If you’re in your thirties, twenties, or younger, then it’s quite easy for you to stay in shape. It’s the middle aged men and women who have full time careers, and a families to be responsible for that have a really tough time to stay in shape.
If you fall within this category, then I’m going to show you some basic tips on how you can stay in shape despite a hectic schedule. The first question that pops into most people’s minds is: What kind of workout should I follow?
Well, if….
…You don’t have time to go to a gym
…You don’t want to spend a whole lot of money on expensive equipment
…You just want a very basic, simple program you can follow with little time commitment
Then the best workout for you is a bodyweight routine.
There are only four exercises you really need to get started: push ups, bodyweight squats, situps, and pull ups. The only equipment you’ll need for your workouts is a stop watch and a pullup bar. Most cell phones have a stop watch or timer feature.
As for a pullup bar, you can probably get a really cheap one from eBay or Craigslist. Now that you know that you won’t be spending a whole lot of money on your fitness plan, lets learn how to perform these basic movements:
Push Up
In order to perform a proper push up, simply get down on all fours. Your body should be balances on the palms of your hands and your toes. The starting position of the push up is extremely important. Focus on finding the perfect, comfortable position for you.
Don’t change this position half way through the set. Every person has a slightly different pushup starting position, but the execution of the pushup should look exactly the same. Keep your back straight, abs contracted.
Slowly drop yourself towards the ground. Stop until your chest is just an inch off the floor. Push back up to starting position. This is one repetition. If you are unable to perform a full pushup, then you can place your hands on an elevated surface.
The higher the elevation, the easier it will be to perform the movement. Another way to improve your push up strength is to stay at the top position of the push up, and hold that position for around 30 seconds.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Push your hips back as if your were sitting down on a chair. Keeping your back straight, and head looking forward, lead with your butt and lower your body towards the floor.
Focus on a backwards and down movement. Most people move their body forward first, then bend their knees. This causes their knees to move past their toes, hence placing undue strain on their knees. This is how you get injured.
If you lead with your butt, then you’ll be performing a much safer and practical movement. Keep going as low as possible. Ideally, you want a very deep technique, with your thighs going past parallel. Parallel refers to a position where your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Another cue to look out for is that your shoulders should right in front of your toes. You should be able to draw an imaginary straight perpendicular line from your toes to your shoulders.
Situps
Lay down on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your head and shoulders slightly off the floor. Place your hands underneath your head as support. Squeeze your abs, and let your body move up naturally.
Do not pull on your head, or use any other part of your body to move up. Your upper back should naturally come off the floor as you squeeze your abs. From this position, continue the movement, contracting your abs even more until you’re able to lift your entire back off the floor and sit up.
In the beginning, don’t worry if you are unable to do a full situp. The worst thing you can do is to use momentum to do the exercise for the sake of performing the exercise. Practice proper technique in the beginning, and it will help you more in the future.
If you are able to sit up fully, then when you go back down, do not let your head and shoulders fall on the ground. Keep your head and shoulders off the ground for the duration of the set to maintain tension on your abs.
A pullup is one of the hardest movements for most people. But the movement is incredibly beneficial and should be incorporated in your fitness program. Grab a pullup bar with your palms facing away from you at shoulder width distance.
Hang from the bar by bending your knees and tucking your feet behind you. Squeeze your back muscles, look up towards the pullup bar, and pull yourself towards the bar. Keep going until your chin clears the pullup bar.
Slowly lower yourself to starting position and repeat. If you are unable to move your body past the beginning starting position, then you can perform a little jump, just to give you a small boost. Then complete the movement as instructed.
If you are unable to clear your chin, then just go as high as possible. Even a small range of motion will help you strengthen your back and arm muscles. Finally, if you are really unable to perform a pullup, then find a way you can get yourself up to the bar (like standing on a chair) and just do negatives.
Negatives are where you slowly lower your body towards the ground. Negatives will train the same exact muscles that a regular pullup does.
If you’re ready to incorporate bodyweight training as part of your fitness plan, then you should check out Workout Without Weights. Coach Eddie Lomax shows you how to use bodyweight training to lose fat, build muscle, increase strength, improve athletic fitness, and enhance longevity.
