| You don't need barbells, dumbbells, or machines to | | | | increases. |
| build muscle. | | | | When you lower your body during any exercise, you |
| In fact, weight-training equipment can inhibit the | | | | build up "elastic energy" in your muscles. Just like in a |
| process through poor biomechanics. | | | | coiled spring, that elasticity allows you to "bounce" |
| With challenging body-weight exercises, you can build | | | | back to the starting position, reducing the work your |
| lean muscle anywhere, anytime…..at home, on | | | | muscles have to do. Eliminate the bounce and you'll |
| the road, or even in a public park. | | | | force your body to recruit more muscle fibers to get |
| The longer your body, the weaker you become. | | | | you moving again. How? Pause for 4 seconds in the |
| By increasing the distance between the point of | | | | down position of an exercise. That's the amount of |
| force (your target muscles) and the end of the | | | | time it takes to discharge all the elastic energy of a |
| object you're trying to lift (your body), you decrease | | | | muscle. |
| your mechanical advantage. Think of it this way: An | | | | Apply it: Use the 4-second pause in any exercise. And |
| empty barbell is easy to lift off the floor if you grab | | | | give yourself an extra challenge by adding an |
| it in the middle. But try moving a few inches in one | | | | explosive component, forcefully pushing your body |
| direction and it instantly seems heavier even though | | | | off the floor into the air as high as you can during a |
| its weight hasn't changed. The same is true of your | | | | pushup, lunge, or squat. Because you're generating |
| body: Lengthen it and every exercise you do | | | | maximum force without any help from elastic energy, |
| becomes harder. | | | | you'll activate the greatest number of muscle fibers |
| Apply it:Raise your hands above your head so your | | | | possible. |
| arms are straight and in line with your body during a | | | | Moving in two directions is better than moving in one. |
| lunge, squat, crunch, or situp. If that's too hard, split | | | | Human movement occurs on three different |
| the distance by placing your hands behind your head. | | | | geometric planes: the sagittal plane, for front-to-back |
| The farther you move, the more muscle you work. | | | | and up-and-down movements, the frontal plane, for |
| In physics, "mechanical work" is equal to force (or | | | | side-to-side movements, the transverse plane, for |
| weight) times distance. And since your muscles and | | | | rotational movements. |
| bones function together as simple machines they | | | | Most weight-lifting movements the bench press, |
| form class 1, 2, and 3 levers the same formula applies | | | | squat, curl, lunge, and chinup, to name a few are |
| to your body. It's the most basic of principles: Do | | | | performed on the sagittal plane; the balance of |
| more work, build more muscle. Of course, in a | | | | exercises for instance, the lateral lunge and side bend |
| weight-free workout, you can't increase force (unless | | | | occur almost entirely on the frontal plane. This means |
| you gain weight). But you can boost your work | | | | that most men rarely train their bodies on the |
| output by moving a greater distance during each | | | | transverse plane, despite using rotation constantly in |
| repetition. | | | | everyday life, as well as in every sport. Case in point: |
| Apply it: Each of the following three methods | | | | walking. It's subtle, but your hips rotate with every |
| increases the distance your body has to travel from | | | | step; in fact, watch a sprinter from behind and you'll |
| start to finish, increasing not only the total amount of | | | | see that his hips rotate almost 90 degrees. By adding |
| work you do, but also the amount of work you do in | | | | a rotational component to any exercise, you'll |
| the most challenging portion of the exercise. | | | | automatically work more muscle since you'll fully |
| Hard: Move the floor farther away. For many | | | | engage your core, as well as the original target |
| body-weight exercises lunges, pushups, situps your | | | | muscles and simultaneously build a better-performing |
| range of motion ends at the floor. The solution: Try | | | | body. |
| placing your front or back foot on a step when doing | | | | Apply it: Simply twist your torso to the right or left in |
| lunges; position your hands on books or your feet on | | | | exercises such as the lunge, situp, and pushup. You |
| a chair when doing pushups; and place a rolled-up | | | | can also rotate your hips during movements such as |
| towel under the arch in your lower back when doing | | | | the reverse crunch. |
| situps. | | | | The less contact your body has with the floor, the |
| Harder: Add on a quarter. From the starting position | | | | more your muscles must compensate. |
| of a pushup, squat, or lunge, lower yourself into the | | | | The smaller the percentage of an object's surface |
| down position. But instead of pushing your body all | | | | area that's touching a solid base, the less stable that |
| the way up, raise it only a quarter of the way. Then | | | | object is. That's why SUVs are prone to rolling, and |
| lower yourself again before pushing your body all the | | | | tall transmission towers need guy wires. Fortunately, |
| way up. That counts as one repetition. | | | | humans have a built-in stabilization system: muscles. |
| Hardest: Try mini-repetitions. Instead of pushing your | | | | And by forcing that internal support system to kick in |
| body all the way up from the down position, do five | | | | by making your body less stable you'll make any |
| smaller reps in which you raise and lower your body | | | | exercise harder, while activating dozens more |
| about an inch each time. After the fifth | | | | muscles. |
| mini-repetition, push yourself up till your arms are | | | | Apply it:Hold one foot in the air during virtually any |
| straight. That counts as one repetition. | | | | exercise, including pushups, squats, and deadlifts. You |
| As elastic energy decreases, muscle involvement | | | | can also do pushups on your fingertips or your fists. |