Bodyweight training is an awesome, yet sometimes overlooked, method of training that has many benefits that can be reaped by everyone.
Many people will often neglect this type of training in pursuit for the ‘fancy’, ‘cool’ exercises often saw in social media and popular training magazines.
The reality is that if you have not mastered bodyweight exercises with good form and under muscular tension you shouldn’t be going heavy with barbell lifts. If you cannot perfrom a good bodyweight squat or good bodyweight press-up then you should focus on these movements instead of a back squat and bench press.
One of the great things about bodyweight training is that you can start from any point. There are progressions and regressions for every exercise. If you can’t perform a single press up then focus on straight arm planks and crawls, can’t manage a pull up? Focus on dead hangs, improving grip strength and probably you should be looking to lose some fat.
Another benefit of bodyweight training is that you can pretty much do it anywhere at anytime, which eliminates any excuses. I would recommend having access to some form of pull up bar, which can be found at most parks, plus you get the benefit of being outside.
Mastering bodyweight exercises will help you build a strong core, strong grip and improve mobility through the shoulders, hips and ankles. Improving all these areas will have a great impact on your big lifts in the gym.
Spend a few weeks away from the barbell and focus a large chunk of your training with moving better and mastering the basics of bodyweight training you will reap the rewards from spending a bit of time on this training.
Give this simple workout a try a few times per week……..
Complete as many rounds as possible in 15/20/25 minutes of:
1/3/5 x Pull Ups (If you can’t manage any replace with Hanging Knee Raise)
5/10/15 x Press Ups (If you can’t manage any replace with Squat Thrust)
15/20/25 x Bodyweight Squat
*Easy/Medium/Difficult
Coach Milligan 