As you may know, I’m a huge fan of Body Weight Training! I know that I said that before, and I’m sure that I’ll say it again. Here are 3 incredible benefits of bodyweight training.
#1: Affordability
Bodyweight training is extremely affordable! Why? You always carry everything you need for every workout. There’s no need to invest in a home gym. You won’t need any weights or fancy equipment. All you need…is you!
#2: Accessibility
You can workout any time and anywhere! You can perform bodyweight exercises at your desk, in your living room, in a hotel room or in your back yard. Instead of waiting for the gym to open, you can work out first thing in the morning!
#3: Adaptability
When you’re performing bodyweight exercises, you’re not stuck. You don’t have to do a particular exercise a certain way. There are tons of options for nearly every type of bodyweight exercises. Take jumping jacks, for instance. If you have mobility issues or prefer low-impact exercises, you can do one-legged jumping jacks. On the other hand, if you want to up the intensity, you can alternate jumping jacks with stars jumps.
Summing it all up…
There are far more than three benefits of bodyweight training. However, I wanted to showcase the three benefits that are most applicable for getting fit at home.
Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!
This is the fourth video is a five-part series. However, it is the third Tabata style workout that features two Gliding Disk exercises: mountain climbers and up/down planks
One round of Tabata is actually four minutes long By adding a short warm-up and a quick cool down, we get a six-minute workout that will jumpstart your metabolism…especially if you do this workout first thing in the morning.
This is a tough workout, folks! But it’s totally worth it.
Featured Exercises
Mountain Climbers
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend your knees and slide them toward your chest and back one at a time
Options:
Slide knees to the center toward the chest one at a time*
Slide R knee to L elbow then L knee to R elbow
Up/Down Plank
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend right arm and left arm to lower into elbow plank
Straighten arms to return to straight arm plank
Options:
Start in elbow plank and transition to straight arm plank
Start in straight arm plank and transition to elbow plank*
Perform a push-up while in straight arm plank, then transition to elbow plank
Next Week…
I’ll feature that last two gliding disk exercises in the last six-minute workout of this series.
This video is actually the third of a five-part series. However, it is my second 6-minute gliding disc workout. It is a Tabata style workout that features 2 Gliding Disk Exercises: knee tucks and slide crunch.
One round of Tabata is four minutes long. By adding a short warm-up and a quick cool down, we get a six-minute workout that will jumpstart your metabolism today…especially if you do the workout first thing in the morning.
Featured Exercises
Knee Tucks
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend both knees simultaneously and slide them toward your chest
Return to starting position
Options:
Slide knees to the center toward the chest*
Alternate knees to right elbow then left after returning to starting position
Slide knees to the right-start, center-start, left-start, center-start, and repeat
Mermaid pose.
Sliding Side Crunch
Sit in a “mermaid” pose with right leg in front
Extend right arm to the floor with a gliding disk under your hand
Slide to the right, maintaining your balance
Return to starting position
Switch to the left side
Next Week
I’ll feature two more gliding disk exercises in another six-minute workout.
This video is actually the second of a five-part series. However, it is my first 6-minute gliding disc workout. It is a Tabata style workout that features 2 Gliding Disk Exercises: Wax On/Wax Off and Gliding Jacks.
One round of Tabata is four minutes long. By adding a short warm-up and a quick cool down, we get a six-minute workout that will jumpstart your metabolism today…especially if you do the workout first thing in the morning.
This is a tough workout, but it’s a quick one.
Featured Exercises
Wax On/Wax Off
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your hands
Transfer weight to left hand and both feet
Draw a circle on the floor with the right hand
Return to starting position
Options:
Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
Alternate arms*
Rest on knees instead of remaining on your feet
Gliding Jacks
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Slide right hand out to the side
Slide right hand back to the starting position
Options:
Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
Alternate legs
Move both legs out and in at the same time*
Next Week
I’ll feature two more gliding disk exercises in another six-minute workout.
