By Jason Ferruggia Many moons ago when people asked me how to build muscle fast I told them that they had to squat, deadlift and bench press. That was before I injured my own shoulder and saw it happen to countless others. It happened again yesterday. My friend and ex training partner called and told [...]
Squat Thrusts are another bodyweight calisthenics exercise that uses a lot of different muscles and blurs the line between strength training and endurance training. I like to do squat thrusts for time instead of reps. Reps and sets are great if you are doing a bodybuilding workout… but for squat thrusts I find racing the [...]
The classic push up is one of the most well known bodyweight exercises. Most exercisers think the push up is only an upper body builder. But the fact is, the push up is a full body exercise. You must keep your core and lower body tight in order to complete the push up. And you [...]
Mountain jumpers (Adam calles them Ones and Twos in the video) are very similar to Mountain Climbers except you use both legs at the same time instead of in an alternating fashion. This is a great example of how an effective bodyweight exercise does not have to be complex. While you might think Mountian Jumpers [...]
One Leg Squats are very challenging and test not only your leg strength… but your balance and coordination as well. I challenge anyonw who thinks bodyweight exercises are “too easy” to give these a try. Plus, you will immediately identify lower body imbalances that you might not normally know exist when doing squats with both [...]
Mountain climbers are a challenging calisthenics exercise. This rhythmic motion exercise will get your heart pumping and your breathing heavy. Mixing Mountain Climbers into your bodyweight workout is going to make the intensit level shoot through the roof. Here is a video of Mountain Climbers: When you are ready to organize your bodyweight exercises into [...]
Jumping jacks are a classic calisthenics exercise. I like to use these in between bodyweight exercises that are more strength related (like pull ups, push ups or squats), to give the body a little rest while still keeping the heart and lungs working. You’ll find that this kind of limited rest workout is great for [...]
Dive Bombers are another bodyweight exercise made famous by the Navy SEALS. The reason… they are great for building full body strength and endurance. While the classic push up is a full body exercise, most people only think of it as an upper body exercise. With the Dive Bomber there is no question that your [...]
Body Weight Lunges are a great example of a bodyweight exercise that makes multiple improvements. For example, you not only build lower body leg strength, but you also improve your balance and coordination as well. I don’t recommend adding any weight to this movement until you first master the bodyweight lunge first. You need to [...]
Alternating lunges are a great example of being able to do bodyweight exercises in an alternating fashion. Just think of it, most of the activities of sport, work and life are not done while strapped into a machine or sitting. Most movements are done by alternating first one arm and then the other, or alternating [...]
In my opinion, there is no better choice than bodyweight calisthenics for an effective at home workout. You don’t need any expensive equipment, you need only a limited amount of space and you can fit in a quick but highly effective workout around your busy schedule. But keep in mind… learning a bunch of bodyweight [...]
