The Stay-Fit Buzz Unique Bodyweight Exercises
Shaun Sinclair
Copyright Shaun Sinclair 2012
Published at Stay-Fit Buzz
Stay-Fit Bugs Guide To Bodyweight Exercises
Welcome
As some of you may know, my articles ‘unique bodyweight exercises’ inspired this e-book. Since then there has been much anticipation and build up to this e-book.
But now the wait is over and I now introduce to you…
Stay-fit Bug common, advanced and unique bodyweight exercises
But first…
Who Is Shaun Sinclair?
OK, let me tell you the story backwards and start with the current day.
As you all know, I currently run stayfitbug.com. But before that I started up a Web consulting company back in 2008, which provides SEO, web development and design services.
But my history in the Internet business world started much earlier then that. While I was at university I dived into the online world of e-commerce and that introduction was a stroke of luck within itself.
I used to always sell whole products at university, but most of my customers were offline. And in usual business fashion I had one bad week. None of my customers were buying anything, no sales… nada! So I thought… ‘I’m taking this online’. And like magic, I made a lot of sales instantly and so began my real journey of building online businesses. But that was 2002-2005.
Where Does Fitness Come Into All Of This?
A year after leaving school I decided to take up athletics, and a group of potentials (myself included) became affiliated with a personal trainer/ coach who had coached many young hopefuls.
We all learnt a lot from him (while still at college). But one training session I suffered a dislocation in my shoulder. Wimpish it may seem, it was then I decided that I didn’t want to live a life of injury so I went back to college, jumped back into my love of computers and business, and kept fitness and training as a life hobby/ interest.
That was over 10 years ago, and during that time I have maintained fitness, taught others, learnt from others and updated my techniques regularly. And it is this knowledge that I share with you all today.
Back To The Exercises
Whether you are an experienced pro or a newbie, this acts as a comprehensive guide to common and unique bodyweight exercises (Old school and New school!) and you should learn something that you did not know before reading this... After all… no one really knows it all… right? Lets begin
Common Bodyweight Exercises
Lunges
Push-ups
Squats (no weights)
Sit-ups
Knee jumps
Pull ups - close grip/wide grip
Chin ups
Crunches
Leg lifts
Burpees
Body blasters
Dips
Exploding star jumps (New)
Bootstrappers (New)
Bear crawls (New)
Advanced Bodyweight Exercises
Decline Reverse crunches
Exercise Ball Rollout
Reverse crunches on exercise ball
Ab wheel rollout/ advanced version
One legged squat
Advanced bench dips
Chin ups- pull-ups with dipping belt
Dips with dipping belt
Hanging leg lifts/ Full hanging leg lifts
Advanced push-ups
Burpees advanced
Unique Bodyweight Exercises
One-arm chin-ups
Muscle ups (rings and bar)
Flying human flag: Oblique ab crunch (Vertical)
Lateral Roll -- The core buster
Full planche pushups progression (NEW)
Unique Extras From The Archives
How To Build A Sandbag For Your Weightlifting Routine
The Medicine Ball Workout Routine
Help Me Bulk Up My Long Giraffe Neck! / The Bodybuilding ‘Pencil-neck’ Eraser Exercise
8 Ways To Build Great Forearms (Eliminate Chicken Limbs)
Forget About The Gym! Play RockBand And Guitar Hero For Fitness
The Art Of Building A Bigger Butt
Don’t Forget To Build Your Scrawny Ankles!
