Building Strength Without Mass: Home Workout Without Equipment
About every 6 to 8 weeks, I decide it’s time to mix up my old workout routine. I was focused on heavy strength training to help build dense muscles. Now I’m planning to take a break from lifting and focus on strength training without weights. I’m certain that I’ll be able to maintain my current muscle mass just by using my own body weight, and I’ll probably even increase my overall functional strength.
Pushups and squats are the mainstays of all bodyweight exercise regimens. Several methods for altering these exercises exist so that they are accessible to novices but also enough of a workout for more advanced athletes. Both are considered compound exercises, in that they engage more than one muscle at a time. These are the best types of exercise to build overall functional strength. Combined, these two exercises alone could really work your entire body, but there are other upper and lower bodyweight exercises that can help round out a strength training routine as well.
For example, pushups may do wonders for your endurance training, but there are better ways to reach your goal. Most strength training is at its most effective when performed in low rep ranges. After you have completed 20 pushups, stamina, rather than strength, is what you are likely to gain. To make sure that your pushups are helping you build your strength, you need to make them more difficult.
Novices may wish to complete their pushups while resting on their knees or even leaning on a wall if need be. After you are able to complete a substantial tally of traditional pushups, you are really on your way. Standard pushups generally provide a great overall workout for the chest, arms, and even core, but there are a few different types of pushups you can experiment with to vary the targeted muscles and make them more challenging.
My suggestion is that you build your strength in different areas using the different pushup styles. Once you work up to 15-20 reps, try to incorporate a different type in your routine. It is possible that you will be capable of only 1-3 repetitions of the more difficult variations on the pushup.
Now, I am not a fan of direct leg training, especially when weight lifting is involved. I believe the best way to build leg strength is to use HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training), which combines sprints and active recovery. Weight lifting can promote bulkier physiques, and I prefer a slimmer, more athletic appearance. But, squat movements using only one’s bodyweight can be of great assistance in developing leg strength, and when done in low repetition sets, are unlikely to produce undesirable muscle mass. Not surprisingly, there are several ways to vary squat exercises. Beginners can simply do half squats, gradually working until they can do a full squat. More advanced athletes can perform powerful, explosive movements, including squat jumps. Another great way to challenge yourself on the squats is to try the one leg style.
A good strength training program is really a density training program. Simply transition between pushups and squats in one massive set. Try to do this for 15 minutes without a break. I would recommend that you start with the standard pushup and squat, just so you get an idea of how difficult this is, then alter it as needed to keep up the intensity. Start with 5 pushups. Get up and do 5 squats. Keep up this transition between pushups and squats for as long as you can stand it. Never start a rep that you can’t complete though; you don’t want to train your muscles to failure. If need be, you can always do fewer reps for each exercise or add recovery time between each set. I think you’ll be surprised at how difficult this is, even after just a few minutes.
While squats and pushups are the most obvious movements one can complete as part of a home workout without equipment, other types of bodyweight exercises exist which can add variety to your regimen. Though a bar or a hanging apparatus of some sort is necessary, pull ups are a wonderful way to work the arms and the back. One possibility is to hang from the back of a door. A bar is also needed to perform inverted rows, which are basically horizontal pull ups, though it may be feasible to complete them using the side of a table. With a pair of dependable chairs, you can perform dips to help with the chest and triceps areas. Plyometrics are great for developing the leg muscles without relying on weights as they emphasize quick and sudden explosions of force and strength. It’s possible to develop a successful strength gaining routine that relies only on your body weight, and you can see great results with something as simple as doing sets of squats and pushups.