There are several different ways of building muscle with strength training, and not all of them involve equipment. The simplest and most efficient method is through using your own bodyweight to provide resistance and aid muscle gain. Bodyweight exercises can be aerobic or anaerobic and may target certain muscles or challenge every major muscle group, but they all offer the notable benefits of any other strength training move.
Benefits
Strength training isn't only helpful for building muscle; it also improves bone health, boosts your stamina, enhances your focus, cuts your risk of injury and helps you achieve or stay at a healthy weight. Those benefits also apply to bodyweight moves, so even if you're not a gym member or don't have any resistance training equipment at home, you can get healthier and stronger with basic exercises.
Aerobic Exercises
Dynamic, aerobic exercises involve fluid movement and combine an aerobic element with muscle toning and strengthening. An example is the jumping jack, which raises your heart rate while activating both arm and leg muscles. If you want more of a challenge, try a burpee. Begin in a standing position and then bend your knees, placing your hands flat on the floor in front of your feet. Jump your feet back rapidly to a plank position, drop down to perform a pushup and then hop your feet forward and stand up again before repeating the movement. Plank jumping jacks and mountain climbers are other challenging dynamic bodyweight exercises.
Anaerobic Exercises
By definition, anaerobic exercises don't require oxygen, so they don't raise the heart rate as dramatically as aerobic movements and they don't burn as many calories. Anaerobic bodyweight exercises include pushups, pullups and core exercises such as situps and crunches. An especially useful exercise is the plank, which works many core muscles at once. Begin on all fours, then lower your elbows to rest right below your shoulders and clasp your hands together. Walk your feet back and balance on your toes so that you are holding your whole body weight up with your feet and forearms. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. To challenge your waist muscles, do the pose on your side.
Considerations
If you're just beginning an exercise program, are obese, struggle with an injury or have a chronic health condition, some bodyweight exercises may not be safe for you to do, so speak with your physician before trying any moves. It's also a good idea to watch a physical therapist, a personal trainer or a fitness professional demonstrate exercises before you do them yourself so you can make sure you're using proper technique.
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