This is a really simple answer: because they work. Your body is the only gym you should ever need. Sure, some gyms have amazing amenities but you can’t take ’em with you. Your body is a lot more portable than a Smith machine, isn’t it?
Through balance, stability, and mobility, bodyweight exercises also strengthen you in ways that no gym equipment ever can. In order to be fit, you need to be able to incorporate all the muscles in your body when you squat, twist, reach or jump in sports or in everyday life. Strengthening your body by actually using your own body weight is natural and involves stimulating muscles through a normal range of motion. Lying flat on a bench or sitting while you pull a bar down is absolutely no match for the full-body strength gains and ripped physique you can get from doing bodyweight exercises with proper form.
Get Ripped While Having Fun: Games & Cardio
When combined with core-shredding games/activities and balanced nutrition, the 7 Weeks to Getting Ripped program will help develop a lean, ripped body. Games and cardio are an integral part of getting ripped medicine ball tosses and sprints are an amazing way to burn fat and get fit fast.
The Hot Corner game (page 134) is even better than a boot camp workout because you can do it yourself whenever you want. The most important part about the games and cardio exercises is that they make the workouts more interesting and fun. We all know that if something is exciting, we’re more apt to stick with it, right? The games are also a great way to challenge yourself and your friends; the more support you have, the fewer excuses you have to skip a workout.
The Muscles behind the Movements
Movers are any muscle whose prime mover is to push, pull or rotate any part of your body aside from your core. The core is the foundation that allows the movers to do their thing and handles twisting and crunching. The stronger your core is, the more effective, efficient, and enduring all your mover muscles will be. Building your core strength is the key to total-body fitness and absolutely imperative when developing a fit, ripped physique.
Throughout the book, we’ll focus on exercises that use at least one from each group. Most will use both, and at least one exercise will use all of the above. Seriously, it’ll use all of them.
Can I combine other workouts with this program?
If you’re an athlete who needs to train sports-specific skills, then the workouts in this book should be used to supplement that training. If you’re hoping to get stronger or more ripped faster by doing extra workouts on “rest days,” then you’re in danger of overtraining and not letting your muscles rest, recover and grow. For best results, follow the program rest included for seven weeks. If you’re doing the program for maintenance, check out the advice in the “Maintaining Your Ripped Physique” section on page 114
Keep A Food Journal For A Week.
Write down absolutely everything that you put in your belly water included for seven days (or longer, if necessary) so you can figure out your patterns. Include time, quantity and how hungry you felt on a scale. Make a note about what physical activity you did that day as well; there’s usually a correlation between exertion and hunger. The more information you put in your journal, the more data you have to analyze and figure out your patterns.
Don’t Let Yourself Get Famished
If your stomach is grumbling, there’s a good chance you’ll overeat or snack on something unhealthy. You’re more prone to ignore the unhealthiness of your snack or overdo the portions in your impulse to fill your belly. Eating smaller meals more often throughout the day is the easiest way to combat the tummy grumbles and avoid sabotaging your daily food intake.
