Bodyweight Drills for Muscular Development

Carlton Shedrick

October 16, 2006 10:52 AM

You don't have to beat yourself up about not going to a gym or not wanting to lift weights. Some people are unmotivated by lifting weights and that's fine, so here is a worthy alternative. First, one thing that is not fine is being weak and unfit; therefore, I will give you a list of bodyweight drills that will help transform your pathetic physic to a fit physical specimen, all with just your bodyweight. It may sound corny but the fact of the matter is you might be doing to many fluff exercises like lat. pull-downs or knee extensions, and not enough hard muscle developing drills like pull-ups or one legged squats. When I say to bodybuilders that one legged squat are great for developing overall quadriceps shape, among other benefits, they don't believe me until they try them.

Don't get me wrong I am an iron head through and through; but why do some people start by lifting weights when they can't even do simple body weight drills? And once you have mastered simple bodyweight drills move on to a more challenging variation. Then you will at least have a good foundation for weight training. Remember weightlifting picks up where bodyweight drills or calisthenics leave off.

So, for those of you who are not interested in weight training or simply want to exercise at home without making a major purchase, then give bodyweight drills a go. Now without further adieu, let's get to the exercises.

There is a short list of bodyweight exercises that will give you great results with both muscle development and conditioning. The basic exercises are:

1. Bodyweight squats
2. Mini-bridge, held for 6-8 slow breaths
3. Breathing crunch
4. Push-ups
5. Shrug-ups, no arm movement only scapula raise and lowers, pull-up or pull-up negatives, no more then eight in one workout

 
These five drills are the foundation of more advanced variations. My suggestion is to do the bodyweight squats by them self or alternate with some form of spinal rotation such as windmills. Then alternate the mini-bridge and breathing crunch. Follow by alternating the push-ups and shrug-ups. You may want to add in one-legged standing calfs raises with bodyweight and some simple forearm flexing exercises to better round out overall muscular development.

Initially you could take one-minute rest between each exercise but strive for no more then 30 seconds. A better way instead of counting seconds for rest is to count your breaths. Walk around taking 10-20 slow deep breaths between each exercise. I will not get into it here but deep breathing has made many weak men strong; anyhow, it will do wonders with your recovery between exercises. You do not need to rest many days between workouts. One good approach is to simply alternate days of rest and training?train 3-4 times a week.

Once you can do the basic exercises, the next step would be to perform the following.

1. One-legged squats on a crate
2. Full bridge, held for at lest 6-8 slow breaths
3. Hanging leg lifts
4. Hand stand push-ups or dips
5. Chin-ups-underhand grip

And of course there are more advanced drills, which follow.

1. One-legged squats
2. Wrestler bridge / headstand leg extensions
3. Hanging leg lifts / janda sit-ups
4. Hand stand push-ups on crates / one arm push-ups / any kind of tiger bend
5. Chin-ups-overhand grip / towel chin ups / one arm chins

You will have exercises that progress faster then others; therefor, you will simply mix in more difficult exercises when needed. To warm up for the more advanced exercises, do a set with an easier exercise then move to the more difficult variation. You don't have to get to the advanced drills before you begin using weights. Most of the time you will be ready for weights once you can properly perform the standard 3 sets of 10 repetitions in each of the exercises, performed with the basic exercises of the first group. One thing I strongly suggest you consider is keeping some of the bodyweight stuff in with your weight training program. They can act as a down set or you can select a drill that works on a particular weakness. For example: Bridging will help improve strength and flexibility in a great range of motion.

I will not go into detail on how to properly execute the drills since there are so many ways to manipulate them. But I will give you this to get started, initially pause at the top and bottom for a one count on all drills and do deep breathing throughout. As for reps and sets a good method is to use the ladder and perform drills with tension techniques. For more on ladder and tension techniques I strongly encourage you to get The Naked Warrior by Pavel.
Another good method is to do circuits. Do one set of all drill with little rest, then take a longer rest after all drills are performed, and then do the whole group again for the desired number of sets. Whatever method you choose, you must be conscious of certain form points.

Technique is what you must master, it is most important. Let me give you a simple technique example for the pushup. When you do the bench press you must pinch your scapula together for the entire time. Otherwise you risk a pectoral muscle pull or loss of strength and force. When I teach this, pinching of the scapula together, to people with the push up, they usually get muscle cramps in their upper back and can't believe how much work their chest received. There are other form points such as pushing or pulling your hands in a particular direction to get more work in other muscle groups. Each bodyweight drill has its particular form points and I encourage you to experiment.

Look I am an iron head- I enjoy lifting heavy weights- and I give you permission to do bodyweight drills if weights are not your thing or if you simply want a change of pace. The drills will make you stronger and muscular as long as you use the tension techniques at all times. The deep breathing and tension techniques are nothing new many of the old physical culture men used them and you should too. You must strive to use better exercise form; along with harder exercises and tension techniques and you will forge a body to truly be proud of.

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Carlton Shedrick lives in Waterbury Vermont. He is a former national and world Powerlifting champion with AAU and WPA/CPA. "My passion is strength training. I enjoy helping people achieve their personal health and strength goals." For personal strength consulting I may be reached at strengthrenaissance@gmail.com

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