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Truly Huge Fitness Tips
Presented by TrulyHuge.com
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Can you really build muscle without weights?
Mike Thiga transformed himself from a scrawny 148 pounds
to a massive 187 pounds. In slightly less than 6 months,
he packed on 39 pounds of solid muscle, all without ever
lifting a weight or going to the gym.
Learn how he did it in Bodyweight Training For Mass
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FITNESS TIPS FOR 2/21/2001
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HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE WITHOUT WEIGHTS,
CHARLES ATLAS AND DYNAMIC-TENSION REVISED
by Paul Becker
Why would anyone want to workout without weights? Everyone
knows that using weights and machines is the fastest, most
efficient way to gain size and strength. While this is true, there
are many reasons why someone would want to, or even be
forced to train for a while without the benefit of using weights.
Someone traveling or working long hours trying to support
his family may not have the time to get to a commercial gym,
and may not have the extra space or money to set up a good
home gym.
Let's face it there are times (vacations, etc.) when all of us
can't easily get to a gym. There are also many trainees
(beginners or athletes training for boxing, baseball or some
other sport) who aren't trying to get a lot of muscular bulk but
want the type of strength, endurance, tone and definition
that calisthenic exercise offers. These exercises can also be
performed anytime, anywhere and you can do them over your
entire life to keep fit.
The idea behind this article is - If for some reason you do
workout without weights, what is the most efficient and result
producing way to do it? You can use these techniques and
exercises in many ways: To build muscle, to maintain muscle
you already have, in combination with your weight training to
add variety and a change of pace, as a warm-up or pump-up
routine, to ease back into training after a layoff or injury, etc.,
etc.
I recently got my hands on the famous "Dynamic Tension
Course" by Charles Atlas. I ordered it mostly as a collectors
piece and novelty item, like owning a part of American pop
culture. Who could forget those great advertisements like,
"The insult that made a man out of 'Mac'.", "Who else
wants a He-Man body?" or "In just 7 days, I can make you
a Man.", I was also curious as to what was this Dynamic
Tension workout exactly. I have always believed that - Only
a fool thinks he knows everything and that a wise man
never stops learning. I read the course and found it quite
interesting and it inspired me to write up a few of my own
ideas on techniques and exercises that can be used to
build muscle without weights.
THE TECHNIQUES
(1) The first technique is to just do the exercises in the
traditional manner, I know you can do 60, 80 even 100 reps
but that's the idea, grind out as many reps as you can
this will build up your endurance and give your muscles
a change of pace. And while this most likely won't give
you any extra size right away, when you go back to
weight training with heavy weights and lower reps you
may be surprised that you are now gaining faster then
before. A few years ago some top bodybuilders were
talking about a technique they called "100's", they
reduced the weight and did literally 100 reps on all their
exercises, they claimed it brought about certain
physiological changes that made the muscles more
responsive to later heavier training. It's worth a try,
especially if you're going to be doing calisthenics
anyway.
(2) Another way to get more results from these
exercises is, right after a set flex hard the muscles
just worked, flex as hard as you can and hold for at
least a count of 10. Arnold talked extensively about
"Posing as exercise" and the use of "Iso-Tension" (Iso
means - Equal; the same, and Tension means - To
tighten; stiffen; contract. So Iso-Tension is simply
contacting the muscles and holding in the same place - no
movement.) he said that it really gives the body a more
chiseled look, reaches areas that training misses and
will make muscular contractions while training more
intense, and more isolated. All good reasons to try this
technique.
A better variation of this is to flex the muscles you are
working first, get them good and tired and then do the
exercise, thus Pre-Fatiguing them. For example flex
the chest or tricep muscles as hard as you can, then
immediately do a set of push-ups. Feels different
doesn't it? It's a lot harder and produces much better
results.
(3) Another technique is to reduce the rest time between
exercises, let's say you start with 60 seconds after a
while cut it down to 45 then 30, then 15, etc. How about
no rest between sets, a whole cycle of calisthenics all
done nonstop, that makes it way more intense.
Also try it this way - do one set, let's say of chin-ups, go
until the muscles are really tired or even to total failure
wait only a few seconds and then do another set. How
many reps did you do on your second set? Only 4 or 5 I
bet, that's about what you'd do if you were doing some
heavy pull-downs. You should see some growth from
this style. Make it even more intense by increasing
the reps on the first set and by decreasing the rest time
before the second set, this is using the Rest-Pause
method without weights.
