If you’re pressed for time and can’t get to the gym, bodyweight exercises are just what you need.

These exercises aren’t a substitute for a ‘real’ workout they are a ‘real’ workout. If you put in the effort these exercises can completely change your body all on their own. And fast.

Once you start learning about all the different body weight exercises you can do, you’ll see there are endless ways to put bodyweight exercises into routines..

Some great bodyweight exercises you can use include:

Bodyweight squats.
Pushups.
Lunges (forward, reverse, walking, jumping in place).
Mountain climbers.
Jumping Jacks.
Leg raises.
Squat thrusts.
Burpee.

Many bodyweight exercises have a lot of variations. Take the pushup, for example – regular, hands close together, one handed, spiderman pushups, feet elevated pushups, etc. There are hundreds of bodyweight exercises available.

Using your bodyweight alone, you can get your heart rate up, your blood pumping, and get yourself breathing heavily a lot quicker than you’d think.

You can combine the exercises in any way you see fit and adjust the number of reps based on your current ability.

Sample bodyweight workout. Start anywhere and work through:
20 Bodyweight Squats.
20 Pushups.
Plank hold of 30 seconds.
20 Mountain Climbers.
20 Burpees.
20 Jumping Jacks.
20 Sit-ups.
20 Squat Thrusts.
20 Lunges (ten per leg).
Repeat 3 to 4 times.

If you just want a quick and “easy” leg workout try seeing how many bodyweight squats you can do before the burn in your legs forces you to stop.

This was my workout for January 18th 2011.

This evenings workout was a mix of dumbbell and bodyweight exercises, If you want real fitness, fat loss and physique building results that you can use in the real world, then combining bodyweight and dumbbells is the best option. Forget about strapping yourself into some machine that has no relation to any movement you’ll do in the real world. Bodyweight calisthenics are the best way to train your body to move in the way it most naturally moves. Dumbbells are the best way to train your body to move objects. You can use dumbbells in unison, one at a time or in an alternating manner. Again these weighted resistance movements are closely related to the way you move in the real world.

Example bodyweight and dumbbell circuit workout. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds time with 30 seconds rest using the Gymboss Timer. Work through the circuit twice.

* Split dead lift
* Press-ups
* Shoulder press
* Plank
* Dumbbell lunges
* Mountain climbers
* Bent over row
* Side crunches
* Seated Russian twists
* One arm snatch (30 seconds each arm)
* Jumping jacks
* Dorsal raise
* Squat thrusts
* Sicilian crunch

I worked through this circuit twice. This was my workout for the 15th July.

This workout is a bodyweight and dumbbell circuit. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds time with 30 seconds rest.

* Split dead lift
* Press-ups
* Shoulder press
* Plank
* Dumbbell lunges
* Mountain climbers
* Bent over row
* Side crunches
* Seated Russian twists
* One arm snatch
* Jumping jacks
* Dorsal raise
* Squat thrusts
* Sicilian crunch

I worked through this circuit twice.

Gymboss Timer Workout: Ran to the local football pitch as a warm up and then performed:

* Burpees x 30 sec (12ish)
* Jumping Jacks x 30 sec
* Mountain Climbers x 30 sec
* Chinnies x 30 sec

Repeat 8x, 30 sec of rest between sets.