Bodyweight Training For Fitness - More Than You Think?

Fitness is a complex term. This is why when you ask someone for a universal definition of fitness you usually get something vague like this, "Fitness is being fit". Don't believe me, ask someone (even fitness professionals). But once you understand the true nature of fitness, I'm confident you'll see why bodyweight training for fitness should be a part of your over-all workout program.

So, let's begin with my definition of physical fitness!

Fitness is the acceptable and deliberate compromise of competence and ability to perform in all the areas of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy and toughness to produce optimum performance results under the greatest amount of circumstances.

You'd better read that again to make sure you get it.

As you can see, fitness is more than being strong. It is more than having powerful heart and lungs. Fitness is the ability to use all your physical abilities simultaneously and seamlessly to overcome physical challenges. And bodyweight training is an excellent method for training for over-all fitness!

Normally, people seeking fitness focus on only one or two of the physical abilities needed to be fit. Or, they base their training on the RESULT of being fit, like burning fat or building muscle. You see, having muscle or being lean does not necessarily mean you are fit! However, being fit usually manifests itself as a strong, muscular, lean body.

There are three types of challenges you'll face in sport, work and life.

1) The challenge requires you move your body to successfully complete the task

2) The challenge requires you move an exterior object to successfully complete the task

3) The challenge requires you to move your body and an exterior object to successfully complete the task

And to make things more complicated, the challenge can require any of the physical abilities of fitness and in any combination. As you can see, being able to move your own body is needed for two of the types of challenges, and therefore should be trained accordingly. Bodyweight training is that important.

Think of it this way, there are so many abilities to train in order to be fit, you need a versatile tool capable of training them all. And there is no better tool than your own body. Bodyweight training can effectively target all of the physical abilities needed to be fit.

Compare bodyweight training to weight training. Bodyweight training is a much more accessible and versatile form of training. Don't get me wrong, I like weight training and think it superior for some types of training. I just think bodyweight training has more to offer in terms of improving all the physical skills of fitness.

So, if you want to truly be fit, you need to improve all the physical abilities of fitness. Bodyweight training for fitness should be a part of everyone's physical training program. Because when you are truly fit, you'll not only meet the challenges of sport, work and life with excellence, you'll look great too!

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Workout Without Weights has put together a bodyweight calisthenics progressive program together that takes bodyweight training for fitness to the next level!

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Full Body Workout Vs Split Routine: Which Is Better?

The debate about the full body workout vs split routine is still very much raging on today. Many people will pick one and defend it to the hilt, then scream and shout at anyone who disagrees with them.

I am going to give you a quick over-run on the full body workout vs split routine argument. Hopefully by the end of the article you can decide for yourself which one is better. I will start of with the benefits of each system, you can have a shifty at them below.

Full Body Workouts Benefits

Whole body routines let you work a muscle group, more times a week, therefore increasing the frequency of your training. Many top trainers are massive fans of using high frequency training for big muscle gains. Olympic lifters are good examples of this; they use lots of frequency on the main Olympic lifts and they are not exactly small.

There is a big belief among some top trainers that whole body routines are suited to naturally skinny people. As they cannot recover as well from too much intensity and respond well to high frequency. So if you are naturally skinny, you may want to take a look at full body training.

Full-body workout routines can also be suited to naturally larger people who put on body fat easily. Or for people who want to minimise fat gain when on a big bulking diet. This is because full-body workout routines burn a lot of calories and fat, as you are working more muscle per session.

Finally, full body workout routines are great for elevating your natural hormone production, such as testosterone and growth hormone. Which is obviously very welcome when you are trying to put on muscle.

Are full body workouts better than split workouts? Lets have a look at the benefits of split training, so that you can answer that for yourself.

Split Routine Benefits

The main split routine benefit is allowing you to concentrate on a muscle group more, to work it harder. This ensures that a muscle has been adequately trained to induce muscle growth.

You are also starting fresh on each muscle. Compared to full body workouts were you can get tired towards the end of your session. Basically; you will get far better quality of training on each muscle.

Finally, your are less likely to over-train with split routines. Full body workouts are very taxing on the body and central nervous system. Which can tire you out, in your general day to day life, and not just in the gym.

Split routines, although hard on the muscles your are training, do not effect your overall energy stores that much. So you will be fresher when out of the gym.

Full Body Workout vs Split Routine: Which Is Better?

So: full body workout vs split routine, are you any further on what one your prefer?

Personally, I use both. At the end of the day any training technique or method is only a tool to build a better body. So why not use all the tools you have available?

Remember that your body adapts very quickly to any type of training you do, so it is important to mix things up from time to time. If you have been doing one style of training, why not switch to the other to see how you progress.

I tend to use an upper and lower split mostly, where you work the lower body one day, then upper body the next. I feel this is a nice happy medium between the two styles.

William Coulter has over 10 years experience in the gym.  You can find the best bodybuilding workout for you at his website:  http://www.bodybuildingworkoutsinfo.org/

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Exercise And Fitness

One of the keys to living a healthy life is exercise. Walking or early mornings running increases brainwave activity. Pollution in the air around 5:00 am is low therefore you will receive a cleaner source of oxygen in the morning then in the afternoon. Some people believe that you have to train 5 to 7days a week to stay in shape and technically that's not true.

You can train 1 or 2 day(s) out of the week, go for walks, take care of chores or job duties, and all that stuff is a weeks worth of exercise. Now, that may not get you prepared for the olympics, but you will feel healthier in your heart and mind. There has been times I used multiple techniques to stay in shape without training more than twice a week. For example, say if you went on a one or two mile run on Monday, you don't have to train again until that following Monday. Training one day a week lets your body know your not lazy. Instead of allowing one or two days of rest and let your body, mind, and heart circulation build in a short period of time before your next workout. You will have six days to let your muscles build from a one day a week workout.

A friend asked me a couple of years back, around winter 2009, he said, "Isaac you still run?", and I said to him "once a month during the winter" (approximately), He started laughing at me, saying, "that's all, just once a month that ain't much". So I began to explain to him in the winter my training consists of cardio indoors once a week, running once a month, and weight training 1 to 4 days a month, which is a total of 5 or 6 days spread out throughout a month. Once I explained he then complimented me on my training technique. Trying these training tips mentioned in this article will keep your mind, and body in good physical conditioning.

Please take time off from exercise when your body feels tired, a week or two now and then doesn't hurt. If you use these techniques I've explained to you throughout the year, and spring and summer comes around you will already have a head start to fit into your swimsuit with curves if your a woman, or to show off your physical conditioning for the gentlemen. Remember to exercise smart, eat right, and power up for an healthy life.

http://www.becomephysicallyfit.com/

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