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Are The Bodyweight Exercises You’re Doing Too Easy Or Too Hard?
by Shin Ohtake on Thursday, November 13, 2008 • 6 Comments
Are the bodyweight exercises you’re doing too difficult or too easy? People always seem to be one-sided when it comes to bodyweight exercises. They’re either too easy or too hard. I’ve got some tips and exercise variations for you today on how to fix all that—whether you’re a beginner or an expert.
Push Ups
- Increase difficulty by putting your feet up on a 6” box. The elevation shifts your bodyweight forward, making the push up harder.
- If you really want to step it up and make push ups SUPER hard, use a resistance band by wrapping it around your back and anchoring it with both hands.
- Decrease difficulty by going on your knees.
Pull Ups
- Increase difficulty by touching your chest to the bar
- Even harder, do weighted pull ups by putting a dumbbell between your knees
- Decrease difficultly by using a resistance band. Wrap it around the bar and stick one foot in. The thicker the band, the easier the pull up will be.
- Another easy way is to do jumping pull ups. Jump up to the bar instead of starting at a stand still. Use the jumping momentum to pull yourself up.
Air Squats (Bodyweight Squats)
- Increase difficultly by squatting past 90 degrees brining your thighs parallel to the floor (no, this is not bad for your knees contrary to popular belief).
- If you’re advanced, try one-legged squats and go as low as you can.
- Increase your intensity with squat jumps. Jump up as high as you can, landing in the squat position and repeat.
Try some of these tips out with your next workout and feel the difference. I guarantee you’ll change your view on bodyweight exercises!
About The Author
Shin Ohtake is a widely recognized strength coach and fitness & fat-loss expert. His unconventional, no-nonsense approach to getting fit has made him the go-to source for fitness enthusiasts and trainers alike. Shin is also the author of the world famous, MAX Workouts book, which has transformed and reshaped the bodies of thousands of people across the globe - without requiring hours in the gym. To learn more about how MAX Workouts can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit maxworkouts.com.
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6 Comments
Posted by john on 02/07 at 04:51 PM
just started max workouts today really out of shape but determined to keep going (hope it gets easier real fast)
Posted by Shin Ohtake on 02/07 at 08:00 PM
Awesome to hear that you started the MaxWorkouts!
It takes a little while to get used to the workouts, but hang in there!
You’ll definitely reap the rewards if you stick with it.
Posted by john on 02/09 at 06:10 AM
is it ever a good idea to do your daily workout twice a day morning and evening or is that considered overtraining
Posted by Shin Ohtake on 02/10 at 07:46 PM
Jon,
I wouldn’t recommend you doing the daily workout twice a day, simply because I think if your putting enough intensity into it, one workout it should be enough.
But if you want to do two workouts a day, I would perhaps do the MaxWorkouts in the morning and do a different workout in the evening, perhaps based on more moderate efforts so you don’t expose yourself to overtraining.
Keep in mind though, that recovery is just as important if not more so when your training hard consistently.
Posted by SOPHIEANNALIE on 03/23 at 01:18 PM
I don’t have access to a pull up bar - is there anything else that you would recommend doing instead?
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