PUT YOUR BODY TO WORK- The Complete Bodyweight Workout

Everyone knows exercise plays an important role in our general health, but whether it’s a lack of motivation, the need to travel to the gym, the cost of equipment, or simply know-how, these supposed obstacles often stand in our way.  In reality, all you need is yourself.  Here’s how you can get a full-body workout with nothing but your body.

The Four Core Rules

Before jumping into the types of exercise—cardio, upper body, core, and lower body—and their explanations, here are a few very important fundamental rules to remember:

1. Always remember to breathe.  This seems obvious, but when you’re in the middle of an exercise you may actually forget.  In most cases you’ll exhale when you do the hard concentric work (e.g. the pushing up part of a push up), and inhale on the eccentric part (e.g. when you lower your body for the push up).
2. Form is extremely important.  If you do an exercise wrong, what seems like progress initially will quickly dissipate and possibly result in injury.  Be sure you’re doing the exercises correctly before you begin.  If you know a professional, ask them to help guide you or simply view the detailed videos Fitastic provides.  We will explain proper form and it is your responsibility to ensure you’re doing the exercises properly and not cutting any corners.
3. Take it slowly. While aerobic exercise if often the exception, most other exercises are best performed slowly.  This doesn’t mean you should take long breaks in between each push up, squat, or lunge, but that you shouldn’t perform each as quickly as possible. Going slowly will work and engage the muscle more and make you stronger.
4. Your goal is to fail. The key to a good workout is failure.  That doesn’t mean giving up because you’re frustrated and tired, but rather pushing the limits of your strength until your strength is spent.  Obviously you don’t want to push yourself to the point of injury, but that shouldn’t be a concern so long as you’re exhibiting the proper form.  Don’t worry too much about the number of repetitions of any given exercise, but instead concentrate on working as hard as you can.  A larger number of push ups doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stronger.  Some days you’ll have more energy than others and will perform better. Some days you’ll perform worse.  The key is to do the best you can with all of the energy you have.  If you fail, you succeed!

Here are the components to fulfilling your complete bodyweight workout at home, in the office, or where ever you may travel.  Provided are examples and descriptions pulled directly from your personal workout builder; add these specific exercises into your routine or choose another that is similar via the detailed filters.

CARDIO (Aerobic):

Mountain Climbers

Step Runners

UPPER BODY:

Single Leg Elevated Push Up

Tricep Dips (use end of table or chair)

CORE:

Side Floor Plank

Extended Arm Floor Plank Alt Knee Crunch

LOWER BODY:

Close Stance Bodyweight Squat

Standing Lunge with Rotation

Note: To be clear, some of the bodyweight exercises integrated in the Fitastic Workout Builder will require more than just you.  For example, you might need to borrow a chair in your home or step on a stepstool.  While most of the exercises won’t require any external objects, the ones that do will be things you’ll have access to virtually anywhere.  Technically this means you’ll need more than just your body, but seeing as everything requires gravity and a ground to walk on we believe that utilizing the occasional piece of furniture is a fair caveat.