In my last video, which was posted AGES ago, I told you about the five things you absolutely must-have in your home gym…which is simply the place where you get fit at home. Today I’m going to talk about 8 gliding disk exercises that you can do at home.
There are two upper body exercises, three lower body exercises, and three core exercises. Even though we’re will target specific body regions, so to speak, you will be able to feel all of these exercises in your core. For that reason, it is very important for you to keep your core engage while you are performing these. In order words, suck in your gut like you’re trying to get your belly button to meet your spine.
This video is actually first in a five-part series, so let’s get to those exercises. The asterisk (*) in the options indicates the option featured in the video.
Upper Body Exercises
Wax On/Wax Off
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your hands
Transfer weight to left hand and both feet
Draw a circle on the floor with the right hand
Return to starting position
Options:
Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
Alternate arms*
Rest on knees instead of remaining on your feet
Plank Push-up
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your hands
Slide right hand out to the side while performing the down phase of a push-up
Slide right hand back to the center while performing the up phase of a push-up
Return to starting position
Options:
Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
Alternate arms*
Rest on knees instead of remaining on your feet
Lower Body Exercises
Gliding Jacks
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Slide right hand out to the side
Slide right hand back to the starting position
Options:
Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
Alternate legs
Move both legs out and in at the same time*
Knee Tucks
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend both knees simultaneously and slide them toward your chest
Return to starting position
Options:
Slide knees to the center toward the chest*
Alternate knees to right elbow then left after returning to starting position
Slide knees to the right-start, center-start, left-start, center-start, and repeat
Mountain Climbers
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend your knees and slide them toward your chest and back one at a time
Options:
Slide knees to the center toward the chest one at a time*
Slide R knee to L elbow then L knee to R elbow
Core Exercises
Up/Down Plank
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Bend right arm and left arm to lower into elbow plank
Straighten arms to return to straight arm plank
Options:
Start in elbow plank and transition to straight arm plank
Start in straight arm plank and transition to elbow plank*
Perform a push-up while in straight arm plank, then transition to elbow plank
Inchworm
Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
Keep gliding disks under your feet
Keep your legs straight and slide your feet as close to your hands as possible
Walk your hands out to the starting position
Repeat
Options:
Slide legs forward and slide legs back
Walk hands toward feet and slide legs back
Slide legs forward and walk hands out*
Sliding Side Crunch
Sit in a “mermaid” pose with right leg in front
Extend right arm to the floor with a gliding disk under your hand
Slide to the right, maintaining your balance
Return to starting position
Switch to the left side
The Next Steps
In the coming weeks, I will post four different Tabata style workouts based on these exercises.
Every personal trainer has a specialty, a niche, an area of fitness that is near and dear to their hearts. It’s not that they have no regard for other specialties or think they have no value. It’s just that something about that specialty area stood out to them pretty early in their career.
Some are really into Crossfit. Others have a passion for functional fitness. This week, I’m weighing in on my specialty area: bodyweight training.
What is Bodyweight Training?
In the event that you’re unfamiliar with this area, bodyweight training is precisely what it sounds like. It is a form of strength training where you use your bodyweight to tone, strengthen, and condition your muscles rather than free weights or machines.
Before I give you the reasons why weight training is amazing, in my opinion, I want to give a little bit of a backstory.
As I’ve mentioned before, I gave up my gym membership nearly two decades ago. Although my main reason for letting my gym membership code was due to the fact that I wasted tons of money by only going once a month every other month or so, I also gave it up because I simply didn’t feel comfortable. I felt as if people are ogling me or sizing me up. I’m sure that probably wasn’t the case, but it certainly felt that way.
Discovering Bodyweight Training
I really wanted to exercise in the comfort of my own home, but I didn’t have the equipment. Somewhere along the way, I’d bought into the notion that you had to lift weights or exercise on cardio machines to get fit, but I was wrong.
When I finally released the gym membership, I bought some of the equipment that I used at the gym – minus the machines, of course. I had a mat, a stability ball, and several sets of dumbbells. I thought that I would use that equipment to help me stay in shape. However, since I use them about as much as I used my gym membership, I proved to be wrong once again.