Unique Functional Strength Exercises (NEW)
Increase Endurance In A Kids Ball Pit (NEW)
Exercise Tweak – The Incline Dip (NEW)
Recommended Equipment Comparison Table (NEW)
Iron gym/ chin up bar
Exercise ball
Weights bench
Dumbbells and weights
Medicine balls
Floor mats
Stability balls
Dipping belts
Dipping bars
Kettle bells
Ab wheel
Olympic Rings
*NEW*
Bodyweight exercises you can do with a partner
Donkey calf raises
Piggy back and carry squat
Bodyweight exercise routine (Beginner)
Strength and mass workout (Bodyweight exercises)
Common Bodyweight Exercises
These are exercises that most of you would have learned in your school years; The most basic form of bodyweight exercise. So for most of you, these exercises will serve as a comprehensive bodyweight exercise guide to refer to while in the gym, on the move or wherever you happen to be. Although these are basic, structuring a workout routine using just these exercises will be enough to develop a strong and toned body.
If you have been told that you don’t need to go to the gym to build a strong body, then you heard right. These exercises can all be done from the comfort of your own home and when followed through with a goal and plan, they will give you ultimate strength and tone.
However, if you wish to take your muscles to the next level to increase your strength and to possibly add some bulk to your frame, without the use of the gym, then fast forward to the advanced movement of the exercises. Some of you may already be performing the advanced versions of some of the exercises, but I have also added some exercise tweaks that will make for a more challenging exercise. These are the tweaks that can also help spark growth in the said muscle groups and help you overcome those dreaded weightlifting plateaus.
Key
B
odyweight
Facts
Exercise
Benefits
Stayfitbug.com
Tweaks
Warnings
and Safety
Lunges
Why Perform A
Lunge? To
build stand-out from the crowd Quadriceps
Requirements
30 meters of a running track
Dumbbells
There are two types of lunge you can perform
Standing
Walking
When I was training as an athlete, I would perform walking lunges for 30 metres down the track in 5 ‘straight’ sets with only 30 seconds rest between each one. To this day, that is still quite a challenge, however, like I have always stated, in order to see meaningful results for your efforts, you will have break through your limits. This is a method that I can personally vouch for that will no doubt test you and push you beyond your limits.
If you don’t have access to a track, you could always perform standing lunges with or without dumbbells at home or in a gym. You can produce similar results to the walking lunges. However, I don’t believe that you can maximize your endurance levels the same way as you can with the walking lunges.
Standing Lunge
Instruction
Stand straight with both feet together
Keep your arms straight and locked to your sides (Dumbbells or no dumbbells)
Lunge forward; land on your heel first followed by your forefoot
Lower your body by moving your hips, and then flex your knee
Keep going until the knee of your other leg nearly touches the floor
Return to the standing position by forcing your body back up with your hip and knee
Repeat with the opposite leg
Walking Lunge
Instruction
Stand straight with both feet together
Keep your arms straight and locked to your sides (Dumbbells or no dumbbells)
Lunge forward; land on your heel first followed by your forefoot
Lower your body by moving your hips, and then flex your knee
Keep going until the knee of your other leg nearly touches the floor
Hold this position, stand and balance on your forward foot
Then Lunge forward with your opposite leg
Repeat
Note:
Flexibility is important for this exercise (Especially hip flexors). If you feel you are not flexible, read this article for techniques that you can use to increase flexibility
Be sure to keep your torso is upright throughout the entire motion
Always keep your knees and feet facing forward during the exercise
Result
Performing long lunges will work your Gluteus Maximus (The large part of your butt)
Performing Short Lunges will work your Quads
Adding resistance
with leverage (Like a gymnast) You will always hear people state
that you don’t need the gym in order to keep fit, build strength
or build muscle. Which is true. But one thing you do need to take
note of is the importance of adding resistance. When you first begin
to shock your muscles with exercise, they will initially reject the
change. But with time they will get used to it and become stronger,
so you will need to add resistance to keep shocking your muscles in
order to take them to the next level. However, the first step in
this cycle is to start adding resistance with your own bodyweight by
using leverage.
One example of this is
when performing the leg lift exercise or hanging leg lift exercise.
You can perform the leg lift by raising your knees towards your
core. But you can make the exercise more difficult by extending your
legs out straight and then lifting them. And all you done here is
leverage your body in order to get better results for your efforts.