For some strange reason, people still believe that they can’t get in shape with basic pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats. These are the same people that are unable to pump out 10 good pushups, 5 good pullups, and 20 good bodyweight squats.
The problem with these individuals is they lack a clear vision into the future. They do not realize that it is not the workout program that will get them results, but instead what they do with the workout program that will get them results. Continue reading
You don’t have time to workout. You don’t have any equipment to workout with (except a pullup bar, of course. Or at least something to hang from). But you want to be bigger, stronger, and more powerful. Maybe you just want to look better. Maybe you just want to perform better.
Regardless of your reason to get bigger – you want to get bigger. Fine. I can show you how to get bigger with bodyweight exercises. In fact, just yesterday as I was walking into my house after an intense workout, my neighbor looked at me and said, “Gettin’ big. Seems like those workouts are working for you.” Continue reading
We’ve been brainwashed to believe we need expensive gym memberships or fancy equipment to improve our health and physique. Nine months ago, I launched my site ShahTraining.com to debunk this myth. I’m going to take everything that I’ve been talking about in the past few months and let it all loose right here. In this post, you’ll learn how to lose fat without needing to go to a gym. Read more.
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The bodyweight squat has been used for centuries by Indian Wrestlers to improve their strength, flexibility, and lower body power. Perhaps this is why the movement has often been called the Hindu Squat. The actual name of the exercise that indian wrestlers used was the Uthak-Bethak, or simply “sitting and standing.”
Just look at those two words for a second: Sitting and Standing. 80% of our daily activities are focused on sitting and standing, and yet the majority of people out there do not practice these two movements in tandem.
I even heard of some guy who stopped squatting because he claimed that no one can do it right, so no one should do them.
There are other substitutions.
Well, the guy I’m talking about actually stopped squatting with weights. I’m not sure if he’s heard of simply bodyweight squatting, because the movement itself is a great asset to any training program. In fact, out of my two training partners who also go to the gym a few days a week, I have the strongest legs. I developed this powerful lower body by performing 500 bodyweight squats per day.
Now, I REALLY advise people against performing 500 bodyweight squats per day. That is not a number you want to go for on a daily basis.
I know of a few websites out there that preach such ridiculously high numbers, but I for one am against such an abuse of a particular exercise.
Here is how to perform a bodyweight squat:
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes facing slightly out for balance.
Make sure to keep your back straight and chest out throughout the entire movement.
Bend your knees and follow with your hips as you slowly descend towards the ground.
Go as far as you can. Pause, then reverse the movement.
Repeat as desired.
Flat Footed or Heels Up?
Flat footed squats are where you keep your heals firmly on the floor while performing the squat. Heels up squats are where you raise your heels when you lower your body. These are the type of squats I was performing when I was doing the 500 rep workouts. Heels up squats put greater stress on your knees, and force your calves to work harder.
Currently, I am suffering from some knee pain that I believe is due to the 500 rep workouts. I believe it was the sheer number of squats I was performing, plus a lack of decent recovery that cause the problem.
But I’m sure another aspect of the problem was that I was lifting my heels up, placing undue stress on my knees.
What About a Video?
A already have a bodyweight squat video up on YouTube, but I found a better video than mine:
Workouts to Try
Here is a great squatting workout for you to try:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes of:
Run 400 meters
50 Bodyweight Squats
I was able to perform 4 rounds in 20 minutes, can you beat that?
Now if you’re really serious about changing your body through bodyweight training exercises, then you should check out Workout Without Weights. This eBook will give you the full picture when it comes to bodyweight training. Trust me, you’ll never need another resources ever again!
Workout Without Weights is a manual which teaches you how to use your bodyweight to improve your health and fitness. The eBook features not only exercise descriptions, but also teaches you how to develop your own effective training programs
If you purchase the Combo Pack, you can also get another eBook which Author Coach Eddie Lomax sells separately: “Ultimate Gymless Workout.” In addition, you will receive the Combo Calisthenic Audio Workout bonus, which is currently not for sale on the market.
The Basic version sells for just $19.95. The value of the Combo Pack is $73.95 but coach is giving it to you for just $47.00.
If you fall within this category, then I’m going to show you some basic tips on how you can stay in shape despite a hectic schedule. The first question that pops into most people’s minds is: What kind of workout should I follow?
