Summer is here and so is our fitness regime to get back in shape. It is time to shed all the weight that we put on in winter and give up on the extra calories. Summer is the time to flaunt our curves in bikini tops and summer dresses. Fitness not only means getting slim, but it also involves building muscles and gaining strength in the body.
Is it possible to build muscle with bodyweight exercises only? Fitness coach, Mukul Nagpaul says the answer is yes as our body follows the principle of overload to gain muscle and that can be done without weights as well cause our body doesn’t know if we are lifting 10 kgs or 15 kgs, it just responds to the load.
Following are the bodyweight exercises that will help you to build muscle but one of the main things about doing these exercises is to get your form right so that you are hitting the right muscle and not causing any unwanted damage to the joints. Hence, it is always advisable to start off with the easiest way to do push ups on the wall (wall push up) or using some support like a box (incline push up) in front of your body and then progress to knee push ups, then to normal push ups and so on. Similarly for each exercise so that you are constantly increasing the load for the body to respond.
These exercises can be done any day and anytime but the best way to get the maximum out of push up is to do them on alternate days and according to the goals set for each person. Muscle gain can do them for 8-12 reps for 2-3 sets in the most challenging way.
1. Push ups
There are so many fun ways of doing Push ups that it’s so hard to get bored of them. The most common and safe way to do push ups is to start in a plank position, palms flat on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart, your feet should be together and your legs straight. Push your body upwards and straighten your arms and then lower your body returning to the starting position.
Wall push up or Incline Push up
Knee push up
Normal Push up
Decline Push up
Diamond Push up
Handstand Push up
Single arm Push up
Plyometric Push up
Planks to Push up
Superman Push up
2. Squats
The best way to start with squats is to use a chair and stand straight with your legs shoulder width apart and your arms behind your neck, sit on the chair then push through your heels to stand up again, gradually with the control you can remove the chair and do more challenging variations to build muscles.
Prisoner Squats
Sumo Squats
Narrow Squats
Single leg Squats
Frog Squats
3. Chin Ups
What looks better than a ripped and muscular back and chin-ups is one exercise that will help you achieve it plus it will work on your biceps as well. With chin ups only a few will have the strength to do the normal ones straight away so it’s better to have a partner or a resistance band which will support you initially till you build up the strength to lift your own body weight to do so. You can try various progressions like:
Pull ups
Single arm chin ups
Single arm pull ups
4. Triceps dips
Triceps dips is a great exercise to build your triceps. On a desk it is the easiest way to start – Stand close to the chair facing against it then put your palms on the chair and drop
your body as low as you can and then push your body up. With more experience and Strength you can increase the difficulty by taking your legs far from the
body and can even rest them on a bench.
5. Lunges
Lunges is a great exercise to build muscle in your lower body along with Squats. For lunges, you can start by standing up tall and then step forward with one foot until your leg
reaches a 90-degree angle. Your rear knee should remain parallel to the ground and your front knee shouldn’t go beyond your toes.
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