by Jenny Gaal, Fitness Director
The safest and most effective type of workout is finally getting some much deserved recognition. If you are not familiar with Bodyweight Exercises or our Fitness Classes at Fun & Fitness Gym… keep reading to learn the powerful benefits of this style of training.
Fitness, there is no better way of building an athletic, toned, physique than using your own body as the resistance. A quick glance at the bodies of gymnasts will show you just how muscular and fat free your body can become using such a program. You can also start your program at any time, regardless of your present physical condition.
Weight loss, your body is an ingenious creation that tries to protect you at all times. Because body fat is a part of the weight being lifted but does not provide any assistance when you are doing bodyweight exercises your body’s metabolism will make sure you lose fat to make the exercises easier and less likely to injure you next time. This is the opposite of weight training which uses an inanimate weight as the resistance and therefore does not require fat loss to prevent injury.
Strength, whether you want to increase your strength a little bit or build the extreme power needed to do hard core exercises it can be done easily and safely with a program of progressively more difficult bodyweight exercises.
Whatever goal you have in mind body weight exercises can be used to achieve it. For example, by changing the position of your body and therefore the leverage, you can create exercises which even advanced gym members would struggle to do.
Muscle, although weight training is excellent for muscle building, forcing yourself to lift such heavy loads can have a down side such as injury or soreness to the joints (particularly the shoulders). You can avoid this and still build incredible muscle with the right bodyweight exercises.
What about sports, boxing or martial arts?
If you want to improve your sporting performance these exercises have no substitute because they are so adaptable. If your sport requires more strength but no extra bodyweight it can be done easily with natural, compound (multi – muscle) exercises.
The result is you build functional strength that carries over into real life situations and also improves your speed, co-ordination and flexibility. This is why they are a great inclusion to any sports training program.
How good are bodyweight exercises for women?
They are the absolute best way for women to train simply because most women have far less time than men. It can be very difficult for busy working mothers to find time to work out. However, everybody can find benefit from scheduling a 45 minutes at some point in the week to learn the power of compound- body weight exercises.
Start your journey today! Please contact coachjenny@funfitgym.com to learn more about our classes and these safe, simple and effective exercises.
