Home bodyweight training pack

Today I'm producing a list of exercises you can do at home without any
extra equipment (except for a chinning bar and some chairs- the chairs
are easy and you can easily use a tree, etc. for the chins.). I'm
hoping this will help some of our more beginning guys and give them
some guidance on what kind of thing they should be doing outside the
dojo/gym/kwoon.
If you already have a set of weights, then this is all very well and
cool. Even if you do, if you haven't already, it's well worth it to
have the technique shown to you by an experienced lifter. There are
quite a few good programs knocking around- I suggest you have a read of
this;
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9963

But the last thing you want to do is go out and spend 300 odd quid on
some equipment you don't actually use. You can get a decent workout
with what I'm about to give you, until you're doing quite a few
repetitions.



Chins
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/WtChinup.html
IMO, these are one of the best exercises you can do at home. Despite
being a bodyweight exercise, I can say from personal experience that
they DEFINETLY improve your functional strength. This targets the trapezius muscles, the biceps and a few other muscles in your forearms and upper back. You can use different variations of the exercise to target either the upper back (wide grip) or the biceps (narrow grip, usually supine, i.e. palms facing towards you) more. When I say 'wide', I mean 'about 3 handwidths further apart from normal'. When I say 'narrow', I mean 'a bit narrower than normal'. Much wider or narrower than that is an invitation to injury.
If you can't do 1 pullup, there are a number of ways to work up to it.
If you have access to an assisted pullup machine, this is probably a
pretty cool way of doing it. Other ways are performing negatives*
(getting on top of a chair, grasping the bar and lowering yourself
through the second half of the motion), and getting a spotter to assist
you.
Take a look at this article for a discussion on good technique;
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2318&highlight=pullup+article.
For Charles Polliquin's excellent guide to the pullup, take a look
here;
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle...D6897EB3AAF44A5E608.ba13?article=body_100back

*P.S. This isn't really the way you use negatives. The recommended way
is;
e.g. say you're trying for 3 sets of 8 and you can only manage 2 sets
of 8 and one set of 5, you would do 3 negatives at the end of the third
set to make up the numbers.



dips
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/WtTriDip.html
Dips are another very cool exercise and a natural complement to the
pullup. These can be performed between two chairs or alternatively with
your hands in front of you on a bar. Using a bar in this way, I find,
greatly reduces the 'small chair, big person' issue. It also, for some
reason, doesn't aggravate a problem i have with small pieces of broken
cartillage in the elbow that I have in the same way. You can also buy a
dip station designed specifically for this exercise. This exercise is a 'pressing' movement and targets the triceps and to a lesser extent various stabilizing muscles in your torso and at the joint If you lean forward while you're performing dips, you can target your chest more,
as here;

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/WtChestDip.html Be careful about how far down you go- going down to where your forearm touches your bicep can cause injury. The recommended variant is to
lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Again,
if you can't do them, there are a number of ways to work up to them.
You can use a lever machine, like this one;
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/LVChestDip.html, an assistance machine like this one;
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/AsChestDip.htmlor support your body with your legs (placed in front of your body, your
arms behind you. This is the exercise many commercial gyms refer to
(wrongly) as a 'triceps dip'. I honestly can't see how you could safely
get a spotter to help you with these. If anyone knows a way, as usual,
feel free...


pistols
http://www.powerathletesmag.com/pages/pistols.htm
These are another excellent bodyweight movement, and the article above
covers pretty much all of the basic technique and some more. If you
don't have access to weights, these could be seen as my substitute for
the squat. I don't know how far this similarity extends, however, so
feel free to contradict, correct and insult my ancestry on this point.
If you're having trouble, you can also support yourself by putting the
opposite hand to the leg you have down on a support (e.g. low wall,
secure post, etc.) These are a compound leg movement, hitting the
glutes and thighs.

