Feet Elevated Pushups, 30 seconds
• One Arm Pushups, Right Hand, 30 seconds
• One Arm Pushups, Left Hand, 30 seconds
• Chair Dips, 30 seconds
• Dive Bombers, 30 seconds

Another idea is to choose two pushup variations, two pullup variations, and two lower body movements and perform them within the 3-minute drill. This way, you get a full-body workout.

Sample Full Body Workout:

• Lunges, alternating, 30 seconds
• Dive Bombers, 30 seconds
• Gorilla Chins, 30 seconds
• Pushups, 30 seconds
• Chinups, 30 Seconds
• Squat Jumps, 30 seconds

You can also develop this idea into a full training program, where you perform a 3 minute drill, rest for a minute, then perform another round. Here is a sample of what a full program would look like, based on your fitness level:

Beginner:

• 3 days a week, 4 rounds of 3 minutes, 90 seconds rest in between each drill

Intermediate:

• 3 days a week, 4 rounds of 3 minutes, 60 seconds rest in between each drill

Advanced:

• 3 days a week, 5 rounds of 3 minutes, 60 seconds rest in between each drill

For more bodyweight training training techniques, workouts, and exercises, check out Workout Without Weights. Click here for more information.

Squat Jumps are one of the many important bodyweight exercises out there that are not being included in a typical bodyweight program. I agree to the fact that you can’t include every single bodyweight exercise out there. In fact, you shouldn’t.

However, most people never do squat jumps. They might do hundreds of bodyweight squats, Hindu squats, lunges, and numerous other bodyweight exercises. But, for some reason, the squat jump is always left out of most training programs.

Could it be because…it’s hard? Well, it is a hard movement. But it’s an essential movement which you should perform if your goal is to build a stronger, bigger, and more functional lower body.

Why You should Squat Jump

A long time ago, I had a dramatic realization: that training parameters for fat loss aren’t much different for muscle mass. A power/strength workout can also be an effective workout to improve overall general fitness. An athletic program can be the perfect recipe for incredible fat loss.

“Sports-specific” and “customized” are relative terms. Each individual athlete does not need to do things that are dramatically different then their peers. Instead, what they need to be doing are things that challenge them. It’s really as simple as that.

So in the grand scheme of things, if you’re looking for just one secret to improving your health and fitness, it should be this: “Challenge Yourself.”

And so, explosive training in the form of plyometrics or Olympic lifts performed with a dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell are difficult, fun, and challenging. Even if we disregard the initial strength, power, and fat loss benefits of explosive training, we can argue that a fun workout is a workout that will allow us to remain consistent with our program.

The more consistent we are with our workouts, the greater chance of achieving our desired results.

How to Perform Squat Jumps

You should be able to perform 50 good bodyweight squats in a row before starting with squat jumps. If you can’t do 50 good bodyweight squats, then squat jumps will be way to difficult for you.
[pro-player type="MP4" width="530" height="350"]http://www.shahtraining.com/Squat Jump.m4v[/pro-player]
The actual execution of the movement is really simple: squat down and jump up. But, there are some key points you should be aware of:

• Lower your body as low as possible for maximum force development and acceleration
• Keep your back straight and chest up
• When your feet return to the floor, go immediately down into squat position and explode upwards.

Squat jumps are a continuous, heart pumping explosive movement. Start incorporating them today to take your workouts to the next level.

If you’re ready to incorporate bodyweight training as part of your fitness plan, then you should check out Bodyweight Exercise Revolution. Coach’s Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock show you how to use unique bodyweight movements to lose fat, build muscle, increase strength, improve athletic fitness, and enhance longevity.

Click here for more information.

There are a lot of “soreness seekers” out there. Soreness seekers are trainees who will not take a day off or stop training until they feel sore the next day after a workout. They’re also known as “fatigue seekers.”

• The main difference between fatigue seekers and soreness seekers is that fatigue seekers aim to fatigue their bodies within a workout. In other words, they’ll keep going until they can go no longer. Until they collapse on the ground in a pool of sweat (and sometimes puke and blood).
  
• Soreness seekers are individuals who will continually make a workout more and more difficult in the hopes that they’ll get sore the day after. Continue reading

For more intense workouts, check out Turbulence Training.

