You can move a lot of different muscles in one move with bodyweight exercises. A weight lifting exercise typically targets just one muscle at a time. Bodyweight exercises keep you from overeating, can be done anywhere and help you stay energized. Bodyweight exercises help you burn fat fast because they use multiple body parts – and no special equipment is needed. A good workout uses three or four bodyweight exercises.
Perform 8-12 repetitions of each exercise with no rest in between. This is a single circuit. Rest one minute and repeat for at least three circuits. You can use any bodyweight exercise, but here are a few you can try:
The Plank:
1. Lie on your stomach with palms and forearms flat on the floor, forearms at a right angle to upper arm.
2. Raise up on your toes and pull your hips up so your body makes a straight line from head to heel.
3. Keep your rear end from either sticking up in the air or sagging toward the floor by contracting your abdominal muscles.
4. Hold that move for 20 – 60 seconds, lower and repeat.
You can check that you are doing the exercise right if you watch yourself in a mirror. To make it more difficult, do not rest your forearms on the floor – put your hands flat on the floor and rest on your straight arm – like the top movement of a push up.
The Side Plank:
1. On your right side with legs straight, forearm and palm flat on the floor, rest on your right arm.
2. Prop yourself up so your body forms a diagonal. Lay your left hand on your hip.
3. Contract your abdominals.
4. Hold 20 – 60 seconds, lower and repeat.
5. Repeat on the left side.
Again, to make this more intense you can rest on your straight arm – just your hand flat on the floor.
Decline Push Up:
Raise your feet by resting them on a weight bench while doing a push up.
Some other bodyweight exercises you can try are the bodyweight row, jumping jacks, lunge, front squat, wall squat and quadracep crunch. Try to pick one or two exercises that work mostly your upper body (bodyweight row, decline push-up) and one or two that work mostly your lower body (front squat and lunge) then one or two that primarily work your abdominals (plank and side plank).
Perform this routine every other day and combine them with some cardio and eating right and you will soon see good changes in your body!
