11 Workouts Without Weights Help Build Muscle Size & Strength
Jul 13th, 2011 | By Todd Bowman | Category: Exercises, Total Body Workouts
Doing workouts without weights is an option for those who don’t have access to gym equipment. There may be a limit to how much level of strength you can gain since you’re limited to your body weight, however, it doesn’t mean that it’s not effective.
By only using your own body weight you do reach a limit to the size that you can build. If you’re looking to really build mass and size to your musculature, not using free weights like dumbbells, barbells or even kettlebells is really going to slow your progress.
But each person has different goals. My goal is to gain size and that’s what I’m doing and have been able to do consistently by doing compound power lifting exercises with lots of weight.
The only time I do body weight exercises is for 1 week per month. Typically after 3 weeks of heavy and intense training I’ll take 1 week off and do simple body weight routines like those found in Turbulence Training.
The results I get are two fold.
- It gives my muscles a chance to rest from the prior 3 weeks of extreme training and lifting
- It puts me into a state of muscle confusion by tricking my body so I’m constantly stimulated to get better results
Not everybody has my goals though. Some guys just want to lose some fat. Some girls want to lose some weight, tone up and get that firm lean and sexy look. These types of goals are completely within the range of using body weight exercises to get that shredded tight look.
Most of the exercises shown in this video below are various body weight exercises which do not utilize a lot of equipment. You may be utilizing some things like benches and balls, but that is not much compared to owning gym equipment.
For my own home gym, I use a squat rack, a 3 way adjustable bench, some rubber cables and some adjustable free weight dumbbells along with a barbell. That’s all I need. Well I like to have some good music too so I can really blast out my reps and sets to get that bulk.
In this video, Craig Ballantyne shows you various body weight exercises which you can perform. This list is great for doing hundreds of bodyweight exercises, depending on your fitness level. You can go from doing 200 to a thousand repetitions.
Remember the more repetitions you perform the leaner you’ll get. If you want to add size and bulk, you’ll have to add lots of weight (not just body weight) and do very little reps. Most guys will max out their reps at 5 if they’re trying to gain strength and size.
Doing higher reps and lower weight will help you get that lean and toned swimmers body that has almost zero fat. Think of Brad Pitt in Fight Club where he’s just sleek and ripped. This is the type of body that comes as a result of doing body weight exercises or if you are using dumbbells or barbells, you do low weight high reps.
In this particular video, Craig only shows us how to go up to 500 repetitions of different bodyweight exercises as listed below.
Prisoner squats, 50 repetitions. Keep your elbows back for all repetitions.
Push ups
50 repetitions. You can break them up however you like. You can opt to do 10 reps 5 times or 5 reps 10 times.
Straight jumps
25 repetitions. This will help your timing, balance, reaction time and explosiveness.
Leg curls
25 repetitions. You’ll be needing a gymball to do this. It may be an easy exercise but after doing those straight jumps and squats, it may come as a challenge. Great workout for your calves, hamstrings and quadriceps muscles.
Stability ball jack knives
50 reps. Always keep your back straight. You’ll really feel the burn after this one.
Step ups
50 reps. Do 25 for each leg. This exercise is great for your hips, obliques, abdominal muscles and of course your legs and butt.
At this point, you’re already half way in terms of number of repetitions.
Wide Pullups
25 reps. Knowing this is a very hard exercise, if you can’t do pullups, do rows instead. This will help your lats (latissimus dorsi muscles) to get a nice strong and wide back that girls like and men want.
Lunges
50 reps. Do them with alternating legs. Trust me, you’re not going to be able to walk after you do these lunges.
Close grip pushups
50 repetitions. This helps to strengthen your triceps and inner pectoral muscles in your chest.
Bodyweight Rows
50 reps. You can break this up however you want.
Bodyweight Squats
50 reps. Keep your hands in front for balance. Great for coordination and upper body strength.
Underhand chinups
25 reps. You can break this up however you want. Awesome for toning your biceps and forearm muscles.
All of these are a combination of anaerobic and aerobic exercises so they’re great for your cardiovascular system, circulation, blood flow, overall health and fitness.
There you have it, the bodyweight 500 challenge. As far as strength gains go, you are only limited to your own bodyweight. However, by doing workouts without weights, you will still be able to burn calories and increase your fat loss.
Click Here To Learn More About How Turbulence Training By Craig Ballantyne Can Transform Your Body
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