Max rounds in 20 minutes of:

• 5 Chair Dips
• 5 Gorilla Chins
• 10 Squat Jumps

Was able to do 8 rounds

Notes: The chair dips and squat jumps were quite easy (yet challenging). The gorilla chins were tough. I’m going to be moving back towards more randomized workouts with a few benchmarks thrown in.

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Image by Crossfit Westside

It happens to the best of us. There are times in your life where you just stop working out. For one reason or another, you find yourself a few months later looking in the mirror and thinking to yourself, “How did I let myself go?”

Well, I feel this sometimes even after a one-week lay off from training. Yes, I’m addicted to training, and I know what it feels NOT to exercise and eat healthy for a long time. I’ve done it before and I don’t want to do it again. Call it paranoia if you will, but I have never taken more than a week off from training in the past three years.

But even with a one-week layoff, I take it easy when coming back into training. The first workout is not as intense as my normal workout.

The best advice I can offer you is to steadily move back into your training program. The following are some tips based how long you’ve been away from exercising:

One- Week

After one week off, the first week should be light, but not too light. A good idea is to take your last workout and tone it down a bit. For example, lets say your last workout was:

Two rounds of:

• 4 Tabata rounds of Burpees
• 2 Tabata rounds Squat Jumps
• 2 Tabata rounds Pushups
• 2 Tabata rounds Leg Pullin

Instead of 2 rounds, perform just one round. And instead of a 20/10 Tabata scheme, try an easier, 30/20 or 30/30 scheme.

One-Month

If you’ve been away from the gym or exercising for close to one month, then you’ll probably need one-two weeks just to ease back in. Aim to have no more than one extremely intense workout per week, and one to two moderate intensity or light workouts. Your first priority should be consistency. Don’t worry about intensity level for now. Just workout at least 3 days a week. Once you are back on track with regular workouts, you can start pushing yourself with the intensity.

One-Year or More

If for whatever reason you’ve been out of action for a year or longer, it’s best you started from scratch. Try to find a basic beginner program, and steadily work on strength, consistency, and intensity. Try the beginner burpee program from my Burpees article .

Getting back into shape isn’t really as hard as it seems. The main thing you need to work on is getting back on schedule. This is where keeping a training log is extremely beneficial. Take a look at the last few workouts that you performed before your layoff, and start from there.

Do you have any additional tips on how to get back into shape after a long layoff?

Image by sallycrochets

Burpees are an intense exercise, no doubt. When you combine Burpees with an intensity technique such as interval training, what you get is incredible, puke-inducing, fat burning workouts. Here are few you should try out:

Burpees Tabata Interval Workout: Continue reading

Image by abbyjane Here is a really great bodyweight workout using simple, basic movements that’ll take just 15 minutes of your time:

Perform 5 rounds of:

2 minute interval:

• Pullups, 5 reps
• Pushups, 10 reps
• Bodyweight Squat, 20 reps

1 minute rest

Here’s how to do it:

1. Set the timer for 2 minutes, and perform as many rounds as you can of each of the exercises listed for the suggested repetitions
2. After the 2 minutes, rest for 1 minute
3. Repeat four more times

Some ideas on how to make this workout harder:

1. Increase the time interval. You can perform 3 rounds at a 3 or 4 minute interval, or 2 rounds with a 5 or 6 minute interval, followed by a minute rest.
2. You can replace the exercise for difficult ones. For example, perform Side to Side Pullups instead of regular pullups, hindu pushups instead of regular pushups, and squat jumps for bodyweight squats.

Some ideas on how to make this workout shorter:

1. Shorten the rest period to 30 seconds
2. Use alternative interval schemes such as Tabata – 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest.

One of the best ways to help you with your intervals is to use the GymBoss Interval Timer. It costs just $19.95, and you can program it to help you keep track of any sort of intervals you may use. Click here to grab yours today.

My Fitness HutThe Burpee is one the most basic yet intense bodyweight exercises around. If you can do a pushup and bodyweight squat, then you can do a burpee. Unfortunately, not enough people incorporate the burpee into their fitness programs.

What is a Burpee?

There are a lot of discussions out there concerning what a burpee exactly is. Lets move step by step here. Continue reading