I did a very short outdoor workout at the outdoor Sea Point gym in Cape Town. I hadn’t trained for a few weeks so I just did a couple of basic exercises and holds to start to get back into it and see where I was at. I also tried to cover a wide range of bases with it, including things like push ups, pull ups, leg raises, human flag raises, back levers and a few mobility stretches.

Remember to always focus on those basics and classics and work your way back up from there!

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Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only does it help you stay in shape, but it also keeps diseases away. In fact, small increases in physical activity can prevent over 100,000 deaths per year, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine.

There are a variety of physical activities or exercises that you can try, and integrating resistance training exercises into your workout routine will surely help in improving not only your strength, but also your flexibility and balance amongst other things. Here are some compound strength training exercises that you can start with.

1 Pull ups

Pull ups are one of the best overall exercises for your upper body. They are incredibly challenging, but so rewarding at the same time. They can also be modified to suit anyone’s fitness level. For example, someone just starting out can start with ‘Australian pull-ups‘ and slowly increase the angle to become more upright. Beginners can also keep their feet on the floor to help give them that push up, or even make use of resistance bands help them get used to the pull up motion. In order to progress with them, consistency is key and once you find bodyweight pull ups are too easy for you, you can always add weight using a weight belt to make it more challenging and keep progressing.

2 Lateral Raises & Overhead presses

Lateral raises are quite effective in toning your deltoids, and it’s one of the most important exercises you can do to help strengthen your shoulders along with overhead presses. However, beyond they’re aesthetic benefits, they also helps in improving your shoulder health. When done correctly, lateral raises and presses can challenge your shoulders’ stability, which eventually results in a wider range of motion without pain or instability.

To properly do a lateral raise, make sure that you stand tall and that your hips are slightly shifted to the back. Slightly bend your arms and take a neutral grip on your weights. If you do not have weights, exercise bands will work as excellent alternatives. Once you are in position, raise your arms until they are parallel to the ground and pause for a few seconds before lowering your arms. Repeat this movement several times, going slowly to ensure that you feel the tension in your deltoids. Overhead presses involve pressing or pushing dumbells or a barbell overhead in front of your face from your shoulders to above your head. They are perfect for overall shoulder strength and will also help with things like push ups or handstands.

3 Push-ups and its Variations

If there’s one reason that trainers recommend push-ups, it is because this is an effective full body exercise that engages your chest muscles, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and upper back muscles and even your core. To make sure that you have a proper pushup form, you’ll need to use your core, hip, and glute muscles, too. Doing push-ups regularly helps in building strength and conditioning.

To properly perform a push-up, you need to start from a high plank position, making sure that your core (glutes, back, chest) is fully engaged and that your back is flat. Your palms must be flat on the floor, with your fingers pointing forward. Once you have the correct position locked in, slowly lower your body towards the floor, making sure that your head, torso, and spine are all aligned and that your lower body doesn’t sag. Push yourself back up from the floor. Repeat this movement 10 times if you’re just starting out. To make it more challenging, you can then move to some variations of pushups or even weighted or incline push ups.

4 Squats and its Variations

Studies show that squats are among the most effective exercises when it comes to enhancing athletic performance. Not only does it help in strengthening your leg muscles, but it also promotes weight loss, flexibility and range of motion. It is also highly functional as this movement is performed while doing daily activities, such as picking up heavy loads.

Properly performing squats is essential so as to avoid any risk of injury. As such, start with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and your toes pointing forward. Your core should be engaged, with your chest pushed forward. From this starting position, inhale slowly as you start bending your knees and pushing your hips backward. Imagine yourself sitting on a chair as you do this. Keep your back straight and your chest out. Lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Exhale as you move back up to the starting position.

These are very basic yet important strength training exercises that can be integrated into your workout routine. Not only will these exercises help you lose weight, but they will also help you build your muscles and strength. Most importantly, mastering these exercises can help you prepare for more advanced strength training exercises.

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Sit back and take a virtual ride with me as I skate to the gym, and of course some bits of my gym session, which I was a little tired for. Bleh?