Handstand presses
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Name=Handstand+Push-Ups
Another very cool, strength-building bodyweight movement for developing your shoulders and triceps. Could be seen
as a military press with your entire bodyweight.
I have spoken with people who've injured themselves by trying this
movement though. This is probably because this is in fact the most
advanced variant of a progression (see below) which includes much
easier movements. Just doing handstands in themselves will help you to
a certain degree. For a guide to the handstand, see the article I
ripped from another site here;
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19670&highlight=mastering+handstands
I'm currently doing piked handstand pushups- with feet supported at
right angles to my body, torso held vertically. An easier variant is if
you bend your legs and/or move your hands further forward. The
handstand pushup itself is a real monster of an exercise.



putting it all together
Now we've run through technique and a few issues with the exercise,
it's time to think about putting it all together into a routine.
My personal preference is for a full-body routine performed three times
a week, all sets done to a bit less than failure. I'm assuming, of course, that you're familiar with warming up, stretching and cooling down techniques that you've probably already done where you train.
The basic routine I'm suggesting looks like this;
10 mins appr. warmup(I use a few joint rotations and 3 rounds of 3 minutes shadowboxing- you could use skipping or simply running on the spot)
3 sets chins to near failure
3 sets dips to near failure
3 sets pistols to near failure
3 sets handstand presses to near failure
cool down
stretch.
However, this will
quickly become boring. Also, varying your protocols every so often will
actually make the program more effective. A couple of routines I've
tried and like are;
1.Pyramidding. Start with 1 repetition of an exercise, wait 20-30
seconds, do 2 reps, wait, do 3 reps, etc. etc. It's important to keep
the rest periods the same.
2.Tabata. Not recommended for handstand pushups or pistols! do 20
seconds of 'work' on a movement, then 10 seconds rest. Repeat 6-8
times. Gets hard quickly. A good tabata routine is posted
here;http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12126&highlight=tabata
. For an explanation of all the exercises involved, see
http://www.trainforstrength.com




progressions
A progression is where you start with an easy exercise and progress through a number of harder variants in order to master a much harder movement. For a good progression that I'm currently using, see here;

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/

 

How good is this?
I was chatting with my brother yesterday about hometraining and bodyweight exercises and here you go and post this.
Thanks Knightie I'll buy you beer next time we meet.

 

Excellent post! I don't have the space for any weights or equipment and no gym nearby so I'm always doing bodyweight exercises and this has given me some new ideas, thanks

 

own-weight exercises

agreed... very good info. thanks for sharing it with us.

i bought a chinup bar and a dip bar about a year ago off the internet. they both fit in a standard (for the US, that is) 30-inch doorway, all you have to do is drive in about 6 finishing nails. i agree with you, pullups are great exercise and they definitely seem to have improved my strength.

 

Anyone know of any doorway dip bars I can get in the UK? I've been looking for a good substitute for ages and just can't find one.

Nice stuff by the way KE, all the best exercises I would have listed.

 

them pistols are hard!

 

How should I work up to full pistols, hindu squats or holding onto something and doing a pistol with assistance?

 

Excellent post!

Just what I need to get me going.

Thanks.

 

Me too, I need to start a bit of bodyweight stuff.

Thanks KE

 

I still beleive weight training is more effective. That said i still use dips, and pull ups.

I know that squats increase testosterone, which in tern increases your overall size. Maybe these 1 leg squats do the same?

 

How do squats increase testosterone?

 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler2.htm

They use almost the entire muscular system under a high load, and therefore stimulate the greatest hormonal increases.

 

Great post KE, really good.

 

So anyone know how effective those pistols are? I can't squat cuz my back is all messed up, but I still need a leg exercise and those are something I can do. I wanna dodge those stupid leg extensions if possible.

 

what about a squat machine?

 

What about hip belt squats? Ironmind make all sorts of very good strength building toys.

www.ironmind.com

 

STAY AWAY! Watch someone squat, and watch the path that the barbell follows. It is not the same as the straight line of the smith machine. Avoid at all costs.

Pistols could definitely be beneficial to you, give them a try. Use this if you can't do full ones off the bat:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler2.htm



Those hip belts look amazing! Obviously it means less weight but heck, who cares! I want one!

 

Oops, I mean leg press not smith machine.

 

You could do, but leg presses are nothing compared to the mighty squat!

 

Fantastic!!! I just killed a couple of trees printing all of this information, but it's worth it!