The best body-weight exercises
Body-weight exercises might already be part of your workout regimen, but if you’re not doing them properly, you won’t gain the full benefits and you’ll put yourself at risk for injury. These are some of the best body-weight exercises, with tips for how to do them at different fitness levels.
Squats
Squats are a great exercise because they focus on the largest muscle groups in your body — your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. In addition, squats can help strengthen your core muscles, which will improve your balance and stability.
How to do them: Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and sink your hips straight down, as if you’re sitting in a chair, and then come back up. When you’re doing squats, make sure your knees do not extend beyond your toes.
Modifications: To make squats easier, practice sitting down and getting up from a chair without using your arms (you can put them on top of your head, or stretch them out to form a “T”). If you want to make squats more challenging, alternate kicking each leg up as you’re coming up from a squat, or do a jump squat: Lower yourself normally, but jump back up.
Triceps Dip
This exercise not only works your triceps area, but it also is a great exercise to strengthen your core.
How to do them: Sit on the front of a chair, with your feet together and your hands on the edge of the seat on either side of you. With your feet flat on the floor, bend your elbows to lower yourself toward the floor, then push yourself back up.
Modifications: To make this exercise more challenging, get in the same position, but instead of resting your feet on the floor, place your feet on a second chair. To make this exercise less challenging, get on your knees, face the chair, and place your hands on the chair’s arms. Lower your body down toward the chair as if you’re doing a push-up and push your body back up.
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