BODYWEIGHT BASICS - Bodyweight Training - Functional Fitness Without Weights

John, I've been doing 500 hindu squats a day for the past 5 months. The results have been amazing. My thighs have grown 3 inches and my joints are definitely stronger. Technique is definitely important, though. I do the royal court 4-5 days/week as well as ab exercises (including Farmer Burns & vacuum), and I've just started handstand training. I can see how the squats can be tedious for some. My trick is to turn on a ballgame or SportsCenter. 15-17 minutes go by in no time. Thanks for the tips, Ron Noe

Labels: Bodyweight Squats, Combat Abs Vacuum, farmer burns, handstand, Vacuum

"Blown-out shoulders, elbows, knees and backs" – that's what most everyone who pushes and pulls too-heavy weight around can look forward to. In fact, I saw a video over the weekend of a guy getting ready to squat some monsterous weight.

He took the barbell off the rack, bent his knees a few degrees and then there was a sound like old wood breaking – his quadriceps muscle ripped clean off the bone as he ended up crumpled up on the floor like an old dish rag, as the weight also fell on top of him, pinning him to the floor...

-- From "strong" to 12 months of rehab in the blink of an eye.

While I do realize that weight lifting can be done safely and correctly, and that not everyone who lifts weights will experience a catastrophic injury like the poor fellow in the video, I also know that bodyweight training can offer a much safer method of building a particular kind of bodily strength with little chance of injury.

(Read that last paragraph again very carefully)

A lot of people think that they must lift heavy weights if they want to get stronger. In some ways, yes, but "too heavy" and "too often" is usually a recipe for disaster.

Think about the goal of every workout – physical improvement through progressive resistance strength training.

That end result can be reached in any number of ways, and bodyweight training offers a very effective one – one that can work in a variety of situations.

So is bodyweight training better than weights? -- It depends on the situation:

Think about a martial artist or boxer who must spend the majority his time practicing his art, not recovering from too-heavy workouts.

Think about the business man who wants to stay in shape on the road but has little time to even find a gym, let alone get a workout in.

Think about the housewife who has never touched a weight in her life, who wants to get back in shape.

Think about the young trainee, still growing, who wants to start working out.

Think about the older trainee, beat up after years of heavy lifting, who wants to start up again...

In all of these situations, (and many more besides) bodyweight training offers a very good choice, one that "fits" into what individuals such as these need out of their workout.

Of course it still comes down to the "doin"...

Train hard,
John Wood

P.S. The very best place to begin for bodyweight training can be found in Matt Fureys Combat Conditioning Program

P.P.S. If you are already a master of bodyweight training, you will find
Many new challenges in Brad Johnson's bodyweight training book

Labels: Bodyweight Squats, Bodyweight Training, Boxer, Heavy Weights, Martial Arts, Weightlifting

I looked through the ol mail bag this morning and picked out a good one: Our friend Hal B. writes: Hi John, Many of the old body weight programs like Atlas, Mike Marvel, etc. said to train very day. Does the principle of taking a day or two off to promote muscle growth not apply to body weight training as it does to weight lifting? - Hal

Hi Hal, that’s a great question, one that gets asked very frequently when it comes to bodyweight training. As usual my take on things is a little different than you might see elsewhere:

Yes, you can absolutely train with bodyweight exercises every day -- and many people do. They have their daily routine; they do their thing, and then move on to the next.

Tis certainly one way to do it and many people have had a lot of success with daily training. And while we are at it, let’s look a couple different ways to "slice" a daily training routine.

1. You could do a set number of repetitions without fail; say 50 pushups, 50 sit-ups, 50 squats or something along those lines.

2. You could have a "free for all" workout where there is no structure and the only goal is to keep moving (and keep the heart rate up) for an extended period of time.

3. You could have a very-rigid, very-regimented program devoted to specific exercise goals, like progressively increasing your pull-ups or high-rep squats, hand balancing etc

4. You could perform a "hard training" day followed by an easier training day which isn’t quite as challenging. The goal of the hard day is to improve while goal of the easier workout is to work out soreness, increase blood flow etc,

5. You could combine some of these – say "rigid structure" on Monday/Wednesday/Friday with a "free for all" on Tuesday and Thursday.

