Exercise Routines That Can Improve Stamina Strength and Muscle

With all the expensive gym and fitness equipment available in store or online, many keen recreational athletes could be forgiven for thinking that exercise is a costly business. But with bodyweight exercise routines, all that is needed is a human body and a bit of motivation to improve stamina, strength and build muscle.

Many people avoid bodyweight exercises. It's not exactly glamorous banging out rep after rep of press up on the mat section of the local gym while muscle-bound freaks look on incredulously from behind the squat racks. But studies have shown that doing bodyweight exercises can improve lifting technique and strength through working and strengthening smaller stabilizing muscles which are not activated in compound lifts such as the deadlift and bench press.

Incorporate Bodyweight Exercises Into a Regular Workout to Improve Gains

This is an old bodybuilder's trick but works really well. After repping out on the bench press immediately superset with press ups, repping out to failure. Rest for a full 2 minutes before doing another set. The same principle can be applied to squats: after repping out on the rack, superset with bodyweight squats. This will really burn the glutes and quads, fatiguing the muscles much more effectively than if only free weights were being used leading to bigger gains in muscle size and stamina.

Do Bodyweight Only Circuits to Burn Serious Calories and Build Muscle Mass

Bodyweight circuits are a great way to build muscle and burn calories because they can be done anywhere without any equipment. Great for business trips and hotel stays where there are no gym facilities. One way to do bodyweight circuits is a Tabata circuit . This uses short bursts of intensive activity with short periods of rest to improve anaerobic endurance and burn calories.

A more conventional circuit would include high reps of exercises with short periods of rest in between. 15-20 reps is a good guide for bodyweight exercises. This gives enough scope for muscle building. If it is possible to do 20 reps of a single exercise, then it is time to increase resistance to keep growing and getting stronger.

A sample bodyweight circuit could look like this:

• Squats
• Press ups
• Single leg deadlifts
• Diamond pushups
• Pistol squats
• Handstand press ups
• Reverse crunches
• Static plank hold (60 seconds)

After one full circuit, rest for two minutes before completing two more times (three times in total). Try to do 15-20 reps for each exercise although some, such as the handstand press up and pistol squat may require lower reps to start with to build technique and strength.

Limitations of Bodyweight Exercises to Build Muscle and Improve Stamina

Bodyweight exercises do have limitations. Gains in muscle and strength will not be limitless but simple additions like resistance bands or weighted vests can add resistance to keep the body growing and getting stronger. Because of the limitations, many athletes are put off, but the convenience and ability to work the whole body in a cost effective way is a big draw for many people.