Body Weight Workout Program - Week 5

I’m into week 5 of my “get out of the gym and enjoy the great outdoors” body weight workout program.

For those catching up, several weeks ago I decided that I was bored with my gym rat routine and decided to try a new approach to keeping in shape.  No more fancy machines, no more racks of dumbbells, and no more treadmills or stationary bikes.

So I’ve been focusing on body weight exercises and outdoor endurance activities to keep fit.

I will say that leaving the weights and machines behind took a leap of faith.  After all, we’re taught that to build and maintain muscle, you need to tailor a program to use weights and machines to focus on the individual muscles of the body.  Typical workout plans include performing a series of sets using a specific machine or free weight exercise to force the growth of a particular muscle.  Bicep curls for biceps, bench presses for chest, etc.

And it works.  You can develop a muscular body utilizing this muscle isolation approach.  You can get big biceps, ripped abs, and broad shoulders.  You can marvel at how much your bench press increases as you progress.  And you can look good in those jeans and t-shirts.

But what you aren’t doing is building real world strength.

As I get older, I’m less concerned about building big biceps, washboard abs, or pumped up pecs.  I’m more focused on building strength and endurance that will help with some of the more mundane activities I engage in on a day to day basis.  I want strength and endurance that will help me carry a three year old boy for a mile back to the house after he’s fallen asleep on a beach walk.  I want strength that will help me move that couch up and down the stairs while my wife makes up her mind on where it should go.  And I want the strength and endurance to keep up with my buddies on a basketball court.

The typical gym weight and machine routine isn’t going to help much in those areas because it focuses on working muscles in isolation.  Real world strength is developed by working core muscle groups together.

You develop strength, endurance, and coordination in performing exercises that work multiple muscle groups together.  Core strength.  Real world strength.

That’s where the body weight exercises come in.  I’m currently doing a “boot camp” program that really pushes me.  It mixes exercises such as push-ups (some variations I’d never seen before), dips, squats, and other body weight movements to work multiple muscle groups at once.  Really unique.  And some of the exercises push me harder than any weight routine ever did.

So, I’m in week 5 and can honestly report that I’m in far better shape than I’ve been in in awhile.  I’m working muscles I haven’t worked since the old calisthenic days back in college.  And I am definitely faster on the basketball court, less prone to collapse after 4 quarters, and even have developed a better shot.

Real world strength.

I’m ready to tackle that couch now.

If you’re interested in learning more about real world strength and how you can escape gym rut, here’s where I got all my information and routines.

Body Weight Workouts and Real World Strength

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.