Bodyweight Training VS. Joining a Gym – Which Should you Choose?

For millions of people all over the world, the decision to get in shape means one thing: Joining a gym. Your local gym or workout facility will have all the equipment you will ever need as well as a staff of fitness experts who can help you reach your goals.

For all the good results you can achieve through joining a gym, they also have their downsides as well. In fact, a growing number of fitness buffs have taken to working out outside of the gym environment and focusing on bodyweight exercises that they can do anywhere to get in shape. For many of the diehard gym rats out there, this decision may seem almost sacrilege, but as we will see below, there are some valid positives to taking this NO GYM route and pursuing a Boot Camp training program.

First of all, gyms can be expensive. Fees upwards of $75 per month are not uncommon and often times this fee is paid for the privilege of waiting until someone else is done using the equipment that you need. If you are waiting, you are NOT working out. Focusing on using your bodyweight to stay in shape, needless to say, will cost you nothing.

The next benefit of choosing bodyweight training vs. joining a gym is the lack of distractions. Look, I love watching THE OFFICE as much as the next guy, but I don’t really need to relive every hilarious moment WHILE I am working out. There are always at least 2 or 3 folks at the gym who are more interested in what they watched last night than what is going on right in front of them. They often show complete lack of respect and needless to say, this is an annoyance you won’t have to deal with if your program revolves around bodyweight training. All you need to think about really is breathing to keep yourself alive most of the time!

One of my favorite reasons to cite for leaving the gym atmosphere behind is just that…the atmosphere. Gym walls, no matter how pretty they are painted, are still gym walls. The world is a wonderful and glorious place that must be experienced and getting out in nature to exercise beats the confinement of a stuffy gym ANY day.

So, now that we have listed some of the reasons why using bodyweight training in a Boot Camp program may be a better alternative than joining a gym, you still may have ONE little nagging question…what the heck is bodyweight training? Simply put, bodyweight training is performing any exercise where your bodyweight provides the main source of resistance. These exercises can be performed anywhere you go and there is a huge list that don’t require ANY apparatus to receive the full benefits of the workout. Bodyweight squats are great to add to your regimen as a foundational exercise. Pushups, either traditional or elevated, will give you perhaps the greatest upper body results of any exercise out there. Add in some jumping jacks, calf raises, and a set or two of plyometric jumps and your bodyweight workout will allow you to burn fat, build muscle and get into incredible shape at no cost to you and without the shortcomings of gyms that we spoke about.

Body Weight Exercises for Core Development

Developing a strong functional core should be the goal of any serious athlete. Oftentimes people just want a ripped midsection simply for the aesthetic aspect of it but because just about every movement we make requires the muscles of the core some degree, focusing on this area of the body is extremely important for the overall functioning and health of your entire body. With the multitude of products on the market for working out the core it can be easy to forget that the only thing you need to strengthen this area of the body is, your body.

Using only your body weight to stretch and strengthen your core may not seem as exciting as getting hooked up to the latest exercise gadget that promises you a ripped six-pack in no time at all, but the results are often much more impressive. Simply grabbing a space on the floor and using your body weight for some specific exercises can give you all the core workout you’ll ever need.

One of the simplest and most effective body weight exercises for the core is the basic crunch. Just grab an empty space on the floor and lie down to knock out a few sets of this powerfully effective abdominal workout. By utilizing slight variations while doing crunches, you can twist or position your upper body to be able to hit all aspects of your abdominal muscles.

Another effective body weight exercise for your core is planks. The basic plank requires you to support yourself using your forearms while keeping your back straight all the way down to your toes which are also used to support your body as you stabilize yourself and stay rigid, just like a plank. Holding a plank position for even as little as a minute can make even the most hardened body builder begin to shake uncontrollably. Stabilizing your core muscles and keeping your spine rigid while continuing to breathe throughout this exercise provides an incredibly intense core workout. Variations of planks exist so that there will always be something new to help train your core as you progress and become stronger.

Lying leg lifts or scissors are another popular core exercise. These help to target the area of the upper thighs as well as the abdominals helping to strengthen a larger section of your core. These muscles will help to support your body through all types of functional movements and will give you increased strength in just about every exercise you perform.

The core is not just about your abdominals of course so let’s not forget body weight exercisesfor your lower back like back extensions. One simple way to hit this area of your core is to lay down flat on your stomach with your legs extended and your fingers behind your head. Then, simply raise your shoulders and chest you inches above the ground and hold for a few seconds. This simple movement will work wonders for strengthening your lower back also tying in your glutes along with hamstrings and again help to develop a much stronger core using only your body weight.

The examples above make up just a few of the multitude of exercises that you can do using only your body weight to stretch and strengthen your core muscles. Take some time to investigate some of the other ones out there that will complete theses few and make sure to add them into your regular core training regimen for a more complete core blast!