Body Weight Workouts for a Strong Body

Bodyweight workouts are very misunderstood and under-estimated ways of enhancing muscle tone and strength. Many trainers and fitness seekers can't see past traditional bodyweight workouts consisting of push-ups, pull-ups and dips.

 

 Both men and women can follow body weight workouts and get great results that are in line with fitness goals ranging from slimming, shaping and toning to strengthening and lean muscle building.
A big hurdle for most people to get over when considering body weight workouts for fitness is the question of, "How can a body weight workout routine replace one that uses weight training and machines?"

It is easy to see how psychology can be an obstacle in trying to help people understand that properly structured bodyweight workouts can be better than traditional weight-lifting and exercise machine workouts. Traditional workouts offer many variations, almost endless actually. Where as bodyweight workouts rely on creativity mixed with a good understanding of how the body functions and what exercises stimulate healthy and safe fitness progress.

 

Many fitness pros believe that body-weight workouts offer just a limited amount of exercise options and are very general at best, meaning that there is no ability to target and isolate specific muscle groups during a bodyweight workout. This is a big mis-perception that prevents many fitness success stories from ever becoming a reality.

Here's the reason why. When people get into the 'health club mentality' of only being able to workout with equipment, weights and machines, they set themselves up for many episodes of 'falling off the program' and failing. Bodyweight workouts eliminate this excuse.

Here's an example where bodyweight workouts are a million times more effective than regular old gym workouts. You go on vacation or you go out of town on business, or maybe to visit family for several days. So many times these events become excuses for people not sticking to their fitness plan because they 'couldn't go to a gym'. With a well-rounded, bodyweight workout program this excuse is not valid.

The right body weight workouts can be done anywhere and anytime. They can be done at home, the office, a fiend's house or even on a play-ground. And in terms of effectiveness - I can only say through personal experience with my own bodyweight workouts and those of the people who I have trained that when planned properly and followed consistently, bodyweight workouts can be even more effective than most weight lifting or machine based workout programs.

Body weight workouts offer 'fitness veterans' - a refreshing, eye-opening alternative to the those repetitive weight and machine training programs. Even more importantly, bodyweight workouts offer sedentary fitness beginners a safe, non-intimidating and effective method for starting a home based fitness program with a high probability for success.

Whether you are just beginning or you've been 'pumping the weights' for some time now, give some consideration to the benefits and advantages of properly structured body weight workouts and how they can help you move forward in your fitness and conditioning goals. Open up your mind to the possibility of a bodyweight workout being a part of your overall fitness plan and see what happens. You'll be very pleased and maybe a bit surprised with the results you experience.

 Damian@FitnHealthy

Bodyweight Calisthenics: Give Your "Cardio" A Kick In The Pants

If you are one of the people who believe steady-state aerobic exercise is the only way to improve cardiorespiratory endurance and burn fat, you're in for a treat. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent way to get a full body workout that includes the heart and lungs. I'll show you how to use bodyweight exercise in a second, but first let's talk a little about cardiorespiratory endurance.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of ability your body has to gather, process, deliver and sustain oxygen to produce energy for use in physical activity. Basically, the respiratory system gathers and starts to process the oxygen. The cardiovascular system continues to process and distributes the oxygen. So, your cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of efficiency your heart and lungs have to sustain and deliver oxygen for energy.

So, when most people want to improve their endurance they do cardiorespiratory conditioning exercises (cardio) to improve endurance by "conditioning" the heart and lungs. Unfortunately, the form of cardiorespiratory conditioning usually takes the form of aerobic exercise. And bodyweight calisthenics are completely ignored! But the fact is, any activity can improve cardiorespiratory endurance if they are done properly, and bodyweight exercises and calisthenics are an excellent choice.

There is something important I should mention. The type of cardio conditioning you do improves over-all endurance. But, the increased endurance is most closely related to the activity used. This means if you ride an exercise bike, your cardiorespiratory endurance will primarily be improved for bike riding. This is fine if you ride a bike in your normal, everyday life. But this has limited application for most people who are involved in a wide variety of activities both in and out of the gym.

If, on the other hand, you use bodyweight calisthenics for your cardio conditioning, you are using a wide variety of movements and muscles. Bodyweight exercises and calisthenics more closely represent the movements of highly random movements encountered in sport, work and life. So, you could make a case that cardiorespiratory conditioning using bodyweight calisthenics is better for endurance improvement that can be used in and out of the gym.

