A good workout need not involve lifting weights all the time. There are
plenty of exercises out there that you can do at home with nothing more than
some simple pieces of furniture. And believe it or not, they are very effective at
keeping your body in shape and in good health. They create a foundation to weight
training. Anyone can benefit from these! Be it an aspiring bodybuilder, or a fitness
seeker… Free hand exercises are for everyone.
This article is heavily inspired by the book ‘Arnold – The Education of a
Bodybuilder’, written by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Douglas Kent Hall. Like the
book, we will address different ideas surrounding these exercises along with the
performance of the exercises themselves. Let’s jump right into it.
Positive Attitude
The first thing you need before you start your workout is a POSITIVE mental
attitude. Let’s break this down. A positive mental attitude is not necessarily being
excited to workout. Repeatedly telling yourself that ‘you can do it’ can be
exhausting if you do not know what you’re after. Always keep your goal in
mind. Ask yourself, ‘Do I want to lose this fat around my belly?’ or ‘Do I want to
make these muscles look better?’ Whatever it is, be aware of it. Next, keep
smaller goals for yourself; goals that you know you can achieve every day.
‘Yesterday, I could do 10 push-ups. Let me go for 15 today.’ These help you keep
in touch with your body.
It is important to believe that you can achieve your goal. The biggest barrier
to achieving your goals isn’t the lack of time or equipment…It is your mind. If
you really want to change your body, you must change your mind. Don’t think,
“Ok, I have one more set to do. Let me finish it quick and get it over with.” No.
Instead, think about how that last set can affect your muscle and concentrate on
that muscle. Feel the impact. Arnold frequently stresses on this connection
between mind and muscle.
Some people get very excited before starting their workout. This can result
in overdoing things or tearing your muscles. Excess excitement can be dangerous.
Always look for balance.
Honesty is another key feature of progress. Be honest with your self-
assessment. If you have weak calves, don’t hide them under long pants. Instead,
wear shorts and work harder. Knowing your weaknesses is the first step to
converting them into strengths. Also, don’t be disappointed with them…with a
few months of workout, they will look absolutely gorgeous. Tell this to yourself
and keep going.
Breathing
It is very important to breathe correctly when you exercise. Your muscles
require a good supply of oxygen to work and grow properly. The first thing that
goes into good breathing is the location at which you exercise. It is always better
to work in an open area with fresh air and bright sunshine. But, if there are
limitations to going outside, make sure you choose a place with open windows
and good lighting. Closed rooms can make you feel tired easily. Sometimes, they
take away from your motivation to workout.
Breathing patterns play an important role when you perform movements.
There is a general rule you should keep in mind when you train: Inhale when you
apply resistance, and exhale when you remove it. For example, when you do a
push-up, inhale steadily when you go down (When there is resistance on your
muscles), and exhale when you move up (When you relax your muscles). This is
applicable to all exercises.
Now that we know what supports a good workout, let’s look at some
exercises that help develop most of your important muscles.
Push-ups
The push-up is probably the most well-known exercise, but most people do
it wrong. The correct way to do it is to place your hands approximately shoulder
width apart, hold your body and arms perfectly straight as shown below. Then,
lower your body down to the floor, keeping it straight. Remember to inhale while
doing so. Let your chest touch the floor, but make sure your head, stomach and
knees do not. Next, press up till your elbows are locked. Exhale. Make sure you
keep your elbows close to your body throughout the exercise. If done correctly,
you will feel the impact on your pectoral muscle, the triceps and the deltoids. You
can start by doing as many repetitions as you can every day, and work your way
up to 50. 50 repetitions can be broken down to various sets of 10, 8 or 6.
Dips
Dips can be done between two sturdy chairs. Place them back-to-back, at a
distance of your shoulder width. Grab each chair from the top and release your
feet from the ground, bending them backwards in order to balance yourself.
Before you start, make sure your arms are locked. Then, come down very slowly
till the point where your front deltoids touch the top of the chairs. Once again,
don’t forget to inhale while doing this. Then, push yourself upwards (and exhale)
slowly till you straighten your arms again. Throughout the whole movement, keep
your body straight. The movement itself should be like a slow piston (this applies
to the push-up as well).