If you’re looking to get an Evolve board in South Africa, click here Shop Evolve! Use CODE: Evolve x Nishal for R750 off your purchase

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Most people understand that regular exercise is important for your overall health. Maybe you even consider yourself to be a fitness buff. But, if you don’t have access to a gym and you live in a smaller space, you might find it difficult to get in the workouts you really want. Or, maybe you’ve stopped exercising altogether because of your cramped quarters. 

The pandemic caused more people to work out from home than ever before. Since so many gyms across the country closed down for some time, people who wanted to stay fit and healthy were required to get creative with their exercise routines. You can do that, too, no matter how small your living space is. Not sure how to get started or make it work? We’ve got you covered. 

Motivate Yourself

Again, most people recognize that exercise is important and a great way to maintain your health. But, when you live in a small space it’s easy to use that as an excuse to avoid working out. Sometimes, it takes a little extra motivation to get you started or to force you to think creatively. 

With that in mind, here are some of the biggest benefits you’ll gain from regular exercise: 

• Improved mood/more happiness
• Stronger muscles and bones
• Boosted energy levels
• Reduced risk of chronic illnesses
• Better skin health
• Improved memory
• Better sleep quality

As you can see, exercise has so much more to offer than weight loss. While that’s certainly a perk if you want it to be, it should never be the sole reason you want to work out. Once you understand just how much of a positive impact exercising can have on your life, you’ll be more motivated to find the space for it. Thankfully, finding that space is easier than you might think. 

Downsizing and Decluttering

If you live in a small space, one of the best ways to make more room is to declutter. That includes getting rid of things you no longer need, rather than just picking them up and shoving them into a closet. There are multiple benefits of a decluttered home, including reduced stress and boosted productivity. You’ll also feel more in control and ready to take charge of your space. 

When it comes to bigger pieces, like furniture, you can make the most of your space by only keeping what you absolutely need (or love!), and making swaps for more practical pieces. Getting rid of large sofas, extra chairs, or anything that doesn’t have a practical purpose in your layout can also make a big difference. 

If you don’t want to get rid of anything, consider rearranging your furniture and other items in a way that provides you with the most space. The last thing you want is to accidentally knock something over while you’re doing a HIIT routine, or tripping and falling over something that’s in the way of your movements. A functional home is also a safe home. 

Make the Most of Home Routines

Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative when it comes to working out in small spaces. You might not have a full gym at your disposal, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get in great routines from the comfort of your own home. 

First, understand that certain types of workouts simply work better for small spaces than others. For example, things like Pilates and yoga can be done from almost anywhere. They don’t require any big machines and are extremely quiet. If you’re living in an apartment or shared space, you won’t bother your neighbors when doing your morning workout.

However, if you want to do something a bit more intense or something that will help with strength training, there are bodyweight exercises you can do at home that will improve your cardiovascular health while building muscle, a few basic ones may include: 

• Squats
• Lunges/reverse lunges
• Push ups
• Mountain climbers
• Side leg raises
• Sit-ups
• Oblique crunches

The list goes on, and that’s extremely beneficial for people working out at home. You can put together your own exercise routine to keep things fresh and fun. Find out which exercises work best for you and which ones you enjoy doing, and create a “circuit” that you can do in your living room or bedroom. 

Because home workouts have become so popular, you can also take advantage of free YouTube channels with full workout videos, or invest in an online program that will guide you through different routines designed for small spaces. 

Exercise is important for everyone. Don’t let your lack of space keep you from working out regularly. With a little bit of creativity, you can stay fit, healthy, and reap the benefits of regular exercise without ever having to set foot in a gym again. 

Author bio

Dan Matthews is a writer, content consultant, and conservationist. While Dan writes on a variety of topics, he loves to focus on the topics that help our minds and bodies as well as looking inward on mankind that help to make the surrounding world a better place to reside. When Dan isn’t working on new content, you can find him with a coffee cup in one hand and searching for new music in the other.

