Many people underestimate the effective of bodyweight exercises as a cardio training technique. These exercises help increase full body strength, and decrease unwanted fat. The key is to develop a regime that is actually effective, and will continue to be challenging.
One of the biggest issues with bodyweight exercises is that your body will adapt after a certain amount of time. This is why you must vary up your routine, and continue to increase the difficulty.
You could use bodyweight workouts as your only means of working out, but the exercises are much more effective when used in combination with weightlifting.
Below, I will explain a few bodyweight exercises that you can implement into your cardio routine as soon as possible.
1. Deep Squats
Some people fear deep squats because of the misconception that it can be damaging on the knees. Yes, if you have knee issues I would probably avoid this exercise. However, if your knees are in good condition, deep squats will only strengthen your legs even further.
The difficulty level of this exercise is much higher than the traditional variation. The key to performing a proper deep squat is to push your hips back as you squat, keep your weight on your heels, and try to keep your back straight. Perform each repetition nice and slow.
2. Plyometric Push-Ups
This exercise is designed to not only build pure strength, but explosiveness as well. I recommend starting out with the traditional push-up before advancing onto this exercise.
Start in the traditional push-up position, lower your body to the ground, and as you push up, explode off the ground, landing softly on your lands. Explosive push-up will increase the strength of fast twitch muscle fibers, and are a great form of anaerobic training.
3. Bear Crawls
Bear crawls are popular among athletes because of the high level of difficulty. For this exercise, you will need an open space. You then crawl on all fours as fast as you can for about 40 to 60 yards.
Your triceps, shoulder, and quads will be on fire towards the end of the exercise and you will need to push yourself. Bear crawls are excellent for developing full body strength and anaerobic endurance.
4. Explosive Squats
The explosive squat will increase your fast twitch muscle fiber strength, and allow you to be more explosive.
Start in the traditional squat position, squat to 90 degrees, explode off the ground, and land softly.
Explosive squats will directly target the quads and glutes.
These are only four of the hundreds of different bodyweight exercises you can use in your cardio routine. But this is a great starting point!
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