Benefits of Body Weight Workouts
There are many reasons to try body weight exercises. Maybe you don’t like going to the gym or have a hard time finding the time between work and family. Maybe the equipment is a bit too confusing to use or a gym membership is not financially in the cards at the moment. This is where body weight workouts are a perfect solution.
A body weight workout is exactly what it sounds: working out with no equipment and using just your body to maintain or build muscle. It is easy to do at home, the office or the gym. You would need just a few feet of room to do many different exercises.
Body weight exercises offer a range of benefits:
- Boosting your metabolism
- Improving strength, balance, coordination and flexibility
- Correcting muscle imbalances
Just doing 20 minutes a few days a week may result in some of these benefits in just a few weeks.
Get Started With Body Weight Exercises
Begin with 10-20 minutes twice a week for two to four weeks. As your fitness level improves, you can gradually increase the duration and frequency of your workouts each week.
A few great exercises to begin with include squats, pushups, lunges, sit-ups and planks, to name a few. Finding two to three exercises for each section of the body is a great way to have a whole-body workout. Doing each group of exercises, also known as a set, a few times will help maintain or build muscle.
Examples of a full body split can look like this:
- Upper body: Arms, chest and shoulders
- Core: Back and abs
- Lower body: Hamstrings (back of the leg), quads (front of the leg) and calves
It is easy to progress doing body weight workouts. You just add repetitions or find a more challenging version of the exercise you are doing. You can add in a few cardio exercises to increase your heart rate and endurance, like jumping jacks or side hops.
Whether you are new or experienced, adding some body weight exercises to your daily routine will provide benefits to your overall health. Our bodies are one of the best and readily available tools to get a great workout experience.
Learn more about health and wellness benefits.
By Hailey Koenen, LiveNOW Health and Wellness Coach
