I have said it before but it’s important enough that I will
say it again; you do not need to go to a gym in order to have a quick effective
workout. All it takes is for you to do 15-20 minutes of exercising a day and
you could be in good shape, more relaxed, sleep better, have a better mood or
just maintain the shape and definition you have whilst you still cannot make it
to the gym. The important thing is being active, so I want to share a story of
how I managed to stay in shape using bodyweight exercises even before I started lifting weights, why and
how I got into working out.
I was bitten by the fitness bug pretty early on in my life
and I say this because I’m still pretty young now, so at about 10 years old I
was already into working out and being strong fast. Since I was a kid this was
mainly inspired by watching action movies, and wrestling, and I went to a
school that made it compulsory for all the guy students to do all the sports
that were offered at the school since I went to a very small school without
many students.
and I say this because I’m still pretty young now, so at about 10 years old I
was already into working out and being strong fast. Since I was a kid this was
mainly inspired by watching action movies, and wrestling, and I went to a
school that made it compulsory for all the guy students to do all the sports
that were offered at the school since I went to a very small school without
many students.
 |
| image by chrisroll/freedigitalphotos you don’t need weights to get into great shape |
We would all train after school (when it was athletics
season or training for a school sports team) doing training exercises with a
medicine ball, running multiple times around a 400m school ground and doing
other bodyweight exercises. It’s safe to say I was a pretty fit kid. First
thing I would do in the morning when I got to school is play soccer with my
classmates who were all my friends, before school even started we were already
all sweaty and our school uniform especially our white shirts were already
stained from all the tackles.
season or training for a school sports team) doing training exercises with a
medicine ball, running multiple times around a 400m school ground and doing
other bodyweight exercises. It’s safe to say I was a pretty fit kid. First
thing I would do in the morning when I got to school is play soccer with my
classmates who were all my friends, before school even started we were already
all sweaty and our school uniform especially our white shirts were already
stained from all the tackles.
We had 2 breaks and during each break we would play soccer
again and again, sometimes we would play cricket but most of the guys preferred
soccer. After school when I went home the activity would not stop, I would join
my neighbourhood friends and we would cycle around our little town for hours,
or go bird hunting or fishing along the river.
again and again, sometimes we would play cricket but most of the guys preferred
soccer. After school when I went home the activity would not stop, I would join
my neighbourhood friends and we would cycle around our little town for hours,
or go bird hunting or fishing along the river.
Going back to the training at school, I played soccer,
cricket, and I used to run the 100m and 200m and was part of the relay team. We
would have internal athletics events first, and then we would face other
schools in our region, I remember for a couple of years we were the junior
cricket champions and that was because one of our teachers/Coach was very
strict, and we trained all the time. We would sometimes play high school teams
even though we were only in primary school. And it’s not as if sports were the
only thing I was doing, I was an A student and was part of the school choir and
did all sorts of things. At one point I was doing ballroom dancing for some
school show and I was reciting poetry and even acting at the school end of the
year show.
cricket, and I used to run the 100m and 200m and was part of the relay team. We
would have internal athletics events first, and then we would face other
schools in our region, I remember for a couple of years we were the junior
cricket champions and that was because one of our teachers/Coach was very
strict, and we trained all the time. We would sometimes play high school teams
even though we were only in primary school. And it’s not as if sports were the
only thing I was doing, I was an A student and was part of the school choir and
did all sorts of things. At one point I was doing ballroom dancing for some
school show and I was reciting poetry and even acting at the school end of the
year show.
At the time my cousin who was 2 years older than me lived
with us, and most of my friends at home were older than me, so we played rough
and would have these wrestling and fighting contests. We would train doing push
ups and sit ups, competing with each other to see who could do the most.
with us, and most of my friends at home were older than me, so we played rough
and would have these wrestling and fighting contests. We would train doing push
ups and sit ups, competing with each other to see who could do the most.
As I went to high school I lost interest in sports and I was
not as active and my cousin moved away, but I still liked doing bodyweightexercises to keep in shape. In high school we would arm wrestle to see who was
the strongest and every so often the guys would compare biceps and abs. Other guys
started working out but I did not join the gym till university. I was happy
cycling and doing bodyweight exercises, and I was fine with that for a long
time, I thought I was fit and lean and did not realise I was skinny because
most of the guys at school were small guys and the guys who were not small were
just fat. So to me small was normal.
not as active and my cousin moved away, but I still liked doing bodyweightexercises to keep in shape. In high school we would arm wrestle to see who was
the strongest and every so often the guys would compare biceps and abs. Other guys
started working out but I did not join the gym till university. I was happy
cycling and doing bodyweight exercises, and I was fine with that for a long
time, I thought I was fit and lean and did not realise I was skinny because
most of the guys at school were small guys and the guys who were not small were
just fat. So to me small was normal.
And now even though I started working out because I felt I
was skinny, and I felt that being bigger and more macho looking would help with
the ladies, I realise that for some guys just being fit is enough, some people
do not care about being macho looking and many guys do not use the way they
look to get girls but rather a combination of lies and charm mostly. If you want
to be fit and have a decent looking body just doing simple things like working
out when you are watching TV or doing pull ups at the park can go a long way.
was skinny, and I felt that being bigger and more macho looking would help with
the ladies, I realise that for some guys just being fit is enough, some people
do not care about being macho looking and many guys do not use the way they
look to get girls but rather a combination of lies and charm mostly. If you want
to be fit and have a decent looking body just doing simple things like working
out when you are watching TV or doing pull ups at the park can go a long way.
Kellan Lutz attributes a lot of his fitness to just being
active and doing the occasional weightless workout during an ad break when he
is watching TV. Mike Tyson did mostly bodyweight training when he was at his
prime and he had a great heavy weight champion physique, there are a lot of
celebrities and fit people out there who got great bodies just by doing
weightless exercises or a combination of weights and bodyweight exercises.
active and doing the occasional weightless workout during an ad break when he
is watching TV. Mike Tyson did mostly bodyweight training when he was at his
prime and he had a great heavy weight champion physique, there are a lot of
celebrities and fit people out there who got great bodies just by doing
weightless exercises or a combination of weights and bodyweight exercises.
Whether you are doing bodyweight exercises to maintain your
physique or to be generally fit there are things like intensity and the number
of reps that will determine the success of your routine, more importantly if
you eat crap even weights will not help you to build an awesome physique.
physique or to be generally fit there are things like intensity and the number
of reps that will determine the success of your routine, more importantly if
you eat crap even weights will not help you to build an awesome physique.
If you are looking to look like Phil heath than unfortunately
bodyweight exercises will not get you there, but you could probably attain a
lean muscular Ryan Kwanten like body using the right bodyweight exercises at
the right difficulty level, a good diet, with a bit of cardio. The key is being
active, and it could take as little as dedicating 15 minutes each day to
multiple or even one bodyweight exercise per day to get to a physique you are satisfied
with.
bodyweight exercises will not get you there, but you could probably attain a
lean muscular Ryan Kwanten like body using the right bodyweight exercises at
the right difficulty level, a good diet, with a bit of cardio. The key is being
active, and it could take as little as dedicating 15 minutes each day to
multiple or even one bodyweight exercise per day to get to a physique you are satisfied
with.
