Bodyweight Workouts

I had an earlier post about prison fitness. That video focused on prisoners doing Olympic style powerlifting moves such as deadlifts, bench presses and squats. The prisoners were using basic equipment. Most prisoners can get even more ripped using only bodyweight exercises or moves.

In some ways bodyweight moves are superior to free weights. Compare the bench press and the pushup. The obvious benefit to the bench press is that it adds alot of weight to overload your muscles and increase not only muscle strength but size as well. The drawback to the bench is that it is not practical. How many times do you lie on your back and push something straight off your chest? Probably not often. Usually we are pushing things from a standing, kneeling, or sitting position but rarely lying down on a bench. We do however often push ourselves up off the ground, similarly to a push up.

But bodyweight exercises are not limited to simple squats, push ups and pull ups. I found this video online called the '44 Best Bodyweight Exercises Ever'. The guy doing all the exercises is named Tee Major and you can find out more about him at http://teemajor.com/. Watch the video and incorporate one or two of the moves in your current workout. See if you can do a clapping pull up.