We all know the feeling, when it’s a busy month, you’re feeling the emptiness in your wallet, but you need to still work out and maintain that BOX worthy body.
Let’s face it, we all don’t have the time every night to actually make it to the gym, standing waiting for the weight area, making awkward small talk to people about how heavy you ‘lift’. That’s why we have come up with some simple bodyweight training exercises for yourself to do in your own time, in the comfort of your own home.
Bodyweight training is the key to getting a hassle-free, great physique, that will look amazing in Box Menswear Men’s briefs or swim shorts on holiday. Which is obviously the ultimate goal, right?
We’ve got our good friend Dan, to show us some simple yet effective moves to get our bodies looking buff.
Burpee
Burpee’s are basically hell on earth, but boy, they are a good exercise. They activate muscles almost everywhere on your body and give you a huge calorie burn due to the effort required. We would do 10-15 each round, a killer but worth it!
What to do:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- From the bottom of the squat, place your hands on the floor and kick your legs out behind you into a press-up position.
- Push up until your arms are straight and then tuck in your legs at the bottom of the squat position.
- Drive upwards through your heels until you are six inches off the floor and then repeat.
Diamond Push Up/ Wide Push Ups.
Push ups can be difficult if you have no upper body strength, however, they are the best thing to practice in order to gain upper body strength. So, don’t avoid them!
Here we have 2 variations for them, wide push ups and diamond push ups. Once you have mastered the wide push up, then master the diamond push up. It is simply a matter of where your arms are placed, wide or narrow.
What to do:
- Get ready with your weight supported on your toes and hands beneath your shoulders. Your body must be completely straight.
- Take care to keep your core locked and sucked in at all times.
- Lower your body until your chest is as low as you can get it to the ground, then drive up by fully extending your arms. Repeat 10-20 times each round. The more you do the better.
Handstand Push up.
The handstand pushes up is an advanced exercise for building upper body strength and size. To complete the exercise with perfect form, it takes strong shoulders, hand balance and a tight core throughout. It is basically the same process as a normal press up however your feet are against a wall, therefore all your body weight is on your arms. We recommend only doing a few of these each set, so maybe 6-8 reps within a 4-round circuit amongst other exercises.
What to do:
- Start in the handstand position, facing a wall.
- Bending your arms, lower your head towards the floor whilst keeping your core as tight as possible and your elbows in.
- When your head is just above the floor, reverse the movement until your elbows are fully locked out.
Bicycle Crunches
Looking to get those abs of steel? Start simple, bicycle crunches are an easy ab workout that anyone can do, basically anywhere. You can do them slow and controlled or blast and fast. Whatever your feeling up to that day. We would do about 20 on each side each so 40 each round.
What to do:
- Sit on the floor with your legs bent and raised.
- Place your hands behind your ears and alternatively bring each elbow to your opposite knee.
- Alternate arms and legs and count 2 movements as 1 rep.
Frozen V-Sit
This is another ab workout that can be done anywhere, anytime, you just need some floor space. While a full V-sit can be considered as a advanced core exercise, you can modify it to make it easier, by either placing your hands on the floor for assistance or lightly drop your feet to the floor, staying in the V position. Once you begin to gain core stability this will become easier and you will be watching full movies in a V-sit position.
What to do:
- Begin in a seated position with hands and feet on the floor.
- Slowly lift your legs up to a 45-degree angle.
- Reach your arms straight forward or reach up toward your shins as you are able. The only thing touching the floor now should be your bum.
- Hold this position for 20 seconds, relax for 10 seconds and start again. We do this about 3 times in 1 round.
Squat Jumps
Squat jumps are excellent for building explosive power, conditioning the muscles and joints of the lower body. The first few feel great, but believe us, the more you do, they become hard. Preforming this exercise correctly can lead to a great bum and bottom half.
What to do:
- Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Lower yourself into a proper squat position. (the lower the better) Make sure your back is nice and straight.
- When at your lowest, quickly jump up off the floor.
- Land your jump back in your squat position and repeat as often as you can. We aim for 20-30 each round.
Single Leg Glute Bridge
The single-leg glute bridge is a brilliant exercise to work yet again your buttock area. Which let’s face it, is the main goal here, we need that peachy ass to look perfect in Box Menswear men’s boxers right? If you do it correctly you should really feel the burn. The bridge is also a great help for hip mobility and strengthening your lower back, that any office/desk-based worker can really benefit from.
What to do:
- Lie on your back and bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor.
- Lift up one leg and stretch it out.
- Place your arms, palms down to the floor to brace yourself if needed.
- Drive your hips up until your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your toes of your straight lifted leg.
- Slowly lower yourself again, then repeat on the same side. Repeat 10-15 times on each side.