What are bodyweight exercises?

What are bodyweight exercises?

When all you need is your body to exercise, exercising is a little easier to start - that's the beauty of bodyweight exercises. And while theycan beA bit more complicated is the truth that a bodyweight training exercise is any exercise that requires you to use your own body weight against gravity to create strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. When asked “What are bodyweight exercises?” You already have the answer! But for those who want to stick to the basics, we have more information for you here.

The three planes of movement

In everyday life we ​​are often not aware that our body always works in three planes of movement: sagittal, frontal and transversal. To break it down simply, these look a bit like this.

• Sagittalbewegung: Vorwärts- und Rückwärtsbewegungen wie Laufen, Gehen, Ausfallschritte und Sprünge.
• Frontalbewegung: Seitwärtsbewegungen wie Seitenbeugen, Seitwärtsbewegungen und Ski-Downs.
• Querbewegung: Rotationsbewegungen wie Hüftabduktionen, russische Drehungen und Vorwärtsplanken mit Knien zum gegenüberliegenden Ellbogen.

It is important, especially as we age, to gain and maintain strength at all of these levels so that we can maintain our balance, move our bodies, and lift objects well into our golden years. Luckily, you can do that with bodyweight strength training.

Four important types of exercises

And while planes of motion play a big role in how we can and should build our strength, there are four essential types of exercises to practice them. You may have noticed a brief mention of them a little earlier:Strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. For us, variety is the spice of life and a well-rounded mortar and pestle routine makes this possible. Even the CDC website liststhat building strength in these four categories is not only important, but essential, and while we're not writing an article just about them (yet), we wanted to point out that you can do this with bodyweight training. Great! Correct?

Correct! But how exactly?

Bodyweight training for a well-rounded routine

Bodyweight training in the sagittal plane

To start, we'll focus on the sagittal plane and a bodyweight movement to help with each of the four exercise types. Remember, the sagittal plane is our forward and backward movement.

1 | Strength – Squats using your own body weight

The bodyweight squat is one of our favorite muscle building exercises. Your ROI (Return on Investment) with this training is sky high. It's an exercise that's easy to understand—note we didn't say "easy"—and that strengthens several of your muscles at once: core, hips, glutes, inner and outer thighs, calves, and hamstrings. Oh, and there are tons of variations, so you'll never get bored.Here alone we have put together 25. But for the following example, we'll stick with your classic squat.

To do a bodyweight squat, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward. With your weight on the heels of your feet, begin bending your knees as if you were sitting on an imaginary chair. Stop when your knees are at 90 degrees, chest up, and spine neutral. From a squat, tighten your core to stand back up to your starting position and repeat.

2 | Endurance – running or walking

Here, too, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Some exercises are popular because they work. And when you run or walk outside or at your gym, you can take in all the sights and sounds around you to keep your mind occupied and maybe even enter a state of meditation. Walking and running are some of our favorite sagittal bodyweight workouts because anyone can do them anywhere. Even if you have to walk or run in place, all you have to do is move!

3 | Flexibility – hip flexor stretch

After your squats and a run, your hips need a little TLC. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and slowly step your right foot straight back. Keep your front foot straight and let your foot circle toward the sky as you step back. In the same motion, begin stretching toward your toes. Well, you can't reach your toes, and that's A-ok. The point here is to start by loosening your muscles in your hip flexors, lower back, and even your calves. So go down as far as you can, return to the starting position and try again. You can either perform these as flowing movements, rocking up and down safely, or allow the stretch to stagnate, as you would in a yoga yin practice. We love this videofor the detailed description and pictures.

4 | Balance – Single leg lift

While all of the above exercises will strengthen your balance, the single-leg raise is sure to improve your core strength and balance coordination even further. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Start lifting one foot in front of you as high as you can without falling, lower it again until you are close to touching the ground, and raise it again. Don't worry if you have to touch your toes a few times to start. It can be a movement that takes some getting used to. As you continue to practice this exercise, you will find that what started as a lift a few inches off the ground can become a full forward kick as your balance and coordination improve.

Bodyweight training in the frontal plane

1 | Strength – Side lunge

Lunges, like squats, are a powerhouse exercise. And if you add a little flare to them, e.g. For example, if you move on your frontal plane (from side to side), they become much more explosive. To do a side lunge, start with your feet hip-width apart. With your weight on your heels, walk to the right and bend your knee with your right foot until it reaches a 90-degree angle. Push yourself back to your starting position and switch sides.

2 | Endurance – jumping jacks

We may not be in elementary school anymore, but jumping jacks aren't going anywhere. Start with your feet together and your core engaged. Jump out about hip width or further. At the same time, swing your arms over your head at hip distance and (if you wish) clap the top of your jack. Jump naked to the starting position and continue.

3 | Flexibility – Side bend while standing

We want to get all the kinks out of our side bodies, and a side bend can work wonders. When your toes touch, pull your arms up so that your hands meet above your head. With your core engaged, begin bending your body to the right. You'll look like you're about to jump into a pool. Go as far as you can while still tensing muscles but not collapsing into the pose.

4 | Balance – Side leg raises

Similar to the leg raises from our sagittal bodyweight exercises, we want to stand with our feet together and our hands on our hips. Instead of lifting your foot in front of you, you should slowly lift it to the side. Remember to lift as high as you can without putting your foot down, slowly lower until your foot just touches the floor, and repeat ten more times. Switch sides.

Bodyweight training in the transverse plane

1 | Strength – Side plank with rotation

Planks fall beautifully into many categories as they build strength, balance, flexibility and even endurance. But for this article, we'll place them right here with the side plank with rotation. To do this, get into a side plank position: Place your elbow or hand on the floor, place your body on your side and stack your legs underneath you. Lift your body by contracting your core muscles and using your top arm, lift your arm and rotate it down between your base arm or your hand under your torso, rotating slowly and safely to maintain proper form. Do ten reps and switch sides.

2 | Endurance – Squat (jump) with toe touch

This explosive move is guaranteed to make you sweat. To do this, do the squat mentioned above, but instead of holding your arms in front of you, you should reach down in front of your opposite toe. So the right arm reaches in front of the right toe and vice versa. For a more advanced endurance exercise, jump from the squat to the other side. Perform one minute or ten toe touches on each side.

3 | Flexibility – Twisting Lunge

As you lunge forward and twist, you can improve flexibility in your hips, lower back, midsection, and more. To do this, step forward into a lunge with your left foot. Place your hand on the ground and stretch your left arm toward the sky with your right hand. Your chest should face your failed knee. Stay here for at least 10 seconds and then switch sides.

4 | Balance – hip rotation

Standing with your feet together, lift one leg in front of you and bend your knee as if you were doing a standing hip flexor stretch. Slowly rotate your leg toward the outside of your body and back, trying not to touch the ground to maintain stability (although you may need to do this as you get used to the movement). Repeat the exercise ten times and then switch sides.

This article only scratches the surface of the world of bodyweight exercises. We have lotsResources on our websiteandiChuze Fitnessso you can get started. We hope to see you atour locationswith a well-rounded wellness routine that not only does something good for your body, but also for your mind and soul.