Somewhere along the way, I rediscovered bodyweight training. I remembered the exercises my sports teams did when I was a high school athlete. We did very little weightlifting, but we were amazingly fit. In fact, my junior year of high school was the time that I remember being my most fit and most flexible, and I don’t recall spending any time in the weight room.
As I prepared to weigh in on this topic, it occurred to me that there are four main reasons I’m sold on bodyweight training.
1. There’s No Need for Any Equipment Whatsoever
The main reason I’m sold on bodyweight training is the fact that you don’t need any equipment to workout or get fit. Of course, you can use things like gliding discs, resistance bands, or figure 8 tubing to enhance your workout, but you don’t actually NEED those items. You can learn how to use your own bodyweight to get amazing results, and I’m excited to show you how.
2. You’re Able to Workout Any Time, Anywhere
One major flaw that both weights and exercise machines have in common is the fact that you simply can’t take them with you. BUT your body goes everywhere that you go, so no one can say that they don’t have the right equipment to workout. As long as you have yourself, you have everything that you need.
I will readily admit that weight lifting is effective, but nobody does bench press type moves during the course of a day. However, we do a little squat every time we sit. Whenever we stand from a sitting position, we do what resembles a sit up. Bodyweight exercises are more practical because you can mimic activities are you do you do during the course of a day.
Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!
Welcome to the first video blog for Get Fit with Charity! I’m Charity, and before I get too far ahead, I want to sincerely thank you for joining me on this fitness journey! As you probably know, my goal is to show you how to get fit in the comfort of your home without using a lot of equipment. In the future, video blogs will consist of me either showing you bodyweight exercises or leading you through Tabata workouts. Today’s vlog, will be more informative as I talk about five things you simply must have for your home gym.
You can see that I’m sitting in my “home gym”, which doubles as my living room. Your “home gym” doesn’t have to be your living room. It can be your basement, your den, your guest bedroom, your garage, or any other space in your home that is large enough for you to workout and do jumping jacks, lunges, squats and a variety of other bodyweight exercises.
As we’re getting ready to start working out together…in our respective homes, of course…there are five items you simply must have either for the sake of comfort or in order to add resistance or help intensify your workout.
Yoga Mat
The first item that you’ll need is a yoga mat. This will serve as a cushion if you’re on a hard surface, and it will protect you from rug burns if you’re working out on a carpeted surface.
Water Bottle
Second, you’ll want a water bottle. Although most of our workouts will be about six-minutes, there will be times when you break a sweat. It’ll be a good idea for you to have a water bottle handy, so you can stay hydrated.
Towel
This third item will be really useful if you do sweating; it’s a towel. You don’t need anything large, but you may want something to make sure you not dripping on your mat or the floor.
Figure 8 Tubing
The fourth thing you’ll need is a little piece of equipment that provides an awesome alternative to weight. It’s called Figure 8 tubing, and it can be used to add resistance to both upper body and lower body exercises.
Gliding Disks/Core Sliders
The fifth and final item that you’ll need is easily my most favorite piece of equipment because of its versatility. These gliding disks can be used for upper body, lower body, and core exercises. In fact, the majority of the exercises that you do with gliding disks will require you to engage your core. You can purchase gliding disks to use on hard surfaces or carpeted surfaces. I would actually recommend double-sided gliding disks, like these because you can use flip them over depending on what surface you’ll be using. If you have a slab in your basement but decide to work out in your carpeted den one day, you’re totally set.
Where Can You Find The Stuff?
I didn’t want you scouring the internet trying to find all of these things, so I’ve added some items from Amazon to help you stock up your home gym ASAP.
The Next Steps
Stay tuned for some new workout videos on YouTube. I will show you some of my favorite bodyweight exercises using both the Figure 8 Tubing and the gliding disks. Then I’ll take you through a couple of Tabata workouts geared specifically to each item.
