If strength training feels daunting, try bodyweight training

WE

all know strength training is incredibly important, especially as we age and lose muscle mass and strength.

But so many things hold people back.

You think you need a gym and fancy equipment, and who has the time to learn new exercise routines? As it is, most people are barely getting a fraction of the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week.

If this sounds like you, bodyweight training can be a good option. It provides a great workout, and you don’t need a gym membership or any equipment. Bodyweight training uses your own body’s weight as resistance. Think squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups, planks, burpees, jumping jacks. For these types of exercise, any “equipment” you need is right in your own home. You can use the wall, a counter, or a chair.

Bodyweight exercises don’t just strengthen your muscles. They improve your balance and coordination, too, by forcing several muscles and joints to work together instead of isolating just one area.

They also lend themselves to modification. If you aren’t ready for a full plank, you can lower your knees to the ground and plank that way. You can also do push-ups with your knees on the ground, or push against a countertop or wall. As your strength improves, you can eliminate the modifications.

And when you exercise at home, the only one there is you, so there’s no intimidation or competition.

Bodyweight exercises do more than just build muscle. One study found it particularly beneficial to young women. Not only did they build muscle, they also improved their aerobic fitness, core strength, leg power, and flexibility.

The health advantages are many. Bodyweight exercises lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint pain, some cancers, and Alzheimer’s. They can improve mood and sleep, and reduce stress.

If it’s the time commitment that shuts down your inclination to exercise, there’s good news for you, too. A small study in Japan found that even a modest amount of time devoted to bodyweight exercise yielded significant results. A group of people — all over 60 — were given eight simple exercises. Researchers noted a 15 percent increase in strength after just ten months of six workouts per month. An important discovery, considering people lose strength as they age.

How does bodyweight exercise measure up against using weights?

It turns out that bodyweight exercises can be as effective as working out with weights like dumbbells or kettlebells.

The purpose of strength training is to push your muscles to the point of exhaustion so that they can get stronger. It’s faster to exhaust them with heavier weights, but you can still achieve results with bodyweight exercise. It just means you’ll have to work longer to reach the point of muscle exhaustion. You can do this by increasing the number of repetitions or trying more challenging positions. For example, stack your feet in a side plank, instead of placing one in front, or try raising one leg. Another way to challenge yourself is to do push-ups with your feet raised on a chair or blocks, instead of having them on the floor.

Studies comparing these two strength approaches — bodyweight and weight training — found similar results after three weeks of training. If you want to get stronger exercising with weights, up the weights, and if you want to get stronger with bodyweight exercises, increase your reps.

The bottom line is: If you want to get stronger, you have to challenge your muscles. That’s the same for training with weights or bodyweight training.

Henny Zidile of Henya’s Fitness in Brooklyn offers guidance for some basic bodyweight exercises:

Reverse Lunges

Start with your feet side by side, hip-distance apart, knees and hip points pointing forward. A common mistake is when people have their legs too close together. Imagine a double yellow line versus a single yellow line.

Take a large step back with your right foot. Your left foot remains stable, in place. Step back far enough so that the heel of the right foot stays elevated. Often people step back too short of a stride and then there’s no room for their hips and knees and ankles to flex.

Drop through your hips, and as you drop, your knees will bend, ideally at a 90-degree angle for the front and back knee. Your front knee should not go past your toes — you should be able to see your front toes as you glance down. Most of your weight should be in the front heel. You should be able to wiggle your front toes.

Keep your spine neutral. If you want to target your quads (the muscle in front of the thigh), stay more upright with your trunk. If you’d like to target your glutes, take an even longer stride back and lean your torso slightly forward. As you push back in a standing upright position, you should feel the squeeze and contraction being shifted toward the glutes.

Repeat the movement with your other leg.

In a lunge, you’re flexing three major points — hips, knees, and ankles. This is called triple flexion — engaging many muscle groups, making it a great exercise.

Squats

In the traditional squat, keep your feet a little wider than hips-width distance apart. Toes usually point forward, but a slight turn out to about one o’clock on the right foot and eleven o’clock on the left foot is also fine. A lot depends on anatomical position and the way your feet and hips are structured.

Pull hips back, then drop them further down, lowering your seat to the ground — as far down as is comfortable for your range of mobility. Knees should be pressing outward. Keep the chest leaning forward slightly, but elevated and upright. Keep your head and neck in line with your spine. You want to be able to see your toes. Keep your weight in your feet. You should be able to lift and wiggle your toes.

At the bottom position, engage the glutes, draw the inner thighs toward one another, magnetizing them. Imagine a ball between your inner thighs before you come up. Then, move as though you want to push the ground away in order to get yourself to an upright, stacked position. Narrowing the stance of the feet challenges your stability and core control.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 969)