Benefits of Bodyweight Training

By Mike Thiga author of The Muscle Experiment

If you have ever thought of the many advantages that bodyweight training has on your ability to increase your flexibility, your strength and your general health, then you need to consider that any bodyweight exercise you do won't cost you anything and has a range of benefits that you may have never considered.

1. Bodyweight training is a super-efficient workout.

Research done on bodyweight training clearly suggests the high-output, bodyweight-based exercises like doing plyometrics will yield awesome fitness gains over short durations. Because there's no equipment involved, the various bodyweight workouts you can do will make it very easy to transition from one movement to the next, taking very little rest. HIIT workouts will always yield major results.

2. Combining cardio and strength training.

When you perform quick cardio sessions (like 60 seconds of doing burpees or high-knees) between each strength movements (like doing a set push-ups or lunges) it will keep your heart pumping while encouraging both your muscle and your strength development.

3. You can burn fat, fast.

Doing only a few minutes of bodyweight circuit training will have a tremendous impact on your body's metabolism. If you've heard of the EPOC or the after-burn effect, then you'll know that when your workout is complete, your body will stay revved up for hours afterwards.

4. At whatever fitness level, it's still challenging.

All Bodyweight exercises are easily modified to help challenge anyone. Adding just a few extra reps, or performing bodyweight exercises faster or even super slowly, or taking shorter breaks, or simply adding a ballistic movement (like the clap when at the top of a push-up) is just a simple workout made a little tougher.

5. You'll increase core strength.

Your core strength is more than just abdominal strength. It's more than twenty-nine different muscles that make up your trunk body muscles, and many simple bodyweight movements used to engage all of them. These exercises won't just give you just tighter abs, you'll also improve posture, relieve any lower back stress, and improve its overall performance.

6. It will increase your flexibility.

Bodyweight training goes well with building your strength and flexibility. When completing any bodyweight movements through full range of motion (ROM) it will ensure your joints will move freely. Leading to an improved posture, which might reduce the chance of getting an exercise-related injury. Yoga, the favorite no-equipment regime of exercises will also improve your flexibility while it also significantly improves strength.

7. There's no excuse to never workout.

People often say they don't exercise, because they have "no time" or the time it takes is "inconvenient." Bodyweight exercises eliminate all those common obstacles. When you quickly need a little space, a bodyweight workout is easy to squeeze in wherever you are. It is a great stress reliever, whether you're working out on the road or at home.

8. You'll achieve better balance.

Bodyweight training means increasing your balance, too. For example, you can swap any normal squat for a single-leg squat (a.k.a. as the pistol squat). It is functional movements like this that will improve your balance through an increased body awareness plus control.

9. You'll not get bored.

Bodyweight training can be very refreshing with countless different exercise variations that can help to spice up any workout. Working with a large variety of different exercises will not only relieve boredom, but it can also help to break through any plateaus to spark further progress.

10. It's free.

Bodyweight training is free. Gym memberships or boutique classes add up quickly but with bodyweight training it's free. Experts report that the low cost of training with bodyweight is key to its increasing in popularity.

Note: For more information checkout The Lost Secrets of Bodyweight Training