Girlwithnoname – Fitness at Home

Bodyweight training is a great way to get in shape and stay in shape. Particularly when you don’t have access to conventional weight training equipment like free weights or other resistance machines like cables.

Unfortunately, bodyweight training can be a bit more limited because you only have your body and gravity at your disposal. This can cause your workout to get dull quickly if you don’t know how to mix it up a little bit.

Let’s face it, doing the same old moves over and over again with no variety can be boring.

So, let’s mix it up! Let’s take some of the most popular bodyweight moves and tweak them so they’re new and exciting again, shall we?

SQUATS

Squats are a great compound move that burns fat fast but wow, can they get stale in a hurry. Luckily there’s lots of ways to change up a squat.

Try doing one legged squats. How about Split Squats?

Then there’s Bulgarian Squats (one leg elevated on a bench behind you … see picture).

Don’t forget about Sumo Squats or Plie Squats. These are similar in that they both incorporate a wider stance with toes pointing out rather than straight forward. Sumo squats take you a little deeper than Plie squats.

Speaking of deeper squats, did you know that deeper squats are harder than regular squats?

Try 3/4 squats where you squat til your butt almost hits the ground, then come up only 3/4 of the way before returning to the lower position. I think you’ll be surprised how difficult these ones are.

Heck, you can even take the regular bodyweight squat and do a timed set to see how many squats you can do in a limited time period.

I like to do a 5 minute Power Squat Blast. My record for proper form bodyweight squats in 5 minutes in 218. That’s not easy to do, but it’s a great workout.

See? All it takes is a little imagination and there’s a ton of ways to change up a squat.

PUSH-UPS

Now, how about Push-ups? The ways to change up a push-up seem endless.

Try doing the moves with your hands at different widths, the closer together you put your hands, the more you’ll work your triceps.

Or, try some pushups with your hands really wide apart. Try Offset push-ups (putting one hand near your ribcage and one in the regular spot, then switch hand positions for another set).

Spiderman push-ups (where you bring your knee up to your elbow as your lower your body) are also a fun way to change things up.

Don’t forget if this move is getting too easy for you, you can always elevate your feet (on a bench or chair, or if you’re really strong, try the wall). The higher up you get your feet, the harder the push-up will be.

If you’re really a jock and all this is still too easy, go for the one handed variety (see picture). Anyone that can do those, gets MY respect!

PULL-UPS

Now we have to conquer the boredom of the same old Pull-ups over and over (although I’m not really sure how anyone can get BORED doing pull-ups since that is one tough move).

One of the easiest ways to change up a pull-up is to merely change your grip. Having your palms facing away from you constitutes regular pull-ups. Having your palms facing towards you is what is known as a chin-up.

Another way to change up your grip is to widen it. The wider your grip, the harder it will be.

Another plus about widening your grip is that the further your hands are apart, the harder you’re going to hit your back muscles and develop that “V” look (which also helps your waist look tighter).

And again, if you’re really a jock, get at it with the one armed variety. Oh, and if you’re going to do some of those, can I please watch?

Don’t forget to strive for your full ‘range of motion’ (make sure your arms come to straight at the bottom and your chin gets above the bar at the top).

Heck, you can even try out some “Muscle-ups” (bring your body all the way up to hip-level with the bar).

Having a hard time mastering the pull-up? Try “kipping”. This is where you add a little ‘kick’ in your body movement to help drive you up to the bar.

And if pull-ups are STILL a challenge to you, try working the negative instead of the positive. This means you jump up to get yourself up to the bar instead of pulling yourself up (or use a stool or chair to step up to the bar). Then once you’re at the top position you remove the chair (kick it away if you have to) and lower yourself to the bottom position very slowly (and very methodically, staying in complete control).

This will help you build up your strength and technique in all the right muscles so that eventually you’ll find pulling yourself doable.

There! See how easy that was to change things up?

Now there’s no reason for your next bodyweight workout to feel stale. Add some of these variations into your routine and you’ll be re-energized.

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Looking for even MORE great ways to change up your bodyweight training? Check out Craig Ballantyne and his Turbulence Training Bodyweight Manuals.

Craig is the absolute KING of Bodyweight Workouts and really knows what it takes to get truly lean and ripped using only bodyweight exercises.

If you love Bodyweight Workouts (or just lack equipment and don’t have much other choice), Craig’s Turbulence Training Bodyweight Manuals are what you need.

He knows what it takes to workout hard and smart to get you the body you deserve.

No Gym? No Equipment? No PROBLEM!! (and HEY, NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!)

You can find out more about Turbulence Training Bodyweight Workouts here:

Turbulence Training Bodyweight Manuals

Have a fit, fun and fantastic day.
Girlwithnoname

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