Exercise without weights!

Hi all

Do you feel demotivated going to the gym, and fear getting looked at by everyone? Are home gyms too expensive, and there's no place to put the equipment? Well there's a solution (a very old one at that too!). Of course, I'm talking about bodyweight exercise. This hub will show you the different exercises you can do to target different areas of your body at the comfort of your own home with regular household items, and without those pesky weights either!

This hub will look at the main body muscles, starting from the top down to the legs.

• Chest

The best bodyweight exercise for the chest? The pushup of course! Also known as the pressup, its the gold standard to test upper chest strength; Army units use these to gauge chest strength during physical fitness tests. Do pushups with your arms placed shoulder-width; doing fist pushups is better in my opinion as it does not strain your wrists as much. If the ground is too hard for fist pushups, do them on a pillow insteadl the added 'bounciness' of the pillow makes it a good balance exercise too.

• Upper Back

The back is a bit tougher to do, since you can't really do it freestanding. For the upper back, look for a door, or door hinge. The exercise you're going to do are wide-arm pullups. Hold the hinge such that your arms face away from you (well it's the only way to hold it!) and do pullups. Watch for jagged tops though, you don't want to get splinters from doing the exercises.

• Shoulders

For the shoulders there are two effective exercises: the wide arm pushup, where you do pushups with your arms spread like wings, or the much harder but more rewarding handstand pushups. For the handstand pushup, simply prop up your legs to a wall, hands on the ground, and do pushups.

• Triceps

For the tricep I am going to suggest an uncommon exercise: tricep pushups. No, not the usual diamond hands one. For this special pushup, get on your knees (yes it's that hard), and clench your fists and put them together on the floor. Now take 2 seconds to go down, and 2 to rise. The fists give less area so it really works your triceps and balance. Do 10 in a row and you're really fit!

• Biceps

Biceps is another tricky one, however there are two ways to work them. The first one sounds funny, but it makes use of isometric techniques: simply grab a towel, hold the ends, and put the middle under your feet. Next, pull up with your biceps while at the same time push down with your feet. You may not be moving, but it's a good way to strengthen your arms, and also tone your legs.

The second way is to do pullups, but with your palms facing towards you. For this you'll need to hold on to a bar, so if you have a playground swing or a tree out the back, you can use those. For those that don't, the first exercise is the way to go.

• Lower Back

For the lower back you can do reverse crunches. Lie on your front, and then raise your upper body up off the floor. Hold for 3 seconds, then bring it down again. Repeat 10-15 times. If you want to increase difficulty, you can also raise your legs while bringing your back up.
Note: This exercise is also kind of important for those wanting flat tummies. You should balance out ab exercises with back exercises, otherwise your body will be tense at the front ad this can lead to damage in the long term. Also a tighter stronger back pulls your body back and up, making your abs tighter too.

• Abs

Everyone's favorite set of muscles! I can think of lots of bodyweight exercises for abs: crunches, situps, planks, jacknife etc, however the best I've found is a combination of the stomach vacuum and the double crunch.

For the stomach vacuum, stand straight and breath in as much as you can, at the same time lifting your chest. Next, breath out all the air and at the same time try to get your belly button as close to your back as possible. A good way to do this is to put a finger in the belly button, then pull. Once it's in as far as possible, hold that (you can breath again now) for 20 seconds, then release. Repeat 3-4 times on alternate days, and you can really lose inches fast!

For the double crunch, the start position is to have your legs up and knees bent, upper body fully on the floor. Next, life your upper body towards your knees, and at the same time life your bum off the floor to meet your head. You will really feel the burn if you've never done this before.

• Obliques

The best obliques exercise is the side plank. This is because oblique crunches, while good, will make them bigger, and it looks weird having large obliques! To do the side plank, simply lie on your side, and get up, making a straight line with your body and holding yourself up with your feet and forearm. Hold for 30 seconds, then do the other side.

• Thighs

For thighs, the squat is the way to go. For a regular squat, simply stand with feet shoulder-width, and act like you're sitting down on a chair. Get down till your thighs are parallel to the floor, then go up again. To make things harder, do it on one leg. To make it even harder, do it on one leg, with one eye closed!

• Glutes/Hamstrings

For hamstring strengthening (which is very important in preventing cramps and pulls), lie on your front, and lift your legs up backwards. This tightens up your bum and works your hamstrings too.

• Calves

For calves, the bodyweight exercise of choice are tiptoes. Simply go up and down by doing tiptoes.

For all exercises, keep a steady rhythm of 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down. This will give you a fair amount of intensity.

Don't be disheartened if you don't see results in 3 days; as with any exercise, a minimum 3-4 weeks of consistent exercise is needed to notice anything significant. Motivate yourself by taking a picture of yourself when you start, and then taking pics every single week. And also, eat healthy! 70% of a good body is good diet.

Cheers

Syed

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