Body-weight training
In certain parts of the country, college athletics are more important to the community than professional sports. In these cities and towns, the home team’s college colors are proudly displayed everywhere and mascots provide a sense of pride to rally around. As such, to be more competitive in the recruiting process for potential student athletes, many colleges have created state-of-the art athletic facilities, with high tech medical suites, multi-million dollar weight rooms with numerous machines and equipment, and gorgeous locker rooms. These resources and facilities are definitely a selling point to prospective athletes, but they are also designed to assist their athletes in performing and reaching their highest potential. However, you do not need to have these same state-of-the art facilities to effectively workout; all you truly need is an open area, time dedicated to working out, and creativity.
Body-weight training uses one’s own body weight, gravity, and occasionally a few simple accessories to provide resistance during exercise. This type of training does not utilize any weight lifting machines or significant pieces of equipment. Body-weight training includes things such as Yoga, Pilates, suspension trainers (such as the TRX), high-intensity interval training (HITT), plyometric training, and swimming. Incorporating body-weight training into a workout program allows for variety and can further assist in limiting stagnancy and over-use injuries, while also allowing for creativity and variety.
Benefits of body-weight training
- Targets a number of different muscle groups at the same time
- Improves core muscle strength and endurance
- Increases flexibility
- Improves balance
- Assists with injury prevention
Body-weight training exercises often get a bad reputation of being too easy. By making small changes to one exercise, you can make that exercise easier or more challenging. An example of this may be seen with a push-up. The following are all examples of variations to the push-up to make it easier or harder.
- Incline push-up (with hands elevated up on a box or bench)
- Strict (military) push-up
- Wide hands push-up
- Diamond push-up
- Pike push-up
- Super push-up
- Staggered hands push-up
- Sphinx push-up
- Spiderman (side kick) push-up
- Cross-body push-up
- Archer push-up
- Power and clap push-up
- Flying push-ups
- One-arm push-up
- Decline push-up (with feet elevated up on a box or bench)
All of these exercises are push-ups, but by changing your
position or by utilizing gravity differently, you can make one exercise easier
or more challenging.
Body-weight training can provide variety to any fitness
program. Increased strength, flexibility,
and balance are just a few benefits of this type of training. Your own creativity is the only limit to different
body-weight exercises.
By: J. Scott, DPT, ATC, TSAC-F
Sources:
The Mayo Clinic
Livestrong
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