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Watch as Chris Heria tests Jesse’s strength as they do the some of the hardest Calisthenics exercises. Jesse is the bodybuilder and Chris is the master Calisthenics athlete!

Learn how to do all these moves from the very beginning and how to train them to finally master them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Austin Dunham is a Bodyweight fitness enthusiast. A Youtuber of Calisthenics/Street Workout and provides many great tutorials and routines from his experiences. If you are stuck in doors and have a pull up bar, here’s a great follow along pull up bar back workout that you can do at home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Staying fit and healthy is best accomplished by continuously pushing your body to work hard. As you become more experienced in your given form of training and mastery starts to kick in, you’ll naturally look for ways to push your limits. A weighted vest can be a terrific tool for achieving this goal. 

This article looks at the ins and outs of weighted vest training, and seeks to arm you with the knowledge you need to effectively integrate a weight vest into your workouts.

The basic idea of a weighted vest

Adding weight to your exercises isn’t new. In fact, it utilities a core principle of exercise training known as progressive overload. The basic idea behind overload is that your body adapts when you make it work harder than it usually does. You overload your body by running faster or for longer, doing more reps, or lifting heavier weights.

Eventually your body adapts to this overload. So you overload it some more. This progressive increase in stress placed on your body results in physiological changes such as increased muscle size, strength and endurance, greater aerobic capacity, and reduced body fat.

And so it goes when working out with a weight vest.

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Exercising with additional weight strapped to your body is considerably more difficult than working out with just your own body weight. The additional weight overloads your muscles and forces your heart and lungs to work harder than they do when only having to carry your bodyweight. In response, your muscles grow bigger and stronger and your heart and lungs work more effectively. You are now a fitter, stronger, faster, and overall healthier version of yourself. 

At least that’s the theory. Does it work in practice?

Does training with a weighted vest actually work?

Thankfully, we don’t need recent or specific scientific studies to tell us whether weighted vests help you build muscle or burn calories. Basic exercise training principles tell us that the answer to those questions is ‘yes’.

If you wear a weight vest and do body weight exercises like pull ups, push ups and dips, you will stimulate gains in muscular size and strength more rapidly than if you train without a weight vest on. Weight is weight. Your muscles adapt their size and strength when they contract against resistance, and extra weight creates extra resistance. It’s the same reason that weightlifting makes you bigger and stronger.

Similarly, if you walk, jog, or run while wearing a weighted vest your body has to make changes to accommodate that. Your heart has to work harder and pump more blood to the muscles supporting the extra weight. Your lungs have to breathe more rapidly to oxygenate the greater volume of blood being pumped by said heart. All of this requires energy. All of this burns calories and helps you lose weight.

Alternatively, you may be looking at incorporating a weight vest in order to perform some particular sport or skill more effectively. For example, you may be aiming to run faster or jump higher in order to be a better, more competitive athlete. 

For this we do need to look at the research because it’s not obvious whether a vest will help you improve in these physical feats.

What does the research say?

While there are studies that have found that training with a weighted vest may not be better for improving performance compared to training without one, there is a considerable body of research showing it can produce substantial benefits. For example, a study on the effects of wearing a weight vest for 50m sprint training found that loads of 8% – 20% of body mass produced substantial improvements in acceleration and max speed over the length of the sprint. 

Similarly, research published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that warming up by jogging with a weighted vest helped competitive endurance runners improve their performance by reducing leg stiffness and running economy.

Another study examined the effects of integrating weighted plyometric drills into the normal strength training program of collegiate football players. The researchers found that the players who did plyometric drills while wearing a weight vest (as well as their conventional weight training) showed the greatest strength improvements, as measured by the bench press, half squat, power clean, and military press.

So, although there is some mixed research in there, basic principles of exercise physiology and the weight of scientific evidence clearly show the value that can be gained from including a weight vest in your workouts. But before you go out and buy yourself a brand new vest, it’s worth understanding the pros and cons that come with this training tool.

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The pros and cons of weighted vests

Purchasing a weight vest can be a great investment as long as you properly understand the benefits and costs, and use the vest in the most safe and effective way.