Plus, bodyweight calisthenics use all the muscles in your body. Compare this to the predominately lower body exercises of jogging or riding a bike. So, using bodyweight exercises allow you to build a strong, lean physique while improving cardiorespiratory endurance and burning fat!

Just think about it. Let's say you do a fast paced bodyweight workout consisting of a circuit of bodyweight exercises and calisthenics. You'll simultaneously build strong muscles and burn fat while improving heart and lung function. You wouldn't even have to do a long, slow aerobic workout to supplement your training.

I hope this article has opened you eyes to the wide variety of possibilities available to improve cardiorespiratory endurance. You don't always have to do long-slow aerobic exercise. And the truth is, using other forms of training to simultaneously improve heart and lung power can prepare you better for the challenges of sport, work and life. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent choice for both building a strong, lean, athletic physique and building a strong heart and lungs.

Damian@FitnHealthy 

Calisthenics Workout

Calisthenics workout programs are a traditional and integral part of any training program because calisthenics workout programs require minimal" equipment and can be performed in almost any location. Calisthenic exercises & workouts, depending on how they are performed, can be used to develop flexibility, muscle strength, muscle endurance, and/or muscle power.

Here we will discuss the benefits and proper use" of calisthenics within the training environment.

The Muscle Strength-Endurance Continuum

Muscle strength and, muscle endurance exist on a continuum. Given that muscle strength is the amount of force generated by one repetition and muscle endurance is the ability to exert force repeatedly over time, improving muscle strength will improve muscle endurance.

The first occasion depends on individual fitness level and how many repetitions can be performed. Individuals who can only perform a low number of repetitions during a calisthenics workout programs (less than 10-12) will develop muscle strength.

Those who can perform a higher number (more than 10-12) will develop muscle endurance. For example, when you first start doing pull-ups you may only be able to perform 9 repetitions. At this point, you are developing muscle strength. As your performance improves, and you are able to perform over 12 repetitions, you begin to develop muscle endurance.

The second occasion occurs where calisthenics workout programs are modified to overload the muscles so that they contribute to strength development.

This can be achieved by any of the following:

Adding weight (e.g., pull-ups or push-ups while wearing a weighted pack) Using a buddy for resistance (e.g., having a buddy sit on your hips while doing bent over calf raises; buddy- assisted leg extensions) Exercising on one side of the body only (e.g., one-legged squats or calf raises) Modifying the exercise (e.g., elevating the legs during push-ups) Super sets/pyramids These modifications can be particularly helpful if weight training facilities are not available and a strength workout is required.

If your one repetition maximum weight is increased, your sub-maximum multiple repetitions can be performed with more weight (resistance).

Muscle strength is developed by performing low-repetition (6-12), high-resistance exercises. When more than 12 repetitions can be performed, the resistance should be increased, and the repetitions decreased.

Muscle endurance is developed by high-repetition (>12), low-resistance exercises.

A set for an exercise is the number of repetitions performed per unit weight.

Increasing the number of repetitions per set develops endurance. For example, if an individual can perform only 10-12 sit-ups using proper technique, the exercise will develop muscle strength.

Once an individual can perform over 15 repetitions per set, muscle endurance is being developed.

Note that strength and short-term efforts have no effect on aerobic capacity because the aerobic/endurance system is not recruited with maximal or heavy loads. In contrast, sustained efforts with a light load recruit the aerobic system and have minimal effect on strength.

Generally, activities of longer duration require more muscle endurance. You should modify your training programs according to the principles of strength and endurance specific to mission requirements.

Muscle strength and endurance are both essential for extreme fitness performance. Muscular strength is also required for many team sports. Muscular endurance is needed when work is required over longer periods of time.

The goal of calisthenics workout programs should be to develop complete muscular fitness (i.e., strength, endurance, and power). Muscle strength provides the foundation for muscle endurance and power. An adequate strength base not only improves performance, but also decreases the likelihood of injury.

For this reason it is recommended that at least two strength workouts (low-repetition [10-12 reps], high resistance exercises per muscle group per week), be part of your calisthenics workout programs.

Traditional calisthenics workout programs performed two to three times a week will develop and maintain muscle endurance. Plyometric exercises when necessary, can also be used to develop muscle power.

Training schedules, lack of exercise equipment, and inadequate nutrition can keep you from maintaining required fitness levels.

Calisthenics workout programs, however, are practical for almost any situation because they can be performed anywhere with minimal equipment. Moreover, calisthenics workout programs can also be modified to provide a strength workout.

 

 Source Thomas Martin, Go