Are you looking for an effective, efficient way to boost your cardiovascular health, build strength, and improve overall fitness without expensive equipment or gym memberships? Then it’s time to consider taking on some endurance and bodyweight challenges!
These types of workouts have become hugely popular in recent years for good reason. Let’s look at why you should give them a try.
Accessible Workouts For All Fitness Levels
Endurance activities like jogging, cycling, swimming, and hiking require little equipment beyond a good pair of shoes. And bodyweight workouts use your own body weight to provide resistance for strength training anytime, anywhere. No weights required!
This makes these workouts incredibly accessible and adaptable for all fitness levels. Complete beginners can start with lighter endurance activities like walking and easier bodyweight moves like wall pushups. More advanced exercisers can take on tougher challenges like sprinting, swimming laps, and one-arm pushups. You can always find a way to increase the intensity!
Time Efficient Training
You don’t need to spend hours doing marathon endurance sessions or 100s of bodyweight reps to see results. These workouts can be extremely effective even in short 20-30 minute high intensity interval training (HIIT) style sessions.
By combining short bursts of intense endurance and strength training with rest periods, you can get your heart pumping and muscles burning efficiently. This makes them perfect for busy schedules when you’re short on time.
Getting Started with Bodyweight Workouts
If you’re new to bodyweight training, start with basic movements and low reps to allow your body to adapt. Aim for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps for each exercise, focusing on proper form. Excellent beginner bodyweight exercises include:
- Pushups (modified on knees or standing up against a wall to start)
- Bodyweight squats
- Lunges
- Planks
- Chair dips
- Wall sits
Try to incorporate a mix of upper body, lower body and core moves for a balanced routine. Allow at least 1 day of rest between sessions. Increase difficulty slowly over 2-4 weeks by adjusting position (decline pushups), adding reps, or holding moves longer.
For advanced bodyweight routines, increase intensity with challenging progressions of traditional moves. Aim for 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps using variations like:
- Archer or one-arm push ups
- Pistol squats
- Bulgarian split squats
- Extended plank holds
- Balance board planks
- Plyometric lunges
- Pull up variations
Listen to your body and take proper rest days to allow for muscle recovery between intense sessions. Proper nutrition will also help support muscle building and recovery.
With endless possible movements and progressions, bodyweight training provides challenging strength workouts for all levels. Start where you can and increase intensity over time for continual gains. Record reps completed to track progress and celebrate new personal records!
Customizable & Progressive Workouts
No two endurance and bodyweight workouts need to look exactly the same. You can mix up the activities and movements to keep things fresh and exciting while targeting different aspects of your fitness. And as your fitness improves, you can increase distances, times, speed, reps and resistance to continue challenging yourself. There are always new personal records to break which helps motivation.
Full Body Fitness Approach
Together, endurance and bodyweight training work your cardiovascular system, muscles, flexibility, balance, and coordination. It’s a comprehensive approach to becoming for and strong from head to toe. No muscle gets left behind!
The variety also helps prevent overuse injuries that can happen from repetitive training. You’ll build functional fitness that transfers to all areas of daily life.
If you’re looking for an accessible, efficient, customizable way to get fit and strong from head to toe, it’s time to start incorporating endurance and bodyweight challenges into your routine. With so many benefits, what are you waiting for? The next personal record is yours for the taking!
