When one thinks about gymnasts and acrobats performing somersaults, hand stands, jumps on vaults and beams and looking superhuman, you can’t help but wonder: “Where does their huge amount of strength and skill come from?”.
I am a big fan of a type of training called Bodyweight Training, which is one of the most natural ways to train as it uses very little or no equipment and involves performing a wide range of exercises by using your own bodyweight.
These are several great reasons for Bodyweight Training:
• It builds your core – with bodyweight exercises you tend to use your core a
lot more than when you’re just doing weights. It’s practically impossible not
to! Why is this important? A strong core means less chances of getting back
pain!
• It builds functional strength – this type of training will enhance the coordinated working relationship between your nervous and muscular systems, which in return means you’ll be seeing substantial improvements to whatever
sport you’re practicing!
• It’s easier on your joints – weights don’t tend to train your stabilizer muscles as well as bodyweight training. You’ll be moving your own body in lots of different directions and at different angles which will help build your stabilizer
muscles and strengthen your joints.
• It will improve your flexibility – at first you might find this type of training a little difficult, but after a few workouts you’ll notice how much more flexible you’ll be!
• It will save you time – the reason we teach bodyweight training is so that you know how to perform these type of exercises when on holiday or at home and in the park since you’ll only need a little bit of space and almost
no equipment!
So here is a simple routine for beginners to get you started:
The Burpee
• Begin in a Squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you
• Kick your feet back, while lowering yourself into a plank position
• Return your feet immediately to squat position
• Leap up as high as possible from the squat position
Walking Lunge
• Stand upright and take a step forward with one leg and lower yourself until your back knee almost touches the ground
• Do not allow the front knee to go forward beyond your toes
• Push yourself upright again, then do the same with the other leg
• Keep moving forward
Squat Jumps
• Begin in a squat position with your hands stretched out in front of you
• Now jump up vertically as high as you can before returning into your initial position
• Do not look on the ground but instead keep focusing on something a few feet ahead of you
Pelvic Raises
• Lie on your back with your hands by your side
• Raise your legs so that your feet are pointing at the sky or the ceiling
• Now raise your buttocks off the ground, pushing your feet up as high as you can
• Return to starting position keeping your feet pointing up
Here’s an idea to perform your routine: go for a jog or a run in your local park if you can. Run for 5min, then stop and do these exercises back-to-back with zero rest in between. You will want to rest, but immediately hit the next exercise!! After it is done, keep jogging for the next 5 min, then repeat.
If you’re starting off from not having done any exercise in a while, I suggest you aim at just going out for a short 20 min workout, which means you’ll be jogging and doing this routine twice, and they’ll approximately last 5min each. Try and do this 2-3 times a week for at least 4 weeks before you start to add another set to the routine.
Just remember to add another 5min of jogging every time you add a set of exercises. This way, your workout will be a 30min one by month two, and a 40min one by month three.
Try it. This is the perfect way to tone your entire body and get ready for the summer!
This article was written by Barbara Brunner of www.brunnertraining.com
