Just recently I made the decision to alter my workout regimen, as is usually the case every 6-8 weeks. I was focused on heavy strength training to help build dense muscles. This time, however, I’ve decided to focus on strength training without weights and give my body a chance to rest from all the heavy lifting. By simply using my bodyweight, I’m confident I can perform a home workout without equipment that will help me maintain the size of my muscles while actually increasing functional strength.
Two staples of any bodyweight routine are pushups and squats. There are several versions of both types of exercise, so no matter your skill level, you should be able to find a technique that is still challenging. They are both compound exercises meaning they work multiple muscles. These are the best types of exercise to build overall functional strength. A good routine of squats and pushups will give your whole body a strong workout, though there are several other upper and lower exercises that can be added to your routine to give you a more rounded workout.
While doing lots of pushups is great for endurance, I’m going to recommend a different approach. Most strength training is at its most effective when performed in low rep ranges. Once you get past 20 pushups, you’re really building more endurance than strength. To make sure that your pushups are helping you build your strength, you need to make them more difficult.
If you’re just starting out, you may want to do pushups by standing against a wall or from your knees. After you’ve moved on to the standard pushup and can do several in good form in a row, then you can start to mix things up. Traditional pushups offer an effective workout for the arms, chest area and the abdominal core, though there are pushup variations which target different areas, thus making the movements more difficult to complete.
In my opinion, it is wise to build strength by trying different kinds of pushups. Stay with one type until you can perform 15 – 20 reps, then start adding another pushup style into your routine. Don’t get frustrated and give up if you don’t master each one right away – most people can only do 1 – 3 reps of the most difficult varieties.
Broadly speaking, I oppose targeted training of the legs, particularly in terms of weight lifting. I believe the best way to build leg strength is to use HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training), which combines sprints and active recovery. I think weights lead to a bulky appearance whereas I aim for the lean, athletic look. But, squat movements using only one’s bodyweight can be of great assistance in developing leg strength, and when done in low repetition sets, are unlikely to produce undesirable muscle mass. Once again, there are quite a few variations of squats. A half squat is a good way for a beginner to start off, just keep working towards a full squat. Advanced trainees can make squats more explosive, and challenging, by doing squat jumps. Another great way to challenge yourself on the squats is to try the one leg style.
A simple strength training routine involves density training. Using a superset format, alternate back and forth between squats and pushups. This is to be continued for 15 minutes without stopping. The choice of exercise and variation is up to you, but my suggestion is that you begin with traditional squats and pushups in order to assess the true level of difficulty. Start your routine with 5 pushups. Get up and do 5 squats. Keep up this transition between pushups and squats for as long as you can stand it. Never start a rep that you can’t complete though; you don’t want to train your muscles to failure. Limit the repetitions for each movement or increase the recover time dividing the sets, as needed. You are likely to be astonished at how challenging this will be, just a few moments into the regimen.
For a great home workout without equipment, pushups and squats are probably the most familiar and accessible exercises you can perform, but there are some other bodyweight exercises that you should consider. Pull ups are a great back and arm exercise, although they require a bar or something to hang from. If all else fails, it is always possible to use a door frame for this exercise. A bar is also needed to perform inverted rows, which are basically horizontal pull ups, though it may be feasible to complete them using the side of a table. With a pair of dependable chairs, you can perform dips to help with the chest and triceps areas. For legs, plyometrics exercises serve as a great way to perform strength training without weights as they focus on explosive movements. Overall you can have great success and experience strength gains simply by using your own bodyweight, even if you limit yourself to variations of squats and pushups.
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