Body-weight training is an essential first step, both for those who are just starting to exercise and for those who are returning to doing workouts after a period of inactivity. Put simply, body-weight training helps you learn to handle your own weight, movements, and coordination at a fundamental level. In learning how to move through space efficiently, you are practicing optimal posture and developing stability. The weaker parts of your body also get strengthened, which helps in doing more complex workouts later on.
If you’re just beginning body-weight workouts, here are some things you need to know:
Focus on Full-Body Workouts
Isolation exercises are great for targeting specific muscles, but when you’re just starting out, it’s more important to train your whole body in one workout. This way, you’ll be training all your muscles at a safe pace and giving your physique time to adapt to the load in the most natural way possible. In doing so, you’re not only building a stable foundation that can help your body prepare for more difficult and intense workouts in the future, but you’re also protecting your joints from too much strain that may cause serious health problems and injuries.
Don’t Skip the Warm-Up!
Warming up properly before any workout is a must. This is done not only to loosen the muscles and prepare the body for the upcoming exercise load but also to help you avoid any injuries. While now there are products available like elastic sports tapes that could take the pain of sore muscles away, not warming up correctly before a workout may cause more problems in the long run.
Avoid Jumping from One Workout to Another
When you’re just starting out at the gym, it might be tempting to try one workout after another. Everything just seems so interesting at the beginning. But always remember that there are no shortcuts, and when something seems too good to be true, then it probably isn’t.
When you find a full-body workout that just works for you, continue doing it for at least a month. That way, you’ll get to see some results that may motivate you further as well as make you notice some areas that need improvement. If you jump from one workout to another workout in a short span of time, your body won’t be so quick to adapt and won’t build strength and muscle as efficiently.
Keep Track of Your Progress
Take note of your workouts and the different exercises you go through each time, either on a workout notebook or on your phone or laptop. This will not only make it easier for you to keep track of all the repetitions and sets you’ve done previously, but it will also help you track your progress on all of those exercises. You’ll be able to see what you did well last time and what you need to improve on in future training sessions.
Eat Healthy and Stay Hydrated!
All the exercise in the world would be useless without a healthy diet, especially if one of your goals is to develop six-pack abs. In training your body weight, it’s important to exclude unhealthy food options in your diet such as processed sugar, high-calorie beverages, and bad fats. Try to increase your intake of vegetables, meat (for protein), fish, eggs, milk (unless you’re lactose-intolerant), nuts, and whole grains. You can also try some detox programs to cleanse and rejuvenate your body. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water at intervals. Be wary of energy drinks as a lot of them are sugar packed.
Get Adequate Sleep
There’s a reason why you’ve always been told to sleep at least seven to eight hours a day. The time when your body goes into full-on rest is when your body works on recovering itself, releasing high amounts of testosterone and growth hormones, which are essential for building muscles. So don’t skimp on sleep just because you’re too excited over your workouts.
As you start your body-weight training, keep in mind that you’re just beginning to do so and that there will be exercises that you may find difficult or are unable to do. It’s perfectly normal at this stage, so be patient yet consistent. It’s all about learning and mastering the correct form—quality over quantity.
