You may not always have access to a gym. But you can still workout and make progress in exercises you may not be used to performing!
Fitness these days seems to revolve all around all sorts of marketed apparel, gadgets, wearables, equipment, trackers and more. Many of these products are useful and interesting to try, as are utilizing weights or other materials to help you achieve your goals. That said there may be times you do not have access to a gym or good place to run.
Perhaps you are on a business trip and stuck in your hotel room.
So, what can you do?
Luckily bodyweight exercises happen to be incredibly good for your health. In fact, they help you maintain or even build muscle, improve heart health, lessen your risk for diabetes, improve your joint and, bone health, and help with mood stability. When compared with traditional methods of cardio, bodyweight exercises are in fact superior in helping you get or stay lean and toned.
Many studies show that longer cardio-based workouts end up causing greater levels of hunger as people eat the same amount or more calories than they burn, whereas this is not the case for strength or bodyweight-based exercises.
In other words, this kind of exercise does not make you as “haaaaangry”!
Building a bit of muscle can aid in increasing your metabolism and decreasing your overall cortisol levels as well.
When you begin bodyweight training it is important to remember to use good form and focus on movements that target large muscle groups.
Squats and squat variations, push-ups and push-up variations, lying hip raises, lunges, mountain climbers, pull-ups, and dips are all good exercises to start with.
To compile a whole circuit, pick several of these key movements that work opposing muscle groups, and get to it! Each session can be anywhere from several minutes to a full hour of exercise.
Try to improve each session by either adding in movements or decreasing rest time between each exercise. Below is an example working I recently had one of my clients try who was new to working out:
Bodyweight Prisoner Squats X 15
Walk-out plank & hold X 5 for 20-30 seconds OR plank to push-up x 20
Forward Jump Lunge & Twist X 10 each leg
Bar hang/assisted pull-up X as long as or as many as you can
Mountain climbers X 20 seconds
Lying hip raises X 15
Rise & Repeat 3-4 times
It is important to track your progress in the workouts. At first you may be discouraged that you cannot perform one or several of the exercises.
That is okay!
Slowly work to strengthen the primary and supporting muscle groups that are used for the exercise (for example, to perform a pull-up you will rely primarily on your lats, posterior deltoids and need sufficient grip strength).
You can do this by using alternative exercises that are easier but still do the job (kneeling push-ups vs. conventional push-ups, for example).
If you are serious about changing your body and health habits, consider a coach to oversee your progress and help you along the way. I currently offer coaching packages that run anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks or more. See ‘Coaching’ on the top of the page for more information.
