Body-Weight ExercisesWhile free weights and machines can cer-tainly make you stronger.don't dismissthe effectivenessof exercisesthat use onlyyour own body weight. As you masteryour own weightrj-ou.will not only lookbetter; you will also' learn how to trainthree-dimensional movement, acquire agreater kinesthetic awareness and becomeempowered as you perform tasks withyour body. Moreover, body-weight exer-cises make your workouts portable, anadded benefit if you travel a lot or havetrouble motivating yourself to go to thegym. Many of these "old school" exercisesare still used as tests of muscular strengthand endurance.

Tomake sure you do body-weight ex-ercises correctly, use the following guide-lines on body position and efficient, safeexecution from Jason R. Karp, PhD, di-rector and coach of REV02LT RunningTeam", a freelance writer and a compet-itive runner.

Chin-UpsYou can build strength in your biceps,forearms and upper back by doing chin-ups, as lifting your body a vertical dis-tance of about 2 feet is no small task. Todo a chin-up correctly: grab horizontalchin-up bar or handles of jungle gym

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with palms facing body and with handsshoulder width apart. From hanging po-sition with legs straight or knees bent,pull body up until chin reaches abovebar. Lower body until arms are fully ex-tended. To do pull-ups instead of chin-ups, grab bar with palms facing awayfrom body. If you cannot do chin-upswith your body weight, use a weight-as-sisted machine like the Gravitron, whichuses a counterweight to reduce theamount of weight lifted.

Push-UpsPush-ups target the pectoralis major andtriceps muscles, but many people performthem incorrectly. Here's how to useproper form: kneel on floor with handsslightly less than shoulder width apartand palms on floor, legs lifted off floor,and back straight and parallel to floor. Ifyou lack strength to do a standard push-up, you can modify this position by plac-ing knees on floor, flexed to 90 degreeswith ankles crossed. Keeping back paral-lel to floor, lower body down until chesttouches floor. Push back up until arms arestraight. Placing hands on a stability ballwill also work abs.

SquatsThe squat is among the most effectivelower-body exercises, as it incorporatesmost of the leg muscles working throughthe kinetic chain. Stand with feet greaterthan shoulder width apart, contract ab-dominal muscles, bend knees and squatdown while keeping back straight, as ifyou're attempting to sit in a chair, untilthighs are slightly past being parallel tothe floor. Straighten legs and stand up toreturn to the starting position .•

With many people on a never-ending ~quest for a flat stomach or siX-packeabs, exercise equipment magufactur-tv'ers have created m'any products toschelppeople achieve that gO?!. But be-9-fore'you reach for ~-cpie-ceof equip-ment, remember mat sometimes the

,:old-fashioned way is the best way.~-sfher~ has been enClugh:research "conl¥"paring abdominal muscle activity from,using commercial abdominal equip-,vmenl versus dOing traditioml~cru"l1ches-to conclude that crunches are just as:effective or better..c;-;, __V"=_-ie'" To do crunches c.:orre.ctly, lie ol1-back~on floor, bend knee~anci keep feet flat-. on floor. Place-hands beMind Ilead;el- " ~,~ow~ outto sides. Gont[actabdominar=-~muscles and lift shoulder bla,des and =,

upper back off;floor:Donot r?iseJjlid- ,clle ahd low baGk. Slowly lower head, v

neck and shoulders to flgor. 1.0 addition =to traditional crunches, you can Ugevariations~sfrltwist crunfches0(twistingto one side while lifting tursCl)'or re" .,-verse cru!l~he§(rClis-ing legs and Qut- .~tockSinstead of to(50).-

This handout is a service of IDEA, the leading international membership association in the health and fitness industry, www.ideafil.com.© 2008 by IDEA Fitness Journal. Reprint permission is granted to IDEA members by the copyright owner, IDEA Health & Fitness Inc., (800) 999-4332.

July-August 2008 IDEA Fitness Journal 119