You drop your keys. What do you do? A full squat? Bodyweight training is the best way to train for everyday movements. It helps in ways much different and much better than weightlifting for movements we do everyday. It’s also the best and safest way for beginners to train as they are just starting out. Let’s discuss just the top three reasons why!
Functional Training
- Bodyweight training more readily mimics everyday movements. I like to refer to this as functional training. Functional training is walking down the road and picking up a penny. It’s getting yourself off the floor. What’s important here is that these are exercises and movements that will help us in our ADLs or Activities of Daily Living. These are things such as sitting down and getting up from a chair with squats. Or getting ourselves up off the floor with push ups and burpees. See… burpees have a purpose!
- This makes bodyweight training a bit more practical in everyday life than weights. Why train movements that you don’t perform in daily life. Why train in only one or two planes when we move in three all throughout the day? Health should be useful. Health should make your life better. Training movements should make your everyday activities easier. This is what you get more of with body-weight.
Limits Excuses
- Because there is little to no need for equipment, excuses that keep you from working out are limited and greatly reduced. There’s nothing to set up. Nothing to take down. Nothing to take up room in your home. There’s no need for fancy gym memberships. There is less that stands between you and a good workout! It’s like sliding down plastic rather than sand paper. There’s a lot less friction to stop you along the way and you get to the bottom faster. It also hurts a lot less…
- It has been shown that the less that stands between you and a habit that you want to build, the more likely you are to do it. The less excuses that you are able to give yourself, that you are able to give to others, the more likely you are to get in there and workout.
Adaptable and modifiable
- Bodyweight exercises are more easily modified to meet any fitness level. Bodyweight is also the foundation of any weightlifting you may do in the future. You cannot lift weights until you have good body mechanics and proper recruitment patterns. If you start lifting before you’ve laid the foundation of proper movement pattern via body-weight, your risk for injury is greatly increased. You are much more likely to injure yourself with weights if you have improper movement.
- Bodyweight exercises are kinda like pay-dough, that you mold to suit your needs. And then change again as your needs change. Push ups can be done off the floor. Or they can be done off an incline. Or they can even be done off the wall. It just depends on your current fitness level. Squats can be done with a chair. Or free standing. You can do jump squats for more challenge. You can always find a variation or a breakdown that you can do!
Resistance training of some kind is very important to add into our routines. It can be difficult for beginners to master, however, with all the nuances in form and recruitment patterns. A great work around is to try bodyweight training! Bodyweight lays a great foundation, limits excuses and provides plenty of room for growth!