Building muscular strength using just body weight

Building strong muscles gives us a toned physique, fortifies the bones and protects our joints. Moving the same weight time and time again has limitations – as it is constant challenge that creates change. This is where the principle of progressive overload comes into play. We can do this by adding heavier resistance or using variations in the movement – for example adding a power (speed) element.

Let’s look at adding challenges to push-ups as an example. Place a bench under your chest and repeat by exploding off the floor to jump your hands onto the bench. Then walk your hands back down and repeat. Suddenly you’ll go from doing 20 standard push-ups to only being able to manage 10.

Another example is body weight squats. Try jump squats by driving out of the bottom of the squat to jump as high as you can and then use your squat to absorb the landing and repeat. Again, you’ll probably go from doing 50 standard squats to about 20 before you need a rest.

See, you can build serious strength with nothing but body weight and a commitment to adding challenges in order to progress.

For more information about getting fitter for squash click here.