Bodyweight Exercises: Avoid The Monotony Of Sticking Your Training In A Time LOOP!

It is no secret that I am a huge proponent of bodyweight exercises. I am still amazed at the abundance of gym D-Bags that sneer at the mere hint that bodyweight exercises can build strength. Well it’s always interesting that this still occurs, yet when I extend the invitation of joining me in a legitimate strength training session these clowns suddenly almost always have somewhere else to be! Don’t be one of these guys (or girls) and DON’T get your training stuck in the monotonous time loop of boredom! Read on to avoid this situation my young Jedi…

Bodyweight Exercises Will Help You To Break Out Of The Monotonous Time LOOP…

One thing that is always surprising to me is the attitude that many folks have towards training whenever I mention to them that I  love utilizing bodyweight exercises to get things done! I mean it’s not everyone, but for whatever reason many folks have bought into the idea that the sole use of heavier and heavier free weights is the only way to acquire significant strength gains. My argument to them is very simple. Go tell that to guys like Herschel Walker! After this I am always courteous enough to have them join me in a strength training session to further drive home the point that gravity alone can just flat out be a b*tch!

However, it is because of this hovering stigma about bodyweight exercises that has caused a lot of people to fall right into to what could be described as either a weak boring monotonous training program, or maybe they have fallen victim to some sort of time LOOP where repetition of their training can be as frustrating as some sort of Groundhog Day. Check out the following clip to grasp what I’m talking about…

You see the time loop could possibly be the hidden reason. I mean it’s one out of a billion, but it could be the reason your strength training program has gone into the ditch. I don’t want try and scare you, but the time loop could be the reason your strength training workouts have ended up in a ditch. I don’t want to try and scare you…Ok admit it I had you going there for a second.

By the way you probably recognize the humorous physicists in that clip. That is Scott Adsit and he stars in the hit comedy 30 Rock on NBC. Scott happens to be the brother of one of my long time students and very good friends. His sister (and the rest of the family) presented this clip to me of Scott doing this sketch which helped to influence and spawn the birth of this awesome blog post! So Scott if you are reading this then thanks for the inspiration my friend! 🙂

Force Production…

Now ladies and gentlemen let’s not get stupid. The time loop isn’t the reason for the failure of your monotonous training. It’s because most folks aren’t throwing in any bodyweight exercises to spice things up. Remember strength is about force production and being able to produce a muscular contraction at a given rate of speed. It’s simple when you think about it. Force production and speed can be influenced solely by how you execute a certain drill. For instance, when talking about bodyweight exercises this can be done in many innovative and effective ways.

Let’s take a look at the static plank as an example. If you get yourself into a plank position to hold your body rigid and straight for a given amount of time you are exerting a good amount of force. However, there is no dynamic nature to this particular drill, hence the name “static” plank. Now even though there is no movement or change this doesn’t mean that you aren’t exerting force. I know this seems like the obvious to many of you, but let’s look at how we can go from static force production, to dynamic, and even to powerful force production!

When most of us think of bodyweight exercises we probably allude to the ever famous push up exercise. To me push ups are the Elvis or king of bodyweight exercises. Let’s face it, if you can perform push ups with strict form for a respectable number at one time then you can build some serious core and upper body strength. Now having said this I know many of us get to a point to where we feel that we may need a bit more of a challenge than just cranking out the same ole type of push up. This is why you have to be innovative in creating additional force production by adding in some more dynamic movement or with the inclusion of redistributing your bodyweight. Say what coach Brandon? Just modify that push up by hammering out some these thrust push ups…

Trust me, these will get the job done. All you need to break out of that time loop is a bit of heart pounding innovation and the thrust push ups are just the thing to do it. Along with push ups the lower body equivalent of bodyweight exercises to developing some tremendous core and leg strength are bodyweight squats. Once again these can be challenging, but bodyweight squats can be varied in a different way for even more dynamic power and force production. For instance, once we are able to perform bodyweight squats with great technique and stability we can transform the squat into a power production drill such as a box jump, or bleacher jump in this case. By the way I did these over the weekend.

You see this is yet another way to manipulate the force production due to the fact that more force is required to jump off of the ground. This is a great drill for added hip and leg power. You’ve got to throw these into your routine when you get a chance. The strength/power portion of this drill is fantastic and the conditioning effect is pretty darn good as well!

The next time you either hear someone hint or say that bodyweight exercises can’t make them stronger please stick them in a time LOOP by asking them to perform the following experiment. Just say to them I’m going to have you try the following: Now drop down and do a push up and stand up, now drop down and do a push up and stand up, now drop down and do a push up and stand up, now drop down…I think you get the point. 🙂

As you know I always like to inform and try to entertain a bit in the blog. If you enjoyed this one then please make sure you tell all your friends about it by sharing it through one of the social media platforms featured below. By the way if you need some additional help with your bodyweight exercises and strength training program then get your own copy of my Better Than Steroids ebook.

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