The Bodyweight Workout
With the development of modern gym equipment, the facilities available to us for our workouts are as advanced and varied as they have ever been before. However there is currently a growing trend of utilising bodyweight training, either to compliment your current gym routine, or as a new routine in itself.
Bodyweight training may bring to mind pressups and pullups, possibly some squats and lunges. However there are so many fantastic, fun and varied options out there that it is something I would highly look in to.
Personally, I have tried and loved Animal Flow. It is designed by Mike Fitch, a brilliant trainer from Miami who had a great understanding of how the body is designed to work and how to utilise it through movement. With just bodyweight and some 'flowing' movements Mike has developed a system that strengthens and stabilises joints, is a full body workout, and it fun to do! I would recommend anyone who is interested to look it up and see if it is for you.
It is also worth mentioning that Yoga and Pilates can both be done with just bodyweight. (Some instructors do use equipment with them but it is not always a requirement.) Though some people find that these classes are not for them, if you do find you enjoy either or both, you will notice the difference in your body almost from the first session!
As a final point, I will bring up dancing, and under a similar bracket, capoeira. Both require a huge amount of control, of your whole body and for extended amounts of time. They can be a fantastic cardiovascular workout that requires great strength to execute, and if you are capable and enjoy them, I would imagine you will find them much more beneficial, and much more entertaining than that hour or so you spend on the cross trainer each week!
