Who needs a gym when you have two arms, two legs, and a torso? No one, according to BJ Gaddour, author of the Men's Health book Your Body is Your Barbell.
"Bodyweight training teaches you how to first move your own body, developing total fitness with mobility—something most of us desk jockeys need the most," says Gaddour. What's more, if you do it right, you can build just as much—if not more—functional strength than a pro bodybuilder. Don't get us wrong—weight training is awesome and definitely has its place in your fitness routine. Gaddour's aim is to throw shade on the common criticism of bodyweight training: that it's more for endurance, not for building strength. With his program of smart progressions—that is, what to do when a move gets too easy—each exercise can keep you getting stronger as you become leaner and more toned.
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The total-body workout below features four of Gaddour's essential moves. Gaddour recommends doing each exercise for 60 seconds, taking 15 seconds off before beginning the next one. Perform the whole workout up to six times through for a 30-minute body blast. Once you're dominating the basics, take it up a notch with Gaddour's suggested progressions.
Pushups
Sometimes, when trying to master a tough move, it's good to focus on the negative: To conquer the pushup, for example, you first want to learn to lower down with control (think: a yoga chaturanga). Start on the floor in a high plank position; in fact, for some, this may be the whole exercise until you can hold it perfectly for 60 seconds. Next, slowly bend your elbows in toward your sides to bring your chest close to the ground, taking three to five seconds to get there. Once there, lower your knees to give yourself the leverage to press back up to straight arms. If getting to five of these is tough going, try elevating your hands on a bench. Once you're banging out 10 negative, or "eccentric," floor pushups with ease, take out the knee drop and press up from your toes. BAM! Pushups! (Again, elevating the hands so your body is on an incline is a good middleman step, i f needed.)
Hip Thrusts
This booty-dominant exercise also strengthens the core. Rest your shoulders on a bench, ottoman, or couch—anything that places them about level with your bent-up knees. Perform the move by lowering your butt toward the floor, hinging at the hips, then pressing up to a tabletop position, and repeating. Once you're ready for the next level, press up and hold at the top and begin marching the legs. Need more? Perform the thrusts on one leg! (Bend the non-working leg in toward your chest on each thrust.)
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Inverted Rows
The ultimate back booster, the inverted row is great for your posture, and a starting step toward the elusive pull-up. In fact, it actually is a pull-up—you're just using your legs to take some of your weight off to allow your upper body to perform the move. For some, simply holding on to a low-ish bar and holding your weight in a hanging bridge for up to 60 seconds—body tight and straight in a tabletop position—may be enough to start. The rowing action comes in when you pull your chest up toward the bar, keeping your elbows tucked toward your sides and body straight as a board. The next progression starts to train your muscles toward the idea of a more vertical pull-up—you row as usual, then shoot your hips back and keep pulling so your head goes over the bar. Your feet stay planted on the floor, supporting some of your weight.
Single-Leg Squats
The most basic version of this lower-body toner is the split squat, in which you start in a staggered stance and lower and raise your body by bending both your knees. The levitating lunge takes that back foot off the floor, lowering the knee to tap a pad, making you truly "single-legged." Once the foot-to-the-back version is a cakewalk, shoot that rear leg forward into a pistol squat. Your aim in all three: Sit back and as low as you can control, keeping the knee of the working leg aimed forward, not inward or out. (Adding a weighted shoulder raise, as Gaddour demonstrates here—using dumbbells, a medicine ball, a big book, or even a rock—adds a counterbalance. That means it makes the move easier and lets you get deeper in the squat for a way more intense tush push, but you can totally reap the benefits of this move with your bodyweight only.)
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Amy Roberts is a certified personal trainer.
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