(4) Why not simply add some weight, just because it's
not metal disks doesn't matter your body can't tell the
difference. Put some heavy books on your back and
do push-ups, or even have your child sit on your back.
Get your wife or girlfriend (but not both at the same time,
that could be trouble) to sit on your shoulders while you
do squats. Do donkey calf raises, get creative there's
always a way to add some more resistance.
(5) How about using only one limb at a time, like doing
one legged squats, one arm chin-ups, one arm
push-ups, etc.. It takes some balance but it definitely
makes it harder and puts on more muscle.
(6) Slow-Motion training is becoming popular again, try
taking a full 12 seconds for the positive phase and 6
seconds for the negative phase of each rep. Don't lock
out in the top position and don't rest in the bottom
position, change smoothly from the positive to the
negative. This is using Slow Continuous Tension, how
many chin-up can you do this way? Not many I bet, it's
intense.
SOME SUGGESTED EXERCISES
Deep Knee bends - Builds thighs, gludes, hips and great
for lung power and endurance. With your feet about
shoulder width apart, grab on to the edge of a sink (or
something that will give you support) and while looking
up slowly bend your knees and lower until your butt is just
about touching the floor. Slowly standup again using only
your legs to lift you, keep your heals on the floor and do
as many as you can. For variation you can place your
feet wider or closer together, or do them one leg at a time.
Calf Raises - Do them on steps, put your toes on the edge
of a step and hold on to the hand rail for balance, lower
your heals to get a good stretch, then raise up on your
toes as high as you can, lower and repeat for as many as
you can. For variation try them in the squatted down
position, one leg of a time or donkey style.
Chin-ups or Pull-ups - For building back, shoulders, and
biceps. Grab a bar with an under hand grip and hang
down getting a good stretch in the lats, Pull up until your
chest hits the bars, lower and repeat for as many. These
can be easily be done in a park, school yard or on a
doorway chinbar. Also try with an overhand grip, with
one arm at a time, or even on monkey bars using a
parallel grip (palms facing each other).
Push-ups - For building chest, shoulders and triceps.
Lie face down on the floor hands about shoulder width
apart keep your palms turned inward slightly, push-up
until your arms are straight, lower and repeat for reps.
To make it more difficult elevate your feet. Also, try
different hand placements (closer together or farther
apart). They can also be done between chairs, this
was the favorite exercise of Charles Atlas. Another
variation is Dips between parallel bars.
Handstand push-ups - Great for shoulders and arms.
Get into a handstand next to a wall, put your toes
against the wall for balance, lower yourself until the
top of your head touches the ground, push back up
and repeat for many reps. Try both close and wide
hand placements.
Crunches - For firming abdominals and reducing
stomach. Lie on your back with your legs bent and
your heals close to your butt, put your chin on your
chest and your hands behind your head. Raise
your head up crunching your abs hard (you should
only go about 1/3 of the way as compared to
traditional sit-ups) lower and repeat for lots of reps.
Hyper -Extensions - For strengthening your lower back.
Place a chair near a bed, while lying face down with
your hips on the chair and your lower legs shoved
between the mattress and boxspring, put your hands
behind your head and bend forward at the waist as far
as you can, raise back up until your back is straight
and repeat for reps.
Grip Exercise - To build forearms and hand strength.
Use a store bought pocket hand gripper, or a hard
rubber ball that fits in your hand, squeeze as hard as
you can, relax and repeat for many reps. Also try
just the thumb and one finger at a time, exercise
each finger this way.
FINAL WORDS
Always use proper form while exercising,
remember - it's safety first. It is also recommended
to stretch before and after your workout. Give
these ideas a try, and never again have a bully
kick sand in your face.
For more information on bodyweight workouts checkout...
How To Build Muscle Without Weights
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SUPPLEMENT SPOTLIGHT
Andro-Shock
Primary usage: Increase testosterone, and hence muscle
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The primary ingredients are Tongkat Ali, DHEA, Zinc and tribulus
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stack" The other ingredients are Saw Palemetto, Chrysin. and AMU.
These other three ingredients are mean't to curb, or inhibit
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The results????
Let me put it this way: Both me and my training partner went on
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gym - my weights went up. I actually LOST a little weight, but that
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Consequently, I have to say Andro-Shock works - it boosts
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Dosage: 3-6 tabs per day. I'm taking 3 tabs twice per day for 6 weeks
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