Click Here For Free Muscle Building Magazine
Bodyweight Strength Training
Not Only Possible, But Recommended!
When most people think about strength they think about "maximum" strength accomplished by heavy weight-lifting... however, bodyweight strength training can "optimize" different types of strength!
Strength, loosely defined, is the level of ability your body has to exert muscular/skeletal force against a resistance.
The resistance can be the weight of your own body, the weight of a foreign object or both.
It is the means by which you accomplish tasks when interacting with your environment, either by moving your own body or moving something else... the stronger you are, the more you can do successfully.
Bodyweight strength training uses the weight of your own body as the means to increase strength.
Being stronger allows you to...
- Do more, stronger... greatly improving performance in a wide variety of sport, work and everyday life activities.
- Reduce the risk of injury... making you better suited for the environment in which you live.
- Be more confident... knowing there is strength behind your capabilities.
- Look better... lean, hard, defined muscles are often the visible manifestation of strength.
- Successfully complete tasks and overcome challenges... generally improving your quality of life.
The truth is, there are many types of strength... and bodyweight strength training can have an impact on each one.
Let's take a look at three of the big ones... maximal strength, explosive strength and strength endurance.
Bodyweight Strength Training
For Maximal StrengthMaximal Strength is the amount of force that can be generated from one all out effort... regardless of time or bodyweight.
Maximal strength can be displayed through three types of muscle actions...
- Eccentric Strength occurs when the muscle lengthens as it yields to or attempts to overcome a resistance, like when controlling a weight or your body on the way down.
- Static Strength occurs when the muscle contracts against an immovable resistance, or contracts to prevent unwanted movement.
Some opponents of bodyweight strength training say the weight of your own body is not enough to produce substantial gains in maximal strength.
I beg to differ... someone who accomplishes doing 5 push ups through proper bodyweight strength training who previously could not do even 1 has improved maximal strength.
If you still don't believe me, explore the world of one-arm push ups and one-leg squats... then tell me maximal strength is not necessary for bodyweight strength training!
Bodyweight Strength Training
For Explosive StrengthExplosive Strength is strength per unit of time, and is also known as speed strength.
There are two types of explosive strength...
Acceleration Strength is how long you can keep the maximum number of muscle fibers recruited after Starting Strength.Once the initial movement begins, the rate of force development is the acceleration... It is what will get the load moving very quickly.
Bodyweight strength training that includes jumping movements, or exercises such as plyometric push ups, and trained according to a comprehensive plan, can greatly improve explosive strength.
Bodyweight Strength Training
For Strength EnduranceStrength Endurance is the ability to be as strong as possible, as long as possible.
Strength endurance is characterized by being able to perform a movement repeatedly for an extended period of time without being overcome by fatigue or sacrificing form.
Bodyweight strength training is normally employed to improve strength endurance using a multitude of bodyweight exercises and calisthenics exercises.
However, cranking out repetition after repetition of a certain exercise can lead to overuse injuries.
Therefore, they should be limited to a certain number of repetitions per set... increasing the number of over-all sets to optimally improve strength endurance safely.
I recommend (Max Reps Per Set) for each exercise to avoid boredom and overuse injuries.
Progression is accomplished by doing more sets or circuits, and/or increasing the difficulty of th exercises performed.
This application of bodyweight strength training allows for the greatest improvement in muscular strength endurance... in the safest manner possible.
Bodyweight Strength Training Optimization
For Versatile StrengthIf you want to use bodyweight strength training to improve every aspect of strength and become FIT FOR ALL OCCASIONS, it must be done in a progressive manner.
As you incrementally improve all aspects of strength through proper bodyweight training, you will experience improved ability to meet the challenges of sport, work and life, you’ll feel better than you have in years and your newfound strength will be exemplified in an athletic body.
As you can see, there are a lot of aspects of strength that need to be trained to optimize performance and instigate positive physical changes... and bodyweight strength training can be used for the improvement of each aspect of strength.
Don't get caught in the habit of only training one type of strength... resulting in specialized strength.
Versatile strength allows you to be stronger, no matter what is asked... allowing you to accomplish more things successfully when interacting with your environment.
Bodyweight strength training that combines bodyweight exercises, calisthenics exercises and intense cardio in a step-by-step, progressive plan will yield the greatest performance, health and physique results... quickly allowing you to meet your goals and often exceed your expectations.In my book "The Muscle Experiment" I talk about how I was able to put on a solid 39lbs of solid muscle in less than 6 months with bodyweight training, and exactly how YOU can do it as well. In case you haven't downloaded The Muscle Experiment, I suggest you download it immediately and start implementing the little known techniques. This alone should put you on the road to massive size and strength.
To your success,
Mike Thiga
Click Here For Free Muscle Building Magazine
