How To Make Your Own Weight Training More Effective

People in good shape know that even if they do not have equipment, they can ensure excellent training. They know how to adjust their level to the exercises with their own weight and how to adapt them when necessary. Here are some rules on how to train more effectively without any additional equipment.

Rule 1: Length increases strength

When you increase the distance between the source of strength (ie the muscle you are loading) and the end of the object you want to lift (in this case - your body), you decrease the so-called mechanical advantage. Simply put, this means that the longer your body is, the weaker you become and the more your muscles need to work.

This is the main difference between modified push-ups and regular ones. When doing push-ups on your toes (rather than leaning on your knees, for example), your torso muscles need to work much harder to keep your body in the air.

How to apply it:  Stretch your arms over your head while doing lunges, squats and sit-ups. Is it getting too hard? Then, place your hands on the back of your head.

Rule 2: Give up inertia

When you lower your body during an exercise (such as squats, for example), the muscles generate the so-called elastic energy. It acts as a spring and allows you to bounce back to the starting position, reducing the work that the muscles are required to do.

How to apply it:  Pause for 4 seconds while in the lowest position. This is the time it takes to release the elastic energy. Without it, the body will have to engage more muscle fibers to move to its starting position.

Rule 3: Increase the distance

Since you can't increase the resistance more than your own weight without extra load (push-ups, dumbbells, barbells, etc.), the only way to work more is to increase the distance your body travels with each repetition.

How to apply it:  In self-weight exercises, such as lunges and push-ups, the range of motion is limited by the floor. The solution? Increase the distance to the floor. Try stepping on something when attacking, or place your hands and feet on something high at the push-ups.

Rule 4: Add twisting

The movements are performed in three geometric planes: sagittal plane (forward-backward and up-down), frontal plane (end to end) and transverse plane (rotation). Most self-weight exercises are performed in the first two. However, we rarely practice in the transverse plane, although our daily lives are filled with movements in it.

How to apply it:  Just rotate your torso left or right for exercises such as lunges, abdominal presses and push-ups. This will put extra strain on the torso muscles.

Rule 5: Get off the floor

The less an object (in this case your body) touches a solid base (floor), the less stable it is. Fortunately, we have a built-in stabilizing system - our muscles. This means that if an exercise is harder to maintain balance, it will be harder to perform and will require the muscles to work harder.