Body Weight Training : For Men Who Have No Time For The Gym
March 10, 2010 by Mark Walters
Filed under Exercise
The easiest way I’ve found to stay in shape whilst fulfilling my commitments at home and to my kids is by doing body weight exercises around the house . They don’t bulk you up as quickly as lifting weights, but my philosophy is that if situps, pushups, dips, and pullups are good enough for army commandos, then they’re good enough for me too.
Here’s why you should be doing body weight exercises if you’re a busy dad…
Effectiveness – If you’re wondering how effective body weight exercises are, just ask the police officers, firemen, elite fighters, and special forces commandos who live and die by these exercises. They won’t be the biggest guys you’ve ever seen, but they’ll be among the strongest. And that’s the only thing that matters. If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau, you can add weights, increase the reps, do variations, etc. You can use weighted vests to add more resistance to your situps, pullups, etc.
Efficiency – What could be better than free? Body weight exercises are effective and incredibly economical. Not only are body weight exercises and isometrics financially efficient, they are time efficient. In certain martial arts there is a big emphasis on “economy of movement”, meaning you shouldn’t exert a lot of energy on something if you don’t have to. Focus on the task at hand and get it done with the least amount of effort.
Flexibility – You can do body weight exercises anywhere. Why should we rely on exercise equipment and gyms? It’s much easier to do pushups in the living room or basement than it is to drive to the gym when you have kids.
Speed – Body weight exercises are fast. It is said that an isometric contraction needs to last just 7 seconds for you to benefit from doing it. Isometrics, when done properly, make use of more muscle fibers than more isolated exercises, leading to more strength. If you stay focused, your full workout can be done in under 30 minutes.
Visit http://IronChestWorkouts.com to read more chest workout articles and tips.
