So you've decided to investigate bodyweight training. Awesome! It's a great way to keep your body in tip-top shape while working out at home. Most people have trouble figuring out how to progress when it comes to bodyweight training, though. This is where we tell you that not all push-ups are equal.
Repetitions
If you were to ask someone how to get stronger by doing push-ups, for example, this would likely be their response. "Just do more push-ups" is the most basic answer to this question. It's definitely a way to increase your strength too. When looking for ways to step up your body-weight training program, consider adding more reps. They will help build your muscles and allow your bones to adapt to the added stress from working those muscles consistently.
Time
Your muscles, as amazing as they are, don't know the difference between lifting a bag of groceries or lifting a dumbbell. All your muscles know is that you need them to contract. Another way to step up your bodyweight training would be to hold the position. We spoke about pushups earlier; let's stick with that. If you were to hold the pushup half way down, your muscles would have to stay contracted to hold you in position.
Speed
This one is another well understood option. The faster you do something, the faster your muscles have to react. This option also affects your nerve cells as they carry the signal from your brain telling your muscles to contract. It has been proven that the more you use a particular nerve pathway, the more developed it becomes. This means that as you use your muscles more often, not only will they react faster, but they will also build strength to be able to handle the fast reaction times. You will also be contracting your muscles more, so that will build up the strength.
Leverage
Leverage is not usually something we think about a lot when it comes to body weight training. The same idea behind using a longer wrench makes pulling off your lug nuts easier. Holding your arm out further from your body increases the strain on your muscles. If you were lying on your back doing sit-ups, try straightening your legs away from you rather than bending them at the knee.
Angle of attack
This one is very similar to the previous idea of leverage. The further you move your exercises from your centerline, the harder your muscles will have to work. Let's look at pushups again. Placing your hands on the ground at the centre of your chest is easier than moving your arms out wider... provided you don't change any other factors like time or speed.
Body-weight training isn't a one-dimensional exercise regime. There are a lot of other ways to increase the effectiveness of your training, but these are a great starting point. Always remember to be very aware of how you're using your muscles and how they are feeling. It will allow for a big step up in your body-weight training.