There are a number of different ways for you to get the toned and ripped physique that you’re after without all-that-much-bells-and-wrenches exercise equipment. By utilizing tried and true low intensity cardio exercise, developing a lean and ripped muscle body is easy. Just about any exercise that you do, if done in the right way, will allow you to do just that. You can even work on your core muscles without any equipment by doing floor dips, push-ups or floor exercises like sit ups. The key is to do it correctly and frequently enough so that your muscle building will increase at an accelerated rate.
There are a couple things you must know about doing exercises without any exercise equipment: first, it’s a great workout, but it’s not going to be a very effective workout. Second, if you do the workout wrong, it could cause injury. One of the worst things that can happen is to tear an ankle ligament during your workout. This happened to me and cost me almost $1000 worth of work and time. Avoid these mistakes, or get yourself out of the danger zone.
Shoulder Dips This exercise is not only a great way to workout your shoulders and arms, but it’s also a great workout for your hips and core. To do shoulder drops, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms hanging by your sides. Keep your shoulders level with your feet and just dip your lower back until your chest touches the floor. Next, forcefully bend your knees and hips to return your upper body to the start position.
Leg Raises This is my favorite exercise. I first heard about leg raises from my gymnastics coach and have been doing them ever since. You need to make sure you’re doing them in the proper manner (i.e., not too far forward) before you begin lifting. Otherwise, you will pull your hamstring muscle and ruin your workout.
Dumbbell Front Squats Another great exercise. Front squats work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and abs. They strengthen your entire fitness center for your everyday living. Dumbbell front squats require you to hold weight in both hands, bend over, and then raise weight into the air. While doing this, make sure you’re focusing on maintaining good form and that you don’t take your eyes off of the weight because you won’t get a solid workout if you do.
Resistance Training For older adults, strength training is the best thing for your body. Most older adults don’t exercise regularly anyway, so they don’t have any muscle mass to speak of. Fortunately, you can build up your muscle mass through resistance training just like you would with strength training when you were younger. In fact, resistance training is probably the best thing you can do for your body if you’re an older adult.
Cardio Exercise For people who are into fitness, cardio exercise is another great thing to add into your daily routine. You need to be prepared for a bit of extra pain during your cardio sessions, but it’s well worth it for the end results. One of the main benefits of cardio exercise is that it burns more calories than most other exercises do. As a result, you’ll be able to lose weight while increasing your fitness at the same time. The downside to cardio exercises is that they are great for burning fat, which is great, but they also lack in many of the important core benefits of a good fitness routine.
Combining Exercise If you’re looking to make a workout schedule that’s packed with as much fitness as possible, then the best things to do are exercise and then rest. When you exercise, you push your muscle fibers so they work harder and longer. When you rest, your muscles regroup and repair themselves. Both of these things combine to give you a better chance of reaching your fitness goals.
