We all are familiar with dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and the like, but what happened to body weight workouts? Get back in shape with 3 easy ten-minute Body Weight Workouts.

Today there are proportionally more personal trainers and gyms than actual healthy, in-shape people. This might sound an exaggeration but today when we think about getting and staying in shape two things immediately come to mind: the extremely restrictive fad diets that people never complete and all the membership subscriptions to gyms that we end up using for a week maximum.

We fail at what should be the easiest thing to do, taking care of our bodies. We fall prey to the complexity and fanciness of the gym machinery that we cannot keep up with on a long term. Therefore, taking care of our bodies almost becomes a stressful job. This is why we should acknowledge the potential of our own body instead of over-relying on machines and weights. Simply put, Body Weight Workouts.

Lots of trainers, athletes, and the general public seem to forget the importance of body weight workouts, but the truth is you can become stronger and fitter just by using your body weight.

Body Weight workouts use basic movements that work directly on your base level of strength which is fundamental to develop other kinds of strengths and increase motor ability altogether. Squats, plank positions, rows, push-ups, pull-ups, and lunges are all basic movements typical of body weight workouts and training. Also, jumping, crawling, climbing and sprinting should be basic movements to be familiar with.

The beauty behind these movements is that a lot of variations come with them. However, that presupposes the mastery of the basics. You cannot perform sumo squats if you do not know what it means to squat properly, for example.

What people commonly do not understand is that to put in a quality workout you do not need to allocate a minimum of an hour of your time. You don’t need a full gym with equipment and weight machines, nor all the fancy cardio equipment. Staying in shape does not necessarily require all of that.

You already have all you need: your body, the comfort of your living room and just 10 minutes of your time. Again, Body Weight Workouts at Home.

The secret behind maximizing the effects of a brief workout is to keep the rest in between exercises short and maintain a moderate to high level of intensity during the execution of the exercises as well as a good form.

Before delving into 3 specific body weight workouts, let’s go over six main exercises that are incorporated in the circuits so that once you are ready to get started you already have an idea of what to expect.

 

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #1 THE SQUAT

Squats target your glutes and leg muscles.

For a correct movement, you should start from a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointed out. As regards the movement, you should think of sitting on a chair, sit your butt back and down. As you move down, keep your heels grounded on the floor and focus on keeping your chest up. To help you with balance reach your arms out in front of you, or if you prefer you can position your hands on your hips. Stand back up and make sure you squeeze your glutes and hamstrings at the top. Don’t forget to keep your core engaged as you perform the squats.

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #2 THE PUSH-UP

Push-ups work the muscles of your arms and chest while improving your core stability.

Start from a plank position with a neutral spine. Your hands and feet should be wider than shoulder-width apart. You should focus on engaging your core in order to keep your torso and legs on a straight line. You should make sure your back does not sink in nor curve up. Now bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. As you push down, keep your gaze at about one inch in front of you so that you do not put pressure on your neck which needs to stay neutral and your head does not bow. Then, press back up and reach the high plank position. Flex your arm and chest muscles. If push-ups are too much of a challenge at the beginning, lower your knees to the ground and perform the same movement.

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #3 THE REVERSE LUNGE

Lunges are the all-time favorite for developing toned glutes, legs, and abs.

Start from a standing position, keep your feet together and your hands on your hips. Take a big step back and lower the knee of the leg on the back towards the floor, stop one inch from the floor. To prevent overstressing your joints, in particular, your knees, make sure your front knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. If your front knee is not aligned with your toes, you should shift your weight back or you should make the step backward larger. To come back up to the initial position, press into the ground, then repeat the lunge on the other side. Each side count as one repetition.

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #4 THE MARCH IN PLACE

The March In Place aims to incorporate a low-intensity cardio into your routine.

If you want to increase the intensity you can jog in place instead. For this exercise, you should start standing with your feet together and hands on your hips. The movement consists of lifting one knee up to hip height, lowering it and then changing side. The exercise should be performed at a steady pace to increase your heart rate and feel the burn.

 

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #5 THE DOUBLE CRUNCH

The double crunch is perfect for a complete abdominal workout as it works on both your upper and lower abdomen.

For this exercise, lie on the floor, bring your hands behind your head. Lift your legs and bend your knees to a tabletop position. Now, crunch your chest towards your knees while you lift your shoulders and hips off the ground. Lower to touch the ground with your elbows and knees. As you execute this movement make sure there is no tension on your neck, your abs should be doing the work.

Body Weight Workouts: Exercise #6 THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER

Mountain Climbers are another effective low-intensity cardio exercise, but it also engages all your core.

From a high plank position with your hands and feet shoulder-width apart as you raise one knee towards your chest you should engage your core to maintain your spine as neutral as possible. Switch side without pausing, focus on your form rather than the speed of execution. Your arms and shoulder should be kept stable throughout the movement, and your core should stay tight.

These six movements combined will make an easy yet great start to your Body Weight Workouts. As you get better, challenge yourself more and introduce new elements, but as beginners, your main focus should be on mastering the form to prevent injuries.

If timed exercises compromise your form stick to 5-10 reps per exercise.
Intermediates should alternate 30 seconds of exercise with 30 seconds of rest.
Advanced, instead, should increase the working time to 45 seconds and reduce the rest to 15 seconds.

With this in mind, we can now explore the at-home 10-minute Body Weight Workout!

#1: LEAN STRENGTH

All exercises should be completed as a circuit. Repeat the circuit twice.
– Squat, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– Push-ups, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– Reverse Lunges, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– Double Crunches, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– Mountain Climbers, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest

#2: HOME HEART-PUMPING CARDIO

All exercises should be completed as a circuit. Repeat the circuit twice.
– March in Place, 60 seconds
– Push-ups, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– Reverse Lunges, 30 seconds / 30 seconds rest
– March in Place,60 seconds

#3: CRAZY 8’S

Set a timer for 10 minutes. The four exercises should be completed as a circuit. Record how many rounds you can complete in 10 minutes. Try to improve the number the next time you perform this workout.
– Double Crunches, 8 reps
– Reverse Lunges, 8 reps
– Squats, 8 reps
– Mountain Climbers, 8 reps