What is Body Weight Training?

Well unsurprisingly, it’s about using your own body weight for training - more specifically for strength training.

With body weight training, you can get very strong without adding bulk. And once you have mastered them, you can use them to build additional strength as a foundation for other exercise. They are also the bridge to perfecting primal or Natural Movement

The basic moves

So which moves do we mean when we talk about body weight training? The basic movements are:

·        SQUAT

·        LUNGE

·        PULL UP

·        PLANK

·        BRIDGE

These can all be done without any special equipment, so you can do them anywhere and anytime. Once you have mastered the basics, you can work on variations and progressions. If you like, you can also add in some extra gear like a step, box, a TRX or a pull up bar.

How to get started?

There are various ways to incorporate body weight training in to your movement routine, depending on your strength objective:

ENDURANCE: Long sets (light weight for example: incline push up, shoulders higher than feet, 25+ repetitions)

TONING: Medium sets (heavy weight normal push up or feet higher than shoulders, 8-12 repetitions)

POWER: Speed sets (plyometrics (jumps), 3-8 repetitions)

Technique is always the priority

Push yourself, but always keep a few repetitions in the tank! Make sure you don’t compromise on your technique - remember consistency is always more important than intensity.