Great Bodyweight Exercises for the Road
You occasionally find yourself wanting to lift or train with little or no exercise equipment available. Learning to leverage your body to increase strength involves a blend of creativity, determination and effort.
Here are several exercises and training methods you can use to maintain your strength and power while on the road. These exercises are suitable primarily for intermediate and advanced athletes.
Progressive or Regressive Principles
How can I increase the difficulty of these exercises?
- Add more weight to force the body to overcome the resistance.
- Increase stability demands. Work a single arm or a single leg, reducing points of contact.
- Increase external tension through band resistance.
How can I decrease the difficulty of these exercises?
- Reduce the weight
- Decrease the instability demands. Use wider positioning with two arms or two legs.
- Decrease external tension.
Possible tools
- TRX Suspension Straps
- Resistance Bands
- Full backpacks of gear or any other weights
Upper-Body Bodyweight Exercises
- Handstand Push-Ups – 3×10
- Reactive Plyometric Push-Ups – 3×6
- One-Arm One-Leg Push-Ups – 3×2/side
- TRX Inverted Rows – 3×10
Lower-Body Bodyweight Exercises
- Pistol Squat – 3×5/side (bodyweight), or 3×3 (weighted)
- Bodyweight Squats – 3×15 (bodyweight), or 3×8-10 (weighted)
- Elevated Leg Hip Thrust – 3×10
Core Exercises
- Prone Plank with Shoulder Touch – 3×8/side
- Side Plank + Band – 3×20 seconds/side
- Turkish Get-Up – 3×3/side (bodyweight), 3×2/side (weighted vest)
Bodyweight Exercise Selection
Choose two exercises from each group and work them feverishly. Mastering bodyweight strength is a skill rewarded when movements are grooved over time, as opposed to the immediate rewards gained with external weights.
Once you gain proficiency with your chosen exercises, switch the exercises each month.
Sample Total Bodyweight Workout
Days 1 + 3
To be performed after technical skills or conditioning days.
A1. Reactive Plyometric Push-Ups – 3×6
A2. Inverted Rows – 3×10
B1. Elevated Hip Thrusts – 3×10
B2. Pistol Squats – 3×3/side
C1. Side Planks + Band – 3×20 seconds/side
C2. Turkish Get-Up – 3×2/side
Follow these simple plans and reap the benefits from increased strength, balance and movement.
Any questions please contact me on Twitter @MiggsyBogues.
Read more:
- Get Stronger: Bodyweight Exercises
- The 8 Best Bodyweight Exercises
- 5 Best Bodyweight Exercises for MMA Athletes
Photo: tagroom.com
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
MOST POPULAR
Great Bodyweight Exercises for the Road
You occasionally find yourself wanting to lift or train with little or no exercise equipment available. Learning to leverage your body to increase strength involves a blend of creativity, determination and effort.
Here are several exercises and training methods you can use to maintain your strength and power while on the road. These exercises are suitable primarily for intermediate and advanced athletes.
Progressive or Regressive Principles
How can I increase the difficulty of these exercises?
- Add more weight to force the body to overcome the resistance.
- Increase stability demands. Work a single arm or a single leg, reducing points of contact.
- Increase external tension through band resistance.
How can I decrease the difficulty of these exercises?
- Reduce the weight
- Decrease the instability demands. Use wider positioning with two arms or two legs.
- Decrease external tension.
Possible tools
- TRX Suspension Straps
- Resistance Bands
- Full backpacks of gear or any other weights
Upper-Body Bodyweight Exercises
- Handstand Push-Ups – 3×10
- Reactive Plyometric Push-Ups – 3×6
- One-Arm One-Leg Push-Ups – 3×2/side
- TRX Inverted Rows – 3×10
Lower-Body Bodyweight Exercises
- Pistol Squat – 3×5/side (bodyweight), or 3×3 (weighted)
- Bodyweight Squats – 3×15 (bodyweight), or 3×8-10 (weighted)
- Elevated Leg Hip Thrust – 3×10
Core Exercises
- Prone Plank with Shoulder Touch – 3×8/side
- Side Plank + Band – 3×20 seconds/side
- Turkish Get-Up – 3×3/side (bodyweight), 3×2/side (weighted vest)
Bodyweight Exercise Selection
Choose two exercises from each group and work them feverishly. Mastering bodyweight strength is a skill rewarded when movements are grooved over time, as opposed to the immediate rewards gained with external weights.
Once you gain proficiency with your chosen exercises, switch the exercises each month.
Sample Total Bodyweight Workout
Days 1 + 3
To be performed after technical skills or conditioning days.
A1. Reactive Plyometric Push-Ups – 3×6
A2. Inverted Rows – 3×10
B1. Elevated Hip Thrusts – 3×10
B2. Pistol Squats – 3×3/side
C1. Side Planks + Band – 3×20 seconds/side
C2. Turkish Get-Up – 3×2/side
Follow these simple plans and reap the benefits from increased strength, balance and movement.
Any questions please contact me on Twitter @MiggsyBogues.
Read more:
- Get Stronger: Bodyweight Exercises
- The 8 Best Bodyweight Exercises
- 5 Best Bodyweight Exercises for MMA Athletes
Photo: tagroom.com