Starting off with a regular fitness routine can be a difficult process if it’s been a long time since you’ve given it the old college try. As a result, you may not know what exercises may work for you depending on what areas of the body you are interested in targeting. To best serve you, we have come up with a few of the different calisthenic exercises for those beginners out there!
The great thing about this particular regimen is that you don’t need any weights or exercise machines to get a great workout. You can even do these exercises when you’re away on a business trip in your hotel room or next to your couch while you have the television playing in the background. Whatever the scenario, you can expect to get a great workout by following these helpful tips!
Neck and Shoulders
We’ll start off with a pretty simple neck exercise: while you’re either standing or sitting, slowly drop your head forward until your chin touches your chest. After 5-to-10 seconds, return to your original position. Now, lean your head slightly back and hold this position for 5-to-10 seconds. Repeat this stretch in each direction five times. Do this same exercise by rotating and tilting your head for the same pausing times.
For your shoulders, either stand or sit in a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Proceed to roll your shoulders upwards, backward, and down in one fluid motion, repeating this movement five times. After that, reverse the motion upwards, forward, and down five times.
Chest
There are a few different exercises at your disposal when working the chest. Your traditional push-up definitely does the trick, which also works for pectorals, triceps, and deltoids. While you may only start with around 10 push-ups in one go, over time, you should work up to high reps while adding weight (this is easily done by having someone standing next to you gradually pushing down on your back).
Other exercises include incline push-ups (perform the traditional push-up with your feet elevated on a chair, bed, or bench), which helps address the upper pectorals, and chest dips. When you want to improve your deltoids, consider doing shoulder presses.
Back
The most effective means of building up muscle mass in your back is through chin-ups. Make sure wherever you perform this exercise that it is somewhere safe and sturdy so you don’t risk hurting yourself.
After you start to build up a high rep range, you can add weight just like through push-ups by having someone standing on a chair next to you and pushing down on your shoulders. Hyperextensions on the edge of a bed or chair also do wonders, but make sure you do this exercise safely since you can hurt yourself by falling.
Arms
Now we get to your extremities. There’s nothing quite like flexing your arms in the mirror and seeing the results of a good workout staring back at you. The best way to improve your biceps is through pull-ups performed with a shoulder-width grip which really targets this part of your body. When working on your triceps, performing dips in-between two chairs or decline close grip push-ups will bring the muscles you seek.
Legs
One of the most fundamental exercises in any workout regimen is squats. Not only does this target your thighs, but your quadriceps as well. With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat as deep as you possibly can before returning back to your original standing position.
When you want to add weight, have someone grab your shoulders and apply downward pressure. Sissy squats, lunges, leg squats, glute-ham raises, and straight-leg deadlifts are other examples of developing your thighs, calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
Abdominals
Everyone wants six-pack abs – at least, those who have a desire to be fit want them. It’s a great way to show off just how in shape your body truly is. The thing is, everyone’s metabolism acts differently, with a lot of it coming down to genetics. Be that as it may, there are some great exercises you can do that will let you go beyond what your genes say is possible to give you those abs you desire!
They include your traditional crunches and twisting crunches, V-ups, scissor kicks, and lying leg raises. A great way to intensify your ab workout is to keep your arms raised above your head. On the other hand, if you’re trying to make the routine a bit less intense, have your arms crossed over your shoulders with elbows facing up or have your arms crossed over your chest.
While these are simply examples of the different exercises you can do to target specific areas of the body, we recommend speaking with a weight loss specialist who can organize a workout routine that works best for you. After all, like we mentioned before, everyone’s physical makeup is different, so it’s crucial that you have a program that is tailored towards your particular fitness goals and medical needs!
