Bodyweight exercises

Coach Kelly

Fitness Correspondent

Bodyweight exercises are great for boosting your fitness, metabolism, and endurance.

If you do bodyweight exercises you won’t necessarily develop a large amount of muscle tissues.

These exercises can be adapted for people of all fitness levels. Bodyweight exercises are strength training exercises that use an individual’s weight to provide resistance against gravity.

These exercises can enhance a range of biomotor abilities including strength, power, endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination, and balance.

Such strength training has become more popular among recreational and professional athletes. Bodyweight training uses simple abilities like pushing, pulling, squatting, bending, twisting, and balancing.

Here are a few bodyweight exercises that you can do.

Remember to start with stretches.

Start with a smaller manageable weight for shorter periods and increase as your body gets used to the exercise.

CHEST PUSH-UPS

Start on your hands and knees on a yoga mat on the floor, with your hands resting slightly wider than the width of your shoulders. Straighten your legs out behind you so you’re being supported by your hands and the balls of your feet. Keep your body in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels (holding your head up in line with your spine). Bend your elbows and lower your chest until it nearly touches the mat. Pause and then push yourself back up to the starting position. If that’s too difficult, complete the push-up with your knees on the floor. One set is 12 reps

PUSH-UP SHUFFLE

Complete a push-up (either on your knees or with your legs extended behind you, depending on your fitness level). Then, keep your core engaged and shuffle your right hand and right foot a step to the right side. Bring your left hand and foot to meet them. Complete another push-up there. Return to the centre and repeat on the opposite side. One set is five shuffles in each direction.

ISOMETRIC CHEST SQUEEZE

Stand with your hands in front of you with a 90-degree bend in your elbows. Hold your hands together and squeeze your chest as hard as you can. Hold the tension for up to 30 seconds and release; that’s one rep.

ARMS TRICEP DIPS

Sit in front of a bench or coffee table or at the end of a couch with your legs extended out in front of you away from the furniture. Position your hands on top of the furniture behind you with your hands about shoulder-width apart and your fingertips pointing toward your body. Straighten your arms and pull your body up so it is hovering over the floor.

Engage your triceps muscles as you bend your elbows until they’re at about a 90-degree angle. Press down from your hands and straighten your arms to return to the starting position. You should be supporting most of your body’s weight in your arms to get the greatest benefit from the move. To make the exercise easier, keep your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. One set is 12 reps.

PLANK UP AND DOWNS

Get into a plank position on the floor: Your hands should be on the mat with your shoulders directly above them, legs extended straight back behind you, toes on the mat, and your body forming a straight line from the top of your head to heels. (If that’s too difficult, you can keep your knees on the floor.)

Lower your left elbow down to the mat and then lower your right elbow down to the mat so you’re now in a forearm plank. Keep your core engaged and your body in a straight line. Push up and straighten your right arm. Then straighten your left arm as well. Repeat for 30 seconds, switching off which arm goes first; that’s one set.

TRIANGLE PUSH-UPS

Settle into a plank position but place your hands close together under your chest and form a triangle with your index fingers and your thumbs (your thumbs should be in a straight line forming the bottom side of the triangle).

Lower your chest toward the floor as if you were doing a regular push-up, keeping your elbows close to your body. Pause at the bottom and then push off the floor to return to the starting position. Modify by completing the push-up with your knees on the floor.

SHOULDER TAPS

Get into a standard plank position (on your hands, not forearms). Keep your core, glutes, and quads tight at all times.

With control, while keeping your hips and shoulders square in front of you, lift your hand to the opposite shoulder and tap it with your palm. Bring your hand back down and repeat on the other side.

PIKE PUSHUP

Get into a push-up position. Hands shoulder width apart.

Lift your hips into the air so that your upper body is as vertical as possible. Your body will make an upside-down v-shape.

At this point, your hands and legs should be as straight as possible. Bend your elbows and lower your upper body until your head nearly touches the floor, then press back up until your arms are straight. Repeat.

EXPLOSIVE PIKE PUSH-UPS

Get into a push-up position. Hands shoulder-width apart.