Of all of these I tend to favor #5 since it involves a greater variety. And don't forget, bodyweight training involves much more than calisthenics. It could be rope jumping, rope climbing, hill sprints, breathing exercises, muscle control etc.

It should be well understood that one of your greatest enemies in physical training is boredom. If you find yourself dreading your workout it is going go become harder and harder to stay motivated to do it. Involving a bit of "chaos" or unpredictability is good for your training because it keeps you on your toes.

It should also be understood that if your goal is gain muscle mass, like a bodybuilder, there are going to be some choices that make more sense outside of the boundaries of what bodyweight training can offer. You’ll have to supplement your program with other exercises.

I personally feel that the most productive programs must incorporate several different ways of training for the most well-rounded approach but, as you can see, bodyweight training offers a lot of possibilities.

Train hard,
John Wood

Labels: Bodyweight Squats, Bodyweight Training, Daily Bodyweight Training, Handbalancing, Jumping Rope, Rope Climbing

We recently received a note from a few folks looking to make their bodyweight workouts more challenging. It seems that what they are currently doing just isn't getting it done so today I will go into a few techniques on how to do so.

You see, the nature of progressive resistance training is just that -- progression -- you must keep progressing for it to work and if it isnt "challenging enough" simply pick a variable and build from there.

Heres a few examples:

Reps: real simple, do more than you did last time. If 100 bodyweight squats is "easy" shoot for 150, believe me, you'll start feeling that one very quickly. Etc etc and so on.

Time: holding certain poses for time is a very effective method of training. In fact, it is more than possible to do a killer workout without doing a single rep. Make sure you have a stopwatch on hand to mark your progress.

Form: Every bodyweight exercise isnt just "one" exercise but infinitely many when you factor in all the different variations. To progress, it may be necessary to adjust your form to a more challenging variation (with respect to the previous two examples) - such as going from regular squats to jumper squats or regular pushups to one arm pushups.

Less rest: without getting too technical, consistent training will
lead to certain aerobic and anaerobic adaptations allowing you to make better use of your available oxygen. Cutting down on the rest periods in you workout is one way to increase difficulty.

Ill leave it up to you to notice the one thing in common with all of the things that I just mentioned...

Now, Ill tell you a highly underrated exercise that is surprisingly challenging and that is the "vacuum" as outlined in Combat Abs.

You wouldnt think a simple breathing exercise would be so difficult but this exercise will work you in a way that no other exercise will -- it's difficult to explain, almost from the inside out since you are strengthening the diaphragm.

Due to this unusual development, and the fact that it can be done anywhere, makes the vacuum is an exercise that I feel should be in every program,

In any case, these ideas will make any workout as easy or as challenging as needed.

Train hard,
John Wood

Labels: Bodyweight Squats, Bodyweight Training, Breathing Exercise, Combat Abs Vacuum, Matt Furey, Progression, Workout Tips

On several occasions, someone has written in to say that while they get results doing high-rep bodyweight squats, they still find them boring and tedious. Well...

If you're going to be squatting for several hundred reps, it should be understood that it is going to take anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour or more depending on just how high you're going to go.

So essentially you have two choices:

a) Get tough and fight through it

or

b) Find another way to train your legs because this high-rep stuff isn't for you

Either way will work.

If you go the high rep route, instead of focusing on how much time it takes, instead focus on the tremendous benefits you will get from squatting for high reps:

Increased strength... increased endurance... stronger joints... cardiovascular help... mental toughness... and the personal satisfaction of stepping up to your own personal challenge.

Given these benefits, I think the time involved is a very small price to pay and that's part of the challenge: to fight through something that may not be particularly comfortable at first.

Once you start seeing results though, you'll actually grow to enjoy it.

Although with that being said, it also helps to make yourself a mix CD of your favorite songs which lasts for the duration of your squatting session. - That's at least one way to make it a little "easier."

Train hard,
John Wood

P.S. High rep squatting is one part of the "Royal Court" - three of the most effective bodweight movements. Find out more in Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning Program

Labels: Bodyweight Squats, Combat Conditioning, Endurance, Flexibility, High Rep Work Out, Matt Furey, Mental Toughness