Pushups
Why perform the
push up? If you are just
starting out with bodyweight or resistance training, the push up is
the classic exercise that you can perform. Not only will it test
your strength and endurance, it will also help you build up your
chest muscles.
Requirements
Floor mat
Instructions
Lie on the floor on your front
Raise both arms outwards and place them palms down on the floor
Raise your body up, making sure that your ands are slightly wider than your shoulders width
Lower your body down by bending your arms, making sure that your body and back is kept straight throughout the whole movement
Raise your body up with your arms full extended
Repeat.
Advanced Bodyweight
Movements
Push-ups with weights
The push up exercise will become very easy to perform after a while and will no longer provide a challenge for most of you. The next step in the progression would be to add resistance with weights. A few tried and tested ideas
Weights placed in a back pack
Rest a sand bag on your bag (read this to learn how to construct a sand bag)
Got you kid brother or sister to sit on your back. Or a very heavy friend (For the barbarians out there)
Squats (No weights)
Why Perform
Squats With no Weights? Will allow you to
practice and perfect your form
The squat will always be one of the mother exercises in the world of fitness. Mainly known for working your quads. But if you are working out just to increase strength and develop a toned body, then you won’t necessarily need to use a weighted barbell when performing this exercise. You can simply use your own body weight, which can actually still be quite challenging.
But if you do wish to add some resistance in the future, then performing squats with no weights will be great preparation for that, as you would have now developed good exercise form.
Instruction
Stand straight in front of a mirror (Will help you gauge your form. Keep your head straight)
Place your arms outwards directly in front of you at shoulder height
Lower your body by bending your knees forward and by bending your hips behind you
Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (Keep your feet flat on the floor at all times)
Keep your knees pointed in the same direction as your feet
Keep your back straight throughout the entire motion
Return to standing position
Repeat
Advanced Bodyweight Movements
One-Legged Squat/ Pistol squat
Why perform a
One-Legged Squat? To build superior
strength Burn fat and build
muscle Improve sport
specific strength Test and improve
your balance
Requirements
Difficulty: 6/10
Time to master: 2-3 months
Equipment
Weights bench
Resistance bands
Dumbbells
Barbell
Now we can test if all of that squatting with weights in the gym has or has not improved your functional strength. This is the best leg exercise that you can do with your body weight. Some may even go, as far as to say that it is the best leg exercise of the lot! And here’s how you do it,
Instructions
Stand straight.
Hold one leg out in front of you.
Hold both arms out straight in front of you. (Parallel to the ground)
Lower your self down on one leg.
Make sure that the base of your foot is flat on the ground
Make sure you don't rock up on your toes, as you could twist and injure your knee
You’ll know when you reach the bottom of the squat when your calf is pressed against the hamstring of the same leg
As you reach the ground, tense your butt and stomach muscles.
Hold the position briefly.
Rise back up and repeat.
Leaning forward
Leaning forward will help you stay balanced when performing this exercise. If you don’t focus on this, your body will lean back. When this happens you will usually fall back on your butt. Exercise over!
Extending your arms forward
Most of your bodyweight will be heading in a backwards motion at the squat level, and your one foot is the only point of contact that you will have with the ground. Because of this, you will need to create some balance and forward movement to prevent you from falling backwards. You do this by extending your arms out in front of you.
This exercise is all about balance, but once you master this one, you will build real true strength for sure.
1) This exercise is
tough and it’s not very likely that you’ll be able to jump right
into it without using some slow progression. To do this simply
perform the one legged squat, but place a weights bench behind you.
As you squat, just go as low as the bench. This way you can practice
your balance and if you do fall you will at least have some support
to prevent you from hurting yourself.
(Kind of like riding
a bike for the first time with stabilizer wheels. When you feel you
are ready, just take the bench away.) 2) The first time
you do this you will probably struggle to keep your leg up and
straight out in front of you in the squat position. The best way to
counter this dilemma is to simply stand on both feet and stick one
leg out in front of you until it is parallel to the floor. This will
feel very similar to the squat position you will be in once you
master it. 3) Keeping your arms
out in front of you to help balance your body will work quite well.
