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Fast Fitness Training - Quick & Easy Bodyweight Workouts

I got a post the other day in a forum I help to moderate and it basically was a fellow asking for a quick suggestion on what you could do right away because he was going to be away from a gym for a spell and it was a last minute thing, leaving on the spot. He had a few hours before he was leaving.

Bodyweight of course is the first thing that comes to mind for exercises since they do not require machines or free weights. The problem is if you are also looking for a quick cardio hit and have no equipment and limited time it may seem impossible.

Along with exercises such as pushups, pullups, chins, squats, calve raises, lunges and lower back extensions you can use some fast items at home to help add intensity to your workout.

You can do bent rows with a chair, using the chair as the weight, gripping it on its side. 2 liter water bottles are excellent dumbbells, but if you are stronger than that you can keep gas cans filled with water for lifting. Water filled bags also work well.

If you do not have a bar for your pullups and chins you can use a tree limb, a towel around that limb, holding the towel ends. To get very creative you can alternate the height of each hand on every pullup, shifting the towel mid air.

A strong rod or stick along 2 chairs padded with pillows under is great for horizontal chins or pullups. With those same 2 chairs w you can also do chest dips with hands on top of the chair backs and chairs angled accordingly.

Combine weights with plymotrics by taking your squats and powering on the up phase into a leap then land into another squat and repeat. Burpees are also great to do in between sets or exercises.

Pushups come in several forms, diamond pushups, feet up pushups, one arm pushups, hinge pushups. You have so many choices so if you are good at regular pushups the key is to challenge yourself with a modified pushup which is harder than the usual.

Squats can be done in several ways. Starting a squat with butt to heels then lifting to 90 only and holding this for 20 seconds, repeating again, is a 20 second squat, its also a partial rep.

Holding a broom overhead while squatting down, butt to the ground style is an overhead squat. Now try it with the broom along your chest supported by folded arms, this is a front squat. Stand in a door way and hold the sides, squat with one leg only, keeping knee over ankle the whole time, this is a single leg squat.

To intensify calve raises without weights, try them on single legs and count 5 seconds up then 5 seconds to lower. These are super slow and really help with growth. It's a change so it shocks the system encouraging muscle gains. Lunges can be done with the front leg on a box or phone book or back leg. Side lunges can also be done and walking lunges are very intense if done non stop for a 20 count per leg.

I admire the dedication this fellow had that he felt he could not miss a workout and this is definitely the way to go when in a time or location bind for training. You want to avoid missing sessions at all costs!!

By Linda Cusmano