You don’t need big clanky weights to gain strength.
Hard to believe? So-called body-weight exercises–push-ups, pull-ups and others that require you to move the weight of your body against the pull of gravity–will suffice, many say.
“There is nothing magical about a barbell,” says Todd Miller of the department of exercise sciences at George Washington University. “If you do three sets of push-ups to failure, that’s the same [effect on your muscles] as doing three sets of a weight to failure,” provided the weight targets the same muscles.
This also applies to pull-ups, squats, sit-ups, chair dips and other body-weight moves.
But there’s a catch: The more fit you are, the less benefit you gain.
“If you can only do one push-up, that’s a very intense exercise for you” and it will help build strength, Miller says. But once you can peel off more than about 15 reps without tiring, you’re no longer increasing strength, just endurance.
Miller says to continue gaining strength you can add resistance (placing a weight on your back with a push-up or holding milk jugs when you squat). Or you can shift muscle focus by adjusting body position. With push-ups, a narrower hand position will recruit more of the triceps; a wider hand position will focus more on the chest.
Use your body to work your body
Your body-weight exercise starter kit includes two things: (1) you and (2) the following pointers.
Push-ups: Work your chest, shoulders, triceps and upper back.
– Hands approximately shoulder-width apart.
– Back, hips and legs in straight line (no back-sagging, camel-humping or butt-jutting).
– Lower yourself to 3 to 5 inches off ground.
– Don’t brace feet against the wall (unless your can’t do push-ups without this aid).
– If you can’t do even one, start from your knees.
– Take two seconds pushing up, five seconds as you let yourself down. Hold the bottom position for two seconds.
Squats: Work your glutes, quads and hamstrings.
– Feet shoulder-width apart.
– Heels flat throughout exercise.
– For balance, lift arms out in front.
– “Reach” back with your butt, as if attempting to sit on a chair. Put a chair behind you if that helps.
– Don’t let your knees pass beyond the plane of your toes.
– Go down no farther than the point where thighs are parallel to floor. Or just go down as far as you can comfortably and increase depth as you progress.