This exercise, just like the push-up, works on your pectoral muscle, triceps
and deltoids. If done correctly, however, it can be a lot more difficult than a push-
up due to the added body weight. When you start, you can do as many as you can
and eventually work your way up to 50 repetitions every day.
Rowing between chairs
This exercise involves 2 chairs placed back-to-back (again), but this time,
they should be almost 5 feet apart. Take a strong broomstick and place it
between the chairs. Lie on the floor between the chairs, grip the broomstick, and
pull yourself up. Pull yourself all the way to the top, allowing your chest to touch
the broomstick. Make sure you keep your body straight and move only your arms.
Then, slowly let yourself down.
This exercise targets your upper back, centre back, outside back, and
latissimus. Start off with the maximum number of repetitions possible, and work
your way up to 50.
Bent leg sit-ups
This exercise works to tighten the upper abdomen. It is a very good
abdominal conditioner. To do it correctly, put your feet under a piece of furniture
(bed or couch) and bend your legs at a 45-degree angle. Hold your hands in front
of your waist and move up and down in a rhythmic fashion. You do not have to lie
back all the way (about 3/4th the way is good enough), but make sure you
contract your abdominals completely. Here, you must inhale when you go back,
and exhale when you contract your abdomen. You can do 2 sets of 50 repetitions
each.
Bent leg raises
While sit-ups work on your upper abdomen, leg raises target your lower
back and lower abdomen. They help in burning off excess belly fat. For this
exercise, lie on your back with your legs straight, hands under your buttocks and
chin on your chest. Pull your knees all the way into your chest (exhale) and
straighten them slowly, lowering them to their initial position (inhale). Make sure
you go all the way in and all the way out. By doing the extension slowly and
perfectly, you can burn a lot excess fat off your midsection. Try going for 50
repetitions.
Bent-over twists
For this exercise, take a broomstick and put it behind your neck, gripping it
wide with your hands. Keep your legs stiff, and your upper body at a 45-degree
angle with your legs. Then, twist your body in half-circular motions, bringing the
ends of the stick to touch your feet, alternating right and left. This exercise will let
you feel the burns in your obliques and waist almost immediately. It is very
effective in, once again, trimming off that extra belly fat. Again, go for 50
repetitions.
Squats
As most people probably know, squats strengthen your thighs and your
hips. For this exercise, keep a 2-inch-tall object on the floor (one which you can
stand on), keep your heels on it, with your toes on the floor. Keeping your body
and back straight, move down till the point where your thighs are parallel to the
floor. You can keep your hands on your hips. Then, go all the way up. Inhale when
you squat, and exhale when you spring up. Go for 50 repetitions every day.
Calf raises
Calf raises work phenomenally well in building good calf muscles. Again,
use a 2-inch object but this time, place your toes on it, leaving your heels on the
floor. Using a chair for balance, lower your heels to the floor, stretching your calf
muscle. Then, stand on your toes and go all the way up. This exercise develops
your whole calf. 50 repetitions for each leg can be good enough.
After the workout
After the workout, you can do different stretching exercises for each
muscle and go for a swim or a jog. You do not want the muscles to stiffen up.
That’s all you need for a good overall workout! Remember to work on all
the muscles with the same energy; you cannot ignore any of them. For full, all-
round development and growth, you have to concentrate on the muscles and do
FULL REPETITIONS. Complete movements lead to complete muscles with good
shape, good strength, and good looks. These muscle improvements will
consequently lead to fat loss. Another very important detail is the fact that a good
form (or good quality of exercise) is more important than the number of
repetitions. So, if you cannot do 20 push-ups, it’s alright! As long as you do the
exercise properly, your body will slowly learn to adapt to more repetitions the
right way. There is no need to cheat yourself to do more repetitions because
someone told you to do so…
A good workout goes hand in hand with a good diet. If you are interested,
please check out our recent interview with a Nutritionist who can give you
information on a healthy balanced diet.
Healthopedia 