Let’s go through the pros:

1. Weight vests distribute weight evenly across your body

This makes the weight easier to balance, and reduces the likelihood of injuring yourself. Also, because you’re wearing the weight on your body rather than holding it (such as with most other free weights), weight vests leave your hands free to do a broad range of traditional and more functional strength exercises. 

2. Weighted vests allow incremental adjustments in weight

Most vests come with removable 1 – 2.5 lb individual weights. This allows you to add and subtract weights in small increments, which is the foundation of progressive overload and will ensure you can make continuous gains in strength and endurance. 

3. Training with a weight vest can be convenient and economical

As you can easily transport weight vests (more so than a barbell or dumbbells, for example), you can train with them whenever and wherever.

Also, if cleverly purchased, a weight vest can last you a lifetime and will eliminate the need for other expensive pieces of exercise equipment.

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Lets now take a look at some of the cons:

1. Weight vests can be overly expensive

The flip side to the above pro is that vests can get very pricey, especially for the heavier weights. And, in order to avoid the next pitfall, you’ll actually need to get yourself a relatively heavy vest.

2. They can “run out” of weight quickly

If you don’t purchase your weight vest wisely, then you may find the resistance becomes too easy too quickly. For example, you may see a weight vest that can be adjusted from 1 lb – 20 lbs and another that can adjust from 1 lb – 40 lbs for twice the price. You think that the 20 lb vest will be appropriate for your calisthenics training because you’re still challenged by just your body weight.

However, if you stick with your training and regularly incorporate your weight vest into it, you’ll eventually find that 20 lbs no longer challenges you. If you want to keep making progress, you’ll have to buy another, heavier vest. Not ideal.

3. Heavy vests can be uncomfortable

This discomfort is often particularly noticeable around the shoulders where the straps can rub. Moreover, having heavy weight tightly strapped to your torso can feel extremely restrictive. In extreme cases, this can produce a sense of breathlessness or even panic, especially in less experienced people.

Now that you have a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of using a  weight vest, let’s look at some basic principles to keep in mind when incorporating one into your workouts. 

How to go about a weight vest workout

The first principle is one you may not want to hear: Don’t use a weight vest if you’re a beginner. A certain level of mastery over your given training is required before it’s safe to add weight to it.

Work on getting the basic technique of your training correct (calisthenics, plyometrics, running, whatever) before throwing on a vest. If you need some equipment to get started with them, places like WickedFlex provide good quality equipment and dumbbells.

The next important principle is
to start light. Begin with 5% of your body weight, especially if you’re going to use the weight for high intensity cardio exercises like sprinting or jumping. Weight can alter your bio mechanics, such as stride length, balance, cadence, etc. Starting light and then building up to 20% or more of your body weight will ensure your body can adapt slowly and properly.

The final principle is, watch your heart rate and back off if your workout starts feeling overly intense. Having a weight vest strapped to your body greatly increases the amount of work that your respiratory muscles need to do in order to breathe deeply and get oxygen into your blood. Naturally, your heart rate will spike. This can be dangerous if your HR gets too high and you’re not used to it. 

Ultimately, as long as you take a planned, measured, and gradual approach, you should reap plenty of benefits from weighted vest training.

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I have been following Dan Jeong for a number of years now and he has always given such great tips and advice in his videos on Instagram and youtube. So if you’re looking for good tips on progressing in Calisthenics exercises or flexibility drills, as well as just different variations and progressions be sure to check out his youtube channel!

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Photo credits:

• crunchphoto

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Eduardo Orihuela is a strength and mobility coach helping everyday people fit fitness into their lives. He gives a whole lot of tips on various stretches, calisthenics/bodyweight exercises and holds, as well as many movement exercises. His videos are nice and simple to follow and understand and he breaks down each movement and progression.

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Ike catcher is a 6’9″ ft tall calisthenic bodybuilder and is pretty agile for a guy of such a size. He trains in calisthenics as well as some martial arts amongst other training forms. Check out this cool body weight workout he shows in the video below!

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Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

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