Lift your hips into the air so that your upper body is as vertical as possible. Your body will make an upside-down v-shape. At this point, your hands and legs should be as straight as possible.

Bend your elbows and lower your upper body until your head nearly touches the floor, then press back up explosively until your arms are straight and your hands off the ground. Catch yourself on the way down and keep strict control so you move slowly back down. Repeat.

ELEVATED PIKE PUSH-UPS

Place your feet on a platform about knee height. It can be a chair, couch, or anything sturdy.

Position your body so you are as vertical as possible. Bend your elbows and lower your upper body until your head nearly touches the floor, then press back up until your arms are straight. Repeat.

BACK SUPERMAN

Lie face down on a mat with your arms extended out to your sides so your body is in a T position. Using your back and shoulders, lift your chest and arms off the mat. Hold and then lower into the starting position. One set is 15 reps

Core and Abdominal Muscles

BICYCLE CRUNCHES

Lie on your back with your arms bent and your hands touching the back of your head (but not fully supporting it). Pull your knees up and into your chest as you lift your shoulder blades off the floor. Extend your right leg straight out in front of you (making a 45-degree angle with the floor), while simultaneously twisting your upper body toward your left knee, so your right elbow is extending toward your left knee. Hold and then repeat in the opposite direction with your left leg extended and your left elbow twisting to meet your right knee, for a total of 30 seconds for one set.

Coach Foreign Guy is a fitness trainer at Invictus Fitness Centre Westgate. For more information WhatsApp or call Invictus Fitness Centre at +263789095252, like and follow our social media pages at Invictus Fitness Centre Zimbabwe, or visit us at Fountain Court, Westgate Shopping Centre Harare.

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LEGS — JUMP SQUATS

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hinge from your hips and bend your knees to lower into a squat position, as if you’re sitting down in a chair. Keep your weight in your heels and your chest up throughout the movement. Pause at the bottom, then drive through the heels as you jump straight into the air. Land softly on your feet and immediately lower into a squat to repeat. One set is 10 reps.

REVERSE LUNGE

From a standing position with feet together, step your right foot directly behind you. Lower your hips and drop your right knee so it’s bent at a 90-degree angle and your right heel is off the floor. As you bend your left knee, it should form a 90-degree angle, too — and be careful not to let that knee shift farther forward than your left foot. Keep your back upright and your eyes looking straight ahead. Squeeze your glutes, quads, and calves as you press your left heel into the floor, and bring your right leg forward to return to standing. Do 10 reps and then repeat on the opposite leg; that’s one set.

DONKEY KICKS

Start on your mat with your hands and knees on the floor. Tuck your chin slightly into your chest. Keep your core tight and lift your left leg toward the ceiling, as if you’re trying to press the bottom of your right foot into the ceiling. Your knee should maintain a 90-degree bend the whole time. Be careful not to arch your back or shift your hips as you move your leg. Hold, and then bring your leg back down to the starting position. Repeat for 12 reps and then switch sides; that’s one set.

FULL BODY BURPEES

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. In one fluid motion, lower your body into a squat (hinge at the hips as if sitting in an imaginary chair, holding chest and upper body upright), place your hands on the floor in front of your feet, and jump your feet back so you land in a plank position. Then, jump your feet back to where they were near your hands and complete a powerful jump straight into the air. To make it more challenging, add a push-up before jumping up from the plank. If you’re a beginner, stand up after jumping out of the plank position (eliminating the jump into the air at the end). One set is 10 reps.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

Start in a plank position. Engage your core as you lift your right leg slightly off the floor and bring your right knee toward the center of your chest. Return the right leg to the plank position as you switch sides, drawing your left knee into your chest. Continue switching back and forth at a quick pace for 30 seconds; that’s one set.

BEAR CRAWLS

Start on the floor with your hands and knees on the mat, keeping your back flat and your wrists beneath your shoulders. Lift your knees off the floor about an inch so your weight is being supported by your hands and toes. At the same time, step your right hand and left foot forward while staying close to the floor. Then move your left hand and right foot forward. Repeat up the length of the mat and then reverse directions (up and back down your mat is one rep), ideally for 20 reps; that’s one set.