She Strengthens

Get Fit Without Any Equipment: The Power of Bodyweight Exercises

Who needs a gym when there’s the living room floor? Bodyweight exercises are simple, effective ways to improve balance, flexibility, and strength without gym machines or equipment. You can do all these exercises at home, covering every part of your body that can get stronger with body resistance alone.

What is a Bodyweight Workout?

Bodyweight workouts are exercise routines that use a person’s own bodyweight to create resistance and improve strength, flexibility, and endurance, as well as coordination. You’ve probably done a push-up before – well done, you’ve already met bodyweight exercises! While there are bodyweight exercises you can do in a gym (pull-ups, anyone?), having a calisthenics or plyometrics routine means you can stay in shape without the need for a gym membership or expensive equipment.

Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises

Why choose bodyweight exercises over traditional gym workouts? Here are just a few reasons:

• Efficient: You can get impressive results from short workouts alone, and they can work alongside other types of exercises to boost performance.
• Strength and Cardio: Keep your heart pumping while building muscle and flexibility.
• Fat Burning: The burn continues long after the workout.
• Convenient: You can do them anywhere, anytime, removing the “excuses” barrier from your workout routine.
• Free: No gym membership or equipment costs!

Bodyweight Exercises vs. Other Workouts

How do bodyweight exercises stack up against gym workouts and cardio exercises? Here’s a comparison:

Bodyweight vs. Gym

Pros: You can do them anywhere, anytime, removing the “excuses” barrier from your workout routine. Bodyweight workouts are free, so they’re accessible to anyone. Some gym equipment reduces the resistance of certain motions, meaning that you might see less benefit when using a machine.

Cons: While beginners can start with full-body exercise, the reduced resistance of some gym machines may be a simpler entry point. A gym’s pricing can be a barrier for some, but may still motivate others.

Bodyweight vs. Cardio

Pros: Bodyweight exercises continue the burn after a workout, enhancing the metabolic advantages of the exercise. With cardio, like running, you’re only burning while you’re working out. Bodyweight exercises give you cardio benefits while you’re working anyway, alongside the strength boost that comes from a hearty push- or pull-up.

Cons: Switching it up is important to get the widest range of benefits from exercise. So, go on a run from time to time, as research has shown that combining cardio and weight-based exercises is the best way to shift body mass for adults with overweight or obesity.

Bodyweight vs. Free Weights

Pros: You don’t need access to a gym. While you still need to be careful, you can’t drop a weight on yourself if you’re not holding one. You can switch between moves more quickly because you’re not dealing with equipment.

Cons: While there are some beginner bodyweight exercises, you can scale up the difficulty of free weights in a more controlled and gradual way than with bodyweight exercises.

Bodyweight Moves for Beginners

Ready to get started? Here are 15 bodyweight exercises for beginners:

1. Arm circles
2. Standard push-up
3. Plank
4. Squat
5. Lunge
6. Shoulder bridge
7. Burpee
8. Step-up
9. Inchworm
10. Tuck jump
11. Bear crawl
12. Mountain climber
13. Plyometric push-up
14. Stair climb with bicep curls
15. Prone walkout

Get fit without any equipment – your body is all you need!