Your gym-free workout

Posted on 15 December 2015

No gym? No problem. Using nothing but your own bodyweight, you can stay fit – wherever you are.

Just because you’re away from the gym, doesn’t mean you should stop exercising all together. You already have one of the most powerful pieces of fitness equipment: your own body.

Dr Herman Kotzé, a doctor of sports medicine at Mediclinic Stellenbosch and the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, recommends bodyweight training as a simple, yet effective, way of building muscle. ‘The example I always use is gymnasts,’ he says. ‘Gymnasts are probably the strongest athletes you’ll get, and they only train with their own bodyweight. So I’m a big believer in bodyweight exercise –especially for young people. If you’re a teenager, whose muscles are still growing, and you want to start making your muscles stronger, then bodyweight training is the way to go.’

So what kind of exercises is Dr Kotzé talking about? ‘The moves I’d suggest are push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats… anything like that,’ he says. ‘These are also probably the safest exercises you can do, because your risk of injury is very low – and you can build some serious muscle!’

The best part about bodyweight work is that it’s completely mobile. You don’t need to carry heavy equipment around with you, and – as Dr Kotzé says – ‘You can do it all at home… Really, you can do it anywhere! In a hotel room, anywhere.’ That’s good news for people who travel, or for people who’re on long leave and who usually go to the gym near their place of work.

Ready to try some gym-free fitness work? Get started with this easy 15-minute circuit:

WARM-UP
Stretches. Whenever you exercise, remember to warm up and cool down before and after. If you’re pressed for time, don’t shorten your warm-up; rather shorten your workout.

WORKOUT
20 squats
* Remember to keep your back straight, and to squat as deep/low as you can.
10 push-ups
* Keep your back straight, and don’t stick your butt into the air.
20 walking lunges
* As always, your form is important. Keep your back perpendicular to the ground.
20-second plank
* Again, keep your back straight!
30 burpees
* You know this killer move, right? Go from a standing position into a vertical jump, then as you land, go into a deep squat. From the squat, move seamlessly into a push-up
Then repeat the full circuit.

COOL-DOWN
Stretches

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.