But you will probably still struggle to balance your body. Here are
a few things you can do to help Holder a
barbell across your shoulders Hold a pair of
kettle bells up by your shoulders, palms facing each other Hold a dumbbell
out in front of you Hold on to
resistant bands attached to a door Hold onto the
frame of a doorway, performing the exercise with the door way
aligned to the centre of your bodyStayfitbug.com
Tweaks
Sit-ups
Why perform
sit-ups?
The most common of
all exercises that will work your abdominals
The most common of all exercises that will work your abdominals
The moment that I turned 16 years old it was this exercise that I decided to master on my quest to abandon my ‘skinny guy’ image. I would perform 150-200 sit-ups a night without fail. Within 2 months I developed a toned stomach and 3 months after that I had a fully defined 6 Pac. That is ‘hand on heart’ proof that hard work and dedication will get you results. If I can do it you have absolutely no reason not to achieve the same results.
However, that was some years back now, and that route proved successful for me at the time. However, there are now easier ways in which you can go about developing a 6 Pac. Using the Iron Gym Xtreme pull up bar is one technique you can use that will make performing this exercise much easier.
Another method is by performing this routine
How to get a 6pac (But in 3 minutes)
I personally cannot vouch for the effectiveness of this routine. However, I have guided others through this exact routine and they benefited immensely from doing so. So I can vouch for its effectiveness on their behalf.
Instructions
Floor/ Bench or Iron Gym Xtreme
Hook your feet under the foot brace
Lie backwards with your hips bent
Cross your arms against your chest
Raise your torso up towards your knees
Lower yourself back until your shoulders nearly hit the floor
Knee Jumps
Why perform Knee
jumps? Develop explosive
strength A good full body
workout
I often talk about the importance of developing explosive strength for your workouts, especially those of you who are serious about taking your muscles to the next level. The knee jump is a great bodyweight exercise that will allow you to do this, especially for your hamstrings.
Instructions
Stand straight and lower your body until your butt is resting on your calves
Keep your feet flat on the ground
Keep your head straight
Swing your arms backwards then immediately forward in one swift movement
When you swing your arms forward, jump from your knees to your feet
At this point you should then be in the squat position again.
That’s one rep
Repeat
P
ull ups
Why Perform
Pull-ups? Extra burn for
your triceps
Builds your ‘Lats’
Requirements
Chin up bar
This is the exercise that can really give you bulk as well as strength, even more so then some weightlifting exercises. You will probably struggle in a big way when you first perform this exercise, but that’s not a bad thing, as you will now have a challenge to overcome. When you do manage to increase your strength, you definitely will feel good about it.
Although the traditional pull up bar is what most would use to perform this exercise, I tend to go for the Iron Gym Xtreme as it is mobile and allows for the execution of multiple exercise variations.
Instructions
Grab the chin up bar with an over hand grip
Pull your body up until your chin reaches the bar
Squeeze your butt muscles on the way up
Bend your knees and cross your feet
Lower your body back down until your arms are fully extended (Hanging)
Repeat
Note: Just make sure that you don’t go for a wide grip that’s too wide. Doing so will decrease your range of motion and your ability to perform the exercise. To make this exercise easier to perform, always look at the bar. This way, you are always looking at the goal and it will make it that much easier to perform those last few reps as you begin to fatigue. Always make sure your chin reaches above the bar to complete a full rep.
Chin ups
Why perform
Chin-ups? Extra burn for
your biceps
This is exactly the same as the pull up exercise, except you will now grab the bar with an underhand ‘closer’ grip, which in turn will work your biceps.
Grab the chin up bar with an under hand grip
Pull your body up until your chin reaches the bar
Squeeze your butt muscles on the way up
Bend your knees and cross your feet
Lower your body back down until your arms are full extended (Hanging)
Repeat