Butterfly Training

Here are 10 really quick and intense bodyweight training methods beginners can use to design programs you can do anywhere with your bodyweight:

Method #1: Deck of Cards

Have a deck of cards lying around? All you need to do is assign a specific exercise for each suit. For example, clubs can be decline pushups, spades can by jumping pullups , hearts can be parallel squats, and diamonds can be butterfly crunch. Shuffle the deck. Each card you draw tells you which exercise to perform, and how many repetitions to perform. For example, if you draw a 7 of Spades, that means you are doing 7 jumping pullups.

Method #2: Go 300 Style

The 300 workout was very interesting. Instead of performing straight sets and reps, have a goal repetition, and stick to that same exercise until you are able to complete all the repetitions. Then move on to the next exercise. What's more, you are to time the entire workout! You don't need to perform 300 repetitions in your workout, but you can steel the idea and modify it. Choose 3-5 bodyweight exercises, and perform 25-50 repetitions of each in the 300 style.

Method #3: Circuit Training

Circuit training is one of the oldest methods in the book, and yet not enough people perform circuit training. It's really simple - choose 4 exercises, and perform them back to back with little to no rest in between each exercise. You can perform circuit training with virtually any exercise out there.

Method #4: Alternating with Cardio

Another very simple training method: choose a bodyweight exercise, then choose a form of cardio and alternate between the two, similar to the way you'd do circuit training. Some of my favorite forms of cardio are shadowboxing, jump roping, and sprint intervals.

Method #5: Intervals

Who said intervals are only for cardio. You can do bodyweight intervals as well. Simply choose a short time frame - such as 30 seconds, and choose a bodyweight exercise. Perform that exercise for the time allotted. You can either rest for a few seconds, then return back to the same exercise, or alternate between 2-4 exercises in a circuit training fashion.

Method #6: Supersets

Supersets are where you choose two exercises and perform them back to back with little to no rest in between sets. I find that supersets are actually more intense than circuit training, even though you're performing more exercises with circuit training. This is because you have less rest periods between the two exercises. For example, with 4 exercise circuits, you are resting a particular muscle groups over 3 exercises, then returning back to that first exercise. This is not the case with supersets.

Method #7: Tabata

So, returning back to the concept of Intervals, one of the best interval schemes out there is known as Tabata. Tabata training involves performing 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. You perform these intervals for a total of 8 times, or 4 minutes of high intensity pain!

Method #8: Ascending Reps

Here's a cool way to manipulate your repetitions per exercise to make the workout harder. Instead of performing 3x10 for an exercise, gradually increase the repetitions of each set to make the workout harder and harder. Start off low, such as 5 reps for the first set. Then gradually increase - 10 reps for the second set, and 15 reps for the last set.

Method #9: Peripheral Heart Action

So now that you know what supersets and circuit training is, it's time to introduce you to Peripheral Heart Action, or PHA. PHA is a specific kind of supersets that involve performing one upper body exercise and one lower body exercise. I'm not sure why this method works so well, but alternating between upper and lower body exercises will make your workout truly intense.

Method #10: The Dice Method

This final method involves throwing a dice and assigning certain variables. Now that you have a list of methods at your disposal, the first thing I want you to do is to choose 6 of your favorite methods and assign numbers to each. For example, this would be my list:

1. Alternating with Cardio
2. Intervals
3. Deck of Cards
4. PHA
5. Tabata
6. 300

The first roll of the dice will determine my training method. Lets assume I roll a 6. Now I'm doing the 300 method today.

The second roll will determine how many exercises I perform. Lets assume I roll a 4. This means I'm doing 4 exercises. Lets say I want to do 50 repetitions of each exercise. My workout will then be 4 exercises with 50 repetitions of each exercise.

The Dice Method is the only tool you need to create some fast, intense bodyweight training workouts. You'll never be bored!

One of the best bodyweight and dumbbell programs I've come across is Gladiator Body Workout. I recently published an interview with the creator of Gladiator Body Workout, Coach Eddie Lomax. You can find this powerful interview on my blog ShahTraining.com

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Butterfly $10 Butterfly

BUTTERFLY $10 BUTTERFLY

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.