One of the biggest misconceptions is that a good physique can be achieved only in the gym.
To be honest, it's not your fault. There's so much hype created by fitness enthusiasts and fitness magazines promoting gym equipment and athletes training in the gym that you eventually think that it is the only place to achieve a healthy body.
I get a lot of queries, especially during this stupid pandemic, where everyone eventually asks this one common question, "I don't have any equipment. How will I exercise?" Such a mentality is quite common among gym-goers.
But the reality is entirely different. You see it's not the equipment that matter but the intensity and resistance that you bring to your training.
This is prime time you need to switch to bodyweight exercises especially since all gyms are closed. And, the best part is you don't require any type of equipment. So, there are no excuses for not exercising!
Let’s be honest here, you might feel bored doing bodyweight exercises and think that you will not grow muscle or lose weight. But please don't panic. There are tons of bodyweight exercises that can be done from the comfort of your home as alternatives to gym training to get you in good shape.
Moreover, an article published at the Strength and Conditioning Journal showed that bodyweight training actually increases strength and decrease body fat when combined with a healthy diet (of course).
Related Post: 5 Nutrition Changes To Transform Your Health
🔖 It's not the type of training that matters, it's the proper technique combined with right methods that matter.
That being said, here are 5 bodyweight exercises that you can do from the comfort of your home amidst COVID-19. To know the different benefits of bodyweight training, click here.
5 Bodyweight Exercises To Do At Home
1- Squats
When it comes to bodyweight exercises, Squats top my list every time. This old-school compound exercise is best for increasing your lower body strength, thoracic spine mobility and hip flexibility.
Wondering what a compound exercise mean? These are exercises that involve multiple muscle groups at the same time.
Squats help to build muscle, lose weight, tone your quadriceps femoris (quads), and simultaneously increase your flexibility, mobility and strength.
ResearchGate shows that bodyweight squat can improve strength and power when performed with the right technique.
Check out this video to know the proper technique to do squats.
For gym freaks, you can try different variations of squats like jump squats, sumo squats and close-grip squats to increase the intensity and avoid a plateau.
2- Pushups
If there could be one exercise that has the potential to hit all the upper body muscle groups at the same time, that's Pushups.
Pushups primarily target your chest and shoulder muscles. It also targets your arms and keeps your core engaged. It is a great exercise to build upper body strength and is a great alternative to bench press.
How to do?
Get on your pushup starting position and keep your hands shoulder-width apart. Now, keep your core engaged and make sure your back is protracted (rounded). Keep your toes shoulder-width apart and if it feels easy then keep them close. Now descend until your chest almost touches the floor and then push up.
To make it more effective, perform it slowly and focus on the negatives (when you push against the floor and go to the starting position). Again, please don't compromise on your form.
For intermediates, perform variations like pike pushups, archer pushups, explosive pushups, diamond pushups, etc to bring the intensity and resistance to the next level.
3- Plank
When you do your training, never forget to add an isometric hold exercise in your routine. Isometric exercise is a static training where you primarily hold a position for a specific period of time.
In such exercises, the force of strength applied by you will be equal to the force of resistance.
Talking about isometric hold exercises, Plank is probably the best that comes under this category. It engages your entire core muscles and strengthens your abdominals (abs), back, and shoulders.
It also increases your strength and helps to get a better posture, if performed correctly.
How to do?
Get in the push-up position and instead of placing your palms on the floor, place your forearm and balance your entire weight in your forearms. Now maintain your body in a straight line and keep your back protracted (rounded) to get the maximum contraction in your abs and then squeeze your abdomen muscles. Now hold this position.
For beginners, try to hold on to this position for 30-45 seconds and then take a 1-minute break. Do 3 sets in total. For intermediates, hold for 1-2 minute and take 30 seconds rest. Do 4 sets in total.
4- Lunges
The tiring exercise is finally here!
Lunges are one of the most popular exercise to develop your lower body strength and increase your endurance. It engages your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and your inner thighs.
Lunges also improve your stability, balance and coordination.
How to do?
Take a big step forward with one leg and shift your entire weight to the forward knee. Now lower your hips until both of your knees are bend at about 90-degree angle. Then go up to the starting position. Make sure your back knee doesn't touch the floor.
Word of Caution: Do not hyperextend your back and do not raise your front heel while doing lunges.
5- Burpees
Cardio helps to build a strong heart and keep it healthy over a period of time.
Jump as high as you can and then perform one pushup. Repeat the entire process.
If you're an absolute beginner, perform it for 5-8 reps. Do 3 sets in total.
Conclusion
When it comes to volume, you must be aware that to make the most out of each exercise you must do them slowly with proper technique (excluding plank and burpees).
So there it is. These are my favourite bodyweight exercises to do at home to stay fit.
Bodyweight exercises help keep you stay lean and strong, and the best thing is, it challenges your body in a way that weights cannot. So get out of the rut by bringing variations in your training with bodyweight exercises.
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