Getting fit and toning your body doesn't necessarily mean going to a gym. With discipline and perseverance, training with your own body weight is sufficient. The whole body can be effectively trained in this way.
Building basic muscle doesn't necessarily involve weights or calisthenics equipment necessary. This type of workout can be done in the comfort of your own home.
What does that do?
The exercise with your own body weight is suitable for both beginners and advanced users. Especially as a beginner, it is advisable to start with workouts of this type in order to build up a training level.
Because only those who know how to deal with their own weight are able to practice properly on equipment. In addition, this training not only addresses certain muscle groups, but the whole body. With device training, on the other hand, you limit yourself to individual muscle groups in the individual training units.
What you should know about bodyweight exercises
You don't need any equipment or weights to train with just your own body weight, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
Enough time should be planned for the individual workouts. Quality comes first, which means that the elements should be executed slowly and deliberately. Body tension should also be taken into account.
In order to be able to achieve really good results, body tension is the be-all and end-all. Without this, the training effect is lost and the individual elements are performed incorrectly.
Even if the training can take place at home and not in the gym, you shouldn't get distracted during the individual units.
Requirements for bodyweight exercises
You don't need a great deal of prior experience to start bodyweight training. Whether you are a beginner, advanced or professional, this type of workout is suitable for everyone.
Depending on the training level, the intensity and structure of the elements can be changed and thus easily adapted to the corresponding training level. In any case, it is important for a varied unit to change the exercises but to keep the category. What this means is that if you want to swap out an exercise for the legs, it must be replaced with another for the legs.
Thats how it works
Before you start the actual training, you should warm up briefly. In this warm-up phase, it is sufficient to run and jump in place for a few minutes. This reduces the risk of injury and stimulates blood circulation and oxygen supply to the muscles. When training with your own body weight, you always refer to several muscle groups.
Benefits
The general goal of bodyweight exercises is to get fit without equipment. You already have everything you need at home. So nothing stands in the way of your daily workout. Since you can condition from home, it is a great advantage that there are no costs for a contract in the studio and since you train without equipment, there are no costs for this either. All in all, it's a cheap training method.
You can also determine the intensity of the workout yourself. It is up to you how many repetitions of each element you can create. The challenge here is to keep improving in small steps from unit to unit.
5 effective exercises
- Squats
You can do the classic squats anywhere and they are also one of the most effective of all. Here, the large muscle groups on the buttocks and legs in particular are used, but also the back and abdominal muscles.
- pushup
Many hate this exercise, but it is particularly effective. Correct execution is particularly important here. Hands at chest level: Legs, upper body and head form a line that is as straight as possible. Body tension is also very important here, you should not sag or stretch your buttocks up. Then bend your arms and lower them until the tip of your nose almost touches the floor.
- burpees
The burpee combines push-ups, squats and stretch jumps. A flowing movement and a clean execution are important here. If you have the feeling that you are overwhelmed at the beginning, you can initially omit the stretch jump.
- Plank
You can really do this plank anywhere. First and foremost, the abdominal muscles are strengthened. Elbows should be at shoulder height, legs hip-width apart, then push up and maintain tension. Because that's what matters.
- lunge
Here not only the lower part of the body is used, but also the abdominal and back muscles are required. When doing this, you should make sure that the thighs and lower legs form a right angle.
Wrong training is useless
Many people are motivated and do sports. But it often fails because of the correct execution, so that even after weeks there is no recognizable success. But not only the lack of success is a result of the wrong execution, but also the increased risk of injury.
At the beginning of such a workout, especially as a beginner, the number of repetitions should play a minor role. It is important that the individual elements feel right and healthy.
Training plan, yes or no?
A training plan is also recommended for workouts that you do at home. Because in a training plan you can record goals you have achieved so far and have an overview of how many repetitions you have to do of the respective exercise. It also offers a good overview of the individual units and serves as orientation during the training.
The frequency of the units in a week also depends on the current level of training and can be changed or increased over time. In principle, however, a single unit should not last longer than 30 to 45 minutes.
Suggestions
- Eight different exercises should be integrated into each individual training session. These eight exercises should be performed in about half an hour without any breaks.
- It is important to make sure that the whole body is challenged and not just individual parts. If the chest, back, abdomen, legs, buttocks, calves and shoulders are trained evenly, nothing stands in the way of a defined body.
- Take the half hour to yourself. Don't get distracted. The easiest way is to do the workout in a separate room where you can be alone.
- Make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. Five correct squats are better than 15 wrong ones.
Conclusion
Bodyweight training is a great way to practice at home. The individual short units can lead to a defined body if carried out regularly. No matter what level of training you are at, the elements can be adapted to everyone.
No equipment is required for the exercises with your own body weight and the costs for the gym are also saved. If you need help choosing the right exercises for your fitness level, you can find them on the internet or in apps that deal with fitness.
