How To Build Muscle Without Weights

Being on the road means that I can’t hit the gym like clockwork or track my nutrition very easily.

Does that mean I have to give up on fitness and building muscle?

Absolutely not.

While I do miss the gym and moving some heavy iron, I’ve learned how to build muscle without weights and have continued to get stronger and leaner.

Understanding how to properly use your bodyweight and some simple pieces of equipment is the key to success.

>>>How To Build Muscle Without Weights

Bodyweight training is awesome for building strength, burning fat and improving flexibility.

Unfortunately, a lot of people associate bodyweight training with high reps and therefore believe there’s no way they could get seriously strong with bodyweight training alone. And they’d be right: simply adding more reps won’t create a significant enough overload to continually build muscle.

To build muscle and get stronger you need to place the muscles under tension by using significant resistance, which is something high rep work doesn’t provide.

So, to make bodyweight training an effective method of building muscle without weights, you have to progressively overload the muscles in the same way you would in the gym.

‘Progressive overload’ refers to the concept of placing demands on the body which must be increased gradually over time to continue building muscle. Without progressive overload, your muscles have no reason to grow and adapt to handling heavier loads.

To build muscle without weights, you need to continually challenge your muscles by doing increasingly difficult bodyweight exercises – just as you would use heavier weights in the gym.

Working towards advanced exercises such as the one-armed push-up, one-armed chin-up, pistol squat, planche, l-sit and front lever will ensure that you are constantly challenged. These advanced bodyweight exercises demand high levels of full body tension that lead to huge strength gains.

Working towards these exercises takes a great deal of patience and dedication, but is incredibly rewarding (as Jason Statham shows in the picture below).

>>>The Benefits of Bodyweight Training

build muscle without weights
Bodyweight exercises belong to a group of movements known as ‘closed kinetic chain exercises’ (CKCE).

CKCE are defined as those where the foot (for a lower body exercise), or hand (for an upper body exercise) doesn’t move and remains in constant contact with a surface.

Closed kinetic chain exercises, as opposed to open kinetic chain exercises (such as the pull-down, bench press or leg press), offer certain advantages, including:

•     Demanding more in the way of coordinative ability and stabilization,
•     Engaging multiple joints and muscles in each movement,
•     Greater muscular and neurological stimulation than OKCE
•     And, arguably, they are more ‘functional’.

As if that wasn’t enough, because the need for equipment is almost non-existent when performing these types of exercises, transitioning from one exercise to another is easy. This is great news if you’re trying to burn fat.

Shorter rest periods between exercises will allow you to keep your heart rate elevated and send your metabolism through the roof.

For the purpose of building muscle and burning fat without weights, CKCE bodyweight exercises are fantastic.

>>>> The Best Bodyweight Exercises

build muscle without weights

Although we’ve talked about some pretty advanced exercises, it’s important that you master the basics first.

The most important closed kinetic chain bodyweight exercises you need to learn are the squat, pull/chin-up and push-up.

They are the most important because, in combination, they provide a full-body workout, and each of them can be progressed easily. Working towards the the most advanced variations of these exercises is extremely tough and enable you to keep building muscle without weights for years to come.

>>>>> Squats

Squats are thought to be one of the best exercises you can possibly do. It’s easy to use progressions to make them harder as time goes by, but you should start by perfecting your form. Here’s how:

    To start, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and put your arms out straight in front of you or behind your head.
    Begin the descent by pushing your hips back and bending at the knees.
    Look straight ahead and keep your chest up to ensure your back remains in a flat, neutral position. Your back should remain in this neutral position throughout the movement.
    Squat down as low as you can whilst keeping your back straight, and then explode back up to the starting position by driving through your heels.
    Your weight should be on your heels throughout the entire exercise.

If these eventually become too easy you can follow these progressions from Al Kavadlo to work towards the pistol squat.

 

>>>>> Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups

Pull-ups and chin-ups are amongst the most important exercises to both novice and advanced athletes alike – which is why it sometimes referred to as ‘the upper body squat’.

Before we go on, it’s important to distinguish between a pull-up and a chin-up:

    Pull-ups are performed with your palms facing away from you.
    Chin-ups are performed with your palms facing you.

Both pull-ups and chin-ups work the back and arms, but chin-ups place slightly more stress on the biceps and are easier than pull-ups. Here are some pointers on form:

    The movement begins from a dead hang. This means your arms should be fully extended, hands about shoulder width apart, chest up, and your shoulders back and tight.
    Pull yourself up toward the bar, clearing the bar with your chin.
    Lower yourself in a controlled motion, and repeat the process.

If you find yourself unable to perform a single pull or chin-up, work on performing negatives. To perform a negative, jump above the bar and try to lower yourself slowly and in control until you’re at the bottom of the movement. This is a great way to build some strength that will prepare you for the real deal.

The advanced variation of pull-ups and chin-ups is known as the muscle-up, which Jim from Beast Skills does a great job of explaining here.

>>>Push-Ups

Push ups engage your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core for a complete pushing exercise, and there’s a tonne of different variations to satisfy the beginner to the advanced athlete. They’re kind of a big deal.

To perform a basic push- up:

    Place you hands on the ground slightly wider than shoulder width.
    Lower yourself until your chest almost touches the floor.
    Ensure you keep your body in a straight line throughout the movement by squeezing your glutes and bracing your abs as if somebody was going to punch you in the stomach.
    Keep your elbows close to your body.

If you can’t do a regular push-up don’t panic. It’s easy to work up to push-ups by starting on an incline or a wall. The technique is exactly the same as above, only you’re more upright.

Once you can perform the basic push-up you can progress to diamond push-ups and eventually one-armed push-ups.

Source: https://travelstrong.net/build-muscle-without-weights/