Who said that you need barbells to pack on size or lose that flabby gut? Heck, you don’t even need a gym membership. For years, soldiers, celebrities, and professional athletes have used tried-and-true compound bodyweight exercise routines to lose weight and pack on lean muscle. Chris Pratt even whipped himself into shape for “Guardians of the Galaxy” by doing push-ups, lunges, box jumps, and burpees.
The best part about these bodyweight workouts is that all of them work different parts of your body at the same time, which means that you’ll lose weight and add definition faster and more effectively. And you can do them just about anywhere without any additional equipment aside from a pull-up bar or an elevated surface.
1. Men’s Fitness’ 14-minute Bodyweight Workout
Men’s Fitness knows that we can’t always make it to the gym. Luckily, they’ve put together an amazing program that hits different parts of the body and combines the best of both the bodybuilding and fat loss worlds. It works either on its own or as a supplement to other routines.
Their workout begins with a warm-up consisting of jumping jacks, squats, and push ups before moving onto two circuits performed for two sets back-to-back. These circuits include total body exercises like burpees, push-ups, squats, and planks — the things you need to develop that killer beach body without having to lift a single weight.
2. Suspension Trainer Circuits
Suspension trainers have increased in popularity as exercisers look for other ways to achieve maximum flexibility while attaining peak physical fitness. These devices can be found in just about every gym, and you can purchase them separately for your home. There’s a reason why they’ve become so popular, and it’s that you can get an intense full-body workout regardless of your fitness level.
Core Training Tips devised a routine consisting of three circuits, each designed to work different parts of your body. These circuits are geared to tone up your chest, back, and legs while improving your posture and balance. The site recommends you perform each circuit for two sets of anywhere from five to ten repetitions per exercise for maximum fat-burning effect.
With a proper diet and routine, the American Council on Exercise says that suspension training can improve your cardiovascular capacity and muscle tone within eight weeks.
3. T-Nation’s 8 Minutes to Awesome
Inspired by NFL superstar and professional martial artist Herschel Walker’s daily high-volume bodyweight workout regimen, T-Nation came up with a routine that revolves around a punishing routine of push-ups and bodyweight squats performed for as many repetitions as quickly as possible.
It doesn’t get any more minimalistic than this. Start with three minutes of push-ups, and get creative with them. Put your hands farther apart to build a bigger chest or closer together in the shape of a diamond to increase the all-around intensity. Follow that up with five minutes of bodyweight squats to fire up your legs.
Gym owner Max Shank writes that the goal is to increase your physical fitness while developing good habits. You’re bound to do that in no time if you make Shank’s routine part of your schedule.
4. High-Intensity Rowing
Did you know that you can get a high-intensity full-body workout just by rowing really quickly? The rowing machine is an underrated gem because it burns fat and works your entire body simultaneously, and you don’t need a complicated routine to see results quickly.
With the help of instructor Anna Cummins, author Danielle McNally created a challenging rowing routine that can burn hundreds of calories in just 20 minutes. Try to keep a pace of anywhere from 20-28 strokes for ten minutes, then get up to stretch. During that brief intermission, McNally recommends you supplement the routine with walking lunges or squats before rowing at the aforementioned speed for another ten minutes.
Remember to use good form, no matter how many rows you have under your belt.
5. Stew Smith’s PT Pyramid
There are few workouts that can claim to be as spartan as Stew Smith’s PT Pyramid. Smith, a former Navy SEAL, created the workout to help prospective military and law enforcement entrants increase their repetitions in the various strength-building exercises that each organization tests. Depending on how diligent you are, you can expect to do 225 pull-ups in one day.
The way Smith’s program works is that it goes from one to five on one side, with the six on the top, and then descends from five to one on the other side. Initially, you will do a single pull-up, two push-ups, and three sit-ups. The second set, you will do two pull-ups, four push-ups, and six sit-ups . For each set, the number of reps increases the higher you go and decreases as you go down the pyramid.
His program excels in its adaptability: You can perform dozens of sets without hitting failure. In addition, you can change the program depending on which muscles you want to hit. This means that you don’t have to adhere to the stated circuit of push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups; you could throw things like lunges, squats, and timed sprints into the mix.
Guest Blogger Bio:?Eric is the content manager at?Fit&Me. Fit&Me is dedicated to helping you achieve your health and fitness goals, and transform your body by offering the best fitness equipment and knowledge you need.
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