Discover the Best Body Weight Exercises to Build Strength
So maybe you don't have a gym to go to.
Maybe you just moved and you haven't found one that you're comfortable with.
Or maybe you're traveling and you just need some exercises to tide you over until you can get back to your gym at home.
Or perhaps even you just don't like gyms, you don't want to go to them, and you'd prefer to just work out at home, and you don't see the point in investing a lot of money in your own gym equipment.
Whatever the reason, you want to know about body weight exercises, specifically how they relate to strength and strength gain.
Well you're in luck, because I've got just what you're looking for.
I'd like to discuss the best bodyweight exercises for strength gain.
I'm going to outline some core exercises to give you a nice boost to your physique, and more importantly, your strength.
So, let's start out with the basic, key exercise here...
The push up.
I know that you probably think that you already know everything there is to know about the push up, but trust me, you don't The push up is probably one of the most versatile exercises out there, and as far as body weight exercises go, it provides you with some really great benefits.
So, let's just real quick go over proper form when doing push ups.
You're going to want to keep your body absolutely rigid.
From your ankle to your head should be a straight line.
This should never change throughout the entirety of the movement.
To help you do this it's best to maintain flexed abdominals, to give you the support you need to maintain correct form.
This will really help you out, so I really recommend trying this (The abdominal flex that is).
Next, it's simply a matter of lowering your face/body to the ground, and pushing back up.
Keep your elbows tucked naturally in.
That doesn't mean pressing against your sides, but be careful not to let them flare out.
Ok, that just about covers push ups.
Next up is the body weight squat.
This one, once again, is a little more intricate than would first appear.
In order to do a proper body weight squat, you set up just as you would for a normal squat.
That means that you want your feet about 1.
5x shoulder width, toes pointed forward.
Now, cross your arms in front of your chest, and raise them to shoulder level.
Alternatively you can simply raise your arms.
It's important to do one of those two though because it really helps with the balance needed to get full range of motion.
So, from there it's pretty simple.
Simply dip your butt back, as if reaching for a chair, go down until your slightly past parallel (this means that the TOP of your thighs is parallel with the ground, not the bottom).
Then just come back up and repeat as you like.
One important thing here, make sure that your knees don't dip in.
You want to keep your toes pointed straight, and it should be a very sturdy feeling squat.
The last body weight exercise for strength gain is none other than the chin up.
This is actually my personal favorite, and I really respect anybody who can pop out 20 or so chin ups, or who can put 100 lbs on and do a chin up or two.
If you're not there yet, don't worry, you've just gotta practice.
So, let's go over proper form.
First, find something you can do chinups on.
Preferably something that's 2 or 3 feet above your head.
You should try and find something that either has your feet of the ground or on your toes when fully extended.
Your grip should have your palms facing towards you and it should be at about shoulder width, or a little bit wider.
From there you simply lift your chin over the bar, and drop back down.
Do NOT let your feet touch the ground between reps.
Also, make sure that your arms are fully extended between reps, do not cheat.
One helpful tip here is this: Don't think of it as pulling yourself above the bar, think of it as pulling your elbows down.
By thinking this way, at least for me, it helps me focus on activating my lats, making the movement much easier, and much more powerful.
Alright, well there you have it.
3 great body weight exercises to help you get stronger! Hope those helped you out!
Maybe you just moved and you haven't found one that you're comfortable with.
Or maybe you're traveling and you just need some exercises to tide you over until you can get back to your gym at home.
Or perhaps even you just don't like gyms, you don't want to go to them, and you'd prefer to just work out at home, and you don't see the point in investing a lot of money in your own gym equipment.
Whatever the reason, you want to know about body weight exercises, specifically how they relate to strength and strength gain.
Well you're in luck, because I've got just what you're looking for.
I'd like to discuss the best bodyweight exercises for strength gain.
I'm going to outline some core exercises to give you a nice boost to your physique, and more importantly, your strength.
So, let's start out with the basic, key exercise here...
The push up.
I know that you probably think that you already know everything there is to know about the push up, but trust me, you don't The push up is probably one of the most versatile exercises out there, and as far as body weight exercises go, it provides you with some really great benefits.
So, let's just real quick go over proper form when doing push ups.
You're going to want to keep your body absolutely rigid.
From your ankle to your head should be a straight line.
This should never change throughout the entirety of the movement.
To help you do this it's best to maintain flexed abdominals, to give you the support you need to maintain correct form.
This will really help you out, so I really recommend trying this (The abdominal flex that is).
Next, it's simply a matter of lowering your face/body to the ground, and pushing back up.
Keep your elbows tucked naturally in.
That doesn't mean pressing against your sides, but be careful not to let them flare out.
Ok, that just about covers push ups.
Next up is the body weight squat.
This one, once again, is a little more intricate than would first appear.
In order to do a proper body weight squat, you set up just as you would for a normal squat.
That means that you want your feet about 1.
5x shoulder width, toes pointed forward.
Now, cross your arms in front of your chest, and raise them to shoulder level.
Alternatively you can simply raise your arms.
It's important to do one of those two though because it really helps with the balance needed to get full range of motion.
So, from there it's pretty simple.
Simply dip your butt back, as if reaching for a chair, go down until your slightly past parallel (this means that the TOP of your thighs is parallel with the ground, not the bottom).
Then just come back up and repeat as you like.
One important thing here, make sure that your knees don't dip in.
You want to keep your toes pointed straight, and it should be a very sturdy feeling squat.
The last body weight exercise for strength gain is none other than the chin up.
This is actually my personal favorite, and I really respect anybody who can pop out 20 or so chin ups, or who can put 100 lbs on and do a chin up or two.
If you're not there yet, don't worry, you've just gotta practice.
So, let's go over proper form.
First, find something you can do chinups on.
Preferably something that's 2 or 3 feet above your head.
You should try and find something that either has your feet of the ground or on your toes when fully extended.
Your grip should have your palms facing towards you and it should be at about shoulder width, or a little bit wider.
From there you simply lift your chin over the bar, and drop back down.
Do NOT let your feet touch the ground between reps.
Also, make sure that your arms are fully extended between reps, do not cheat.
One helpful tip here is this: Don't think of it as pulling yourself above the bar, think of it as pulling your elbows down.
By thinking this way, at least for me, it helps me focus on activating my lats, making the movement much easier, and much more powerful.
Alright, well there you have it.
3 great body weight exercises to help you get stronger! Hope those helped you out!