Body Weight Exercise

One of the nice things about being a large guy is that body weight exercises involve a comparatively large amount of weight. Pushups, pullups, free squats, tricep dips, etc are all pretty good exercises for anybody, but for someone like me, they're even better. This is how I make myself feel better about being out of shape. See how I did that? In any case, I got back on the pushup program I've mentioned here and elsewhere before (http://www.100pushups.info/) and started on the right column of week one. My test actually suggested I should start on week two, but I want to get myself used to doing the exercise regularly again. My issue with working out (the same issue it seems I've always had) is consistency. I can go work really hard 3 days in a row, but then I'll drop off and slack for a week. Or I can go for one week but then slack for two. I don't get myself into the habit and maintain the commitment like I need to be doing in order to get the results I want. That's one of the things I'm liking about the bodyweight exercises. Anything I can do in my kitchen while I'm unloading dishes or in my bathroom right before I jump in the shower is pretty easy to get done even when I don't feel like it.

So here's my plan: Monday, Wednesday and Friday are pushup days. I'll be doing my pushups according to the plan on that website, and continuing to progress accordingly. I don't have any doubt I can get to 50 pushups in a row in a few weeks. I got nearly that many when I did the program before, and it didn't take me as long as I thought it would. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are free squat days.

If you don't know free squats, you should try them. You only use your body weight, but you do a whole lot of them all in a row without stopping. It's a lot harder than it sounds. A major thing to remember with these is that perfect form is your friend. Give this a try. Find a wall in your house. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes an inch or two from the wall. Now squat. Bumping your head, feeling unbalanced, putting holes in your home? The reason for this is that most folks squat forward, with their knees moving forward out over their toes. I'm told this is bad for the knees, and should be avoided. using the wall keeps you from doing this. You bend at the knees, but it's a 90 degree bend and the knees stay firmly over top of the feet instead of extending forward past the toes. Once you get the feel for this, you can stop using the wall and you'll keep good form without it. A good first goal for free squats is 50 in a row without stopping. If you can do that, shoot for 75, then 100. Once you can get 100 consistently without too much difficulty, you can advance to pistols, something I can't do and won't even try to pretend I can. It's essentially a one-legged squat. It's hard.

In any case, I can do 50 free squats now, and will continue doing 50 for the rest of this week, then move to 55 or 60 per day for the three days I'll be doing them next week. In a little while, I'll be doing 100 in a row and I should be noticing some differences in my body, I'm thinking. When I've worked out regularly in the past, I have had a tendency to put on muscle pretty easily, so I'm hoping that still holds true. I know I'm not going to get uber-bulky by doing just bodyweight exercises, but I'd be happy with most any gains I can get.

I do want to continue to work on my aerobics as well, and to that end I think the wife and I are going to play racquetball a few times a week. That's something I can do for an hour or more and have a good time doing, as opposed to anything in a stationary bike or treadmill where I get very bored after just a short time. It's still indoors, too, which is very nice. Also, I love that it's something Jenna and I can do together. I'm rather fond of her, as you're no doubt aware.

So that's the update there. I'll be posting my progress and whatnot as I make it.