Beginner Bodyweight Workout Plan – Monthly Workout

Welcome to my November 2012 monthly workout!

It’s that time of the month when I like to offer you one of my special workouts. This month, due to popular demand, I’ve decided to go for a Bodyweight Workout for beginners.

Bodyweight Workouts are for Everyone

No matter who you are or how fit you feel, the ability to move your body through fundamental movement patterns is the key to a pain free life and disease free body.

When you move correctly you pump all those great nutrients through the body. It is this pumping mechanism that helps you to energise and heal quicker from aches and pains as fresh blood with nutrients washes through your body.

Using bodyweight exercise is the best place to start with any exercise program. It is totally natural and providing you use the correct exercises limits your chances of injury.

Today’s exercise program is dedicated to everyone!

No matter what level you have achieved with your health and fitness this workout program will help to develop your fundamental movement skills. Many advanced exercisers develop bad habits and so find this workout beneficial for getting back to basics.

If you are looking for fat loss then this program is certainly the best place to start. These exercises are all full body movements that incorporate 100’s of muscles at a time so when done correctly will increase your metabolism and prepare your body for more vigorous exercise at a later date. Be sure to add my all natural nutrition plan to get the most fat loss from this program.

So to recap this program is good for:

• The total beginner just starting out with exercise
• The exerciser who has been ‘off games’ for a while
• The sportsman looking to take a break from sports for a month
• The seasoned athlete who is experiencing aches and pains
• Those looking for fat loss and to complement a good nutrition plan

Please Take Precautions

Before you dive into this workout program I just want you to STOP and THINK. If you have any conditions that you think will put your health in jeopardy by performing exercises then you should seek the advice of a trained medical practitioner or doctor before starting this program. There is nothing unnatural about this program and it will improve your health but I cannot take responsibility for any harm or injury you may cause to yourself. Please take care!

How the Workout Plan Works

I have put together 4 weeks of exercises for you. Every day is different so you will need to follow the program day by day. You will get weekends off so you will have a chance to totally recharge and not even think about exercise for a whole 2 days 🙂

There are only 5 exercises that you need to practice so you should be able to get the hang of them fairly quickly although they will get more challenging as the weeks progress.

So all you have to do is start on Monday, Week 1 and then follow along, simple! No workout should take you any longer than 30 minutes.

The 4 Week Bodyweight Workout Plan

OK, so here is the 4 week workout program:

Week 1:

• Monday: Yoga Squats
• Tuesday: Back Extensions
• Wednesday: Yoga Squats
• Thursday: Push Ups
• Friday: Back Extensions /Forward Lunge

Week 2:

• Monday: Push Ups /Back Extensions
• Tuesday: Yoga Squats
• Wednesday: Bird Dogs
• Thursday:Forward Lunge
• Friday: Yoga Squats / Push Ups

Week 3:

• Monday: Forward Lunge / Bird Dogs / Squats
• Tuesday: Back Extensions
• Wednesday: Yoga Squats / Push Ups
• Thursday: Bird Dogs
• Friday: Forward Lunge / Back Extensions / Push Ups

Week 4:

• Monday: Yoga Squats / Back Extensions
• Tuesday: Forward Lunge/ Push Ups / Bird Dogs
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Forward Lunge / Push Ups / Yoga Squats / Bird Dogs
• Friday: Back Extensions

The Workout Variables

Lets now look at each exercise and see what you need to do:

Yoga Squats:

• Reps: 5 – 25
• Tempo: at breathing pace

Forward Lunges:

• Reps: 3 – 15 each side
• Tempo: slow & controlled

Push Ups:

• Reps: 3 – 20
• Tempo: slow & controlled

Bird Dogs:

• Reps: 5 – 12 each side
• Tempo: slow & controlled

Back Extensions:

• Reps: 3 – 8
• Tempo: 30 second hold at top / 15 second rest

Now, lets take a look at each of the variables in turn so everything is clear:

Reps

These are the total amount of repetitions you will do of each exercise. The objective is to do as many as possible without your form failing during the exercise.

If you can manage 6 Yoga Squats but number 7 and 8 are wobbly and you struggle to finish them, you should only do 6 perfect Yoga Squats.

You need to push yourself as much as possible but only to the point of good form. As with any exercise program you are looking to progress week on week so try to perform more Reps each week.

Sets

Depending on how you find the exercise you will perform between 1 and 3 sets or circuits.

So for Monday, Week 1, you will perform as many Yoga Squats as possible, then rest, and repeat another 1 or 2 more times if you can.

If there is more than 1 exercise on that Day then you will perform one exercise after the other, then rest and repeat the exercises again another 1 or 2 times.

The Sets are listed like this to enable you to progress your workouts. Extreme beginners may only do 1 set (circuit) and more advanced may do 3.

Tempo

The speed at which you exercise is very important. Most people exercise too quickly. They do this because it is surprisingly easier. For all of the exercises above I want you to really take your time. Learn to feel the movement and the muscles in charge of the exercise. Don’t rush through, your muscles need ‘time under tension’, the longer the better!

For the Yoga Squats you move at breathing pace so if you find you are losing your breath then you are going too quickly.

Rest

Once you have completed your circuit of 1 exercise or more, then it’s time to rest. Take between 1 minute and 2.5 minutes depending on how tired you feel. The less rest you can take the better but make sure you are ready for your next circuit before you start.

Why Every Day is Different?

You will notice that every day of your workout is slightly different. This is done to keep your body guessing and to speed up your progress. This type of programming is known as periodisation and this particular method is an undulating periodisation program, in case you wanted to know 🙂

Warming Up

Before you start your workout you will want to warm up your joints. I don’t believe that you should stretch before your workout as this changes length tension relationships that can seriously screw with your movement patterns but you can perform some mobility.

A simple mobility routine could involve:

• Neck: side to side, forwards and backwards, left and right
• Shoulder Circles
• Upper Body Twists
• Hip Circles and Bends
• Ankle Circles

Just run from head to toe loosing up your joints. Don’t worry too much as the 5 workout exercises will mobilise your joints as you work through them, just take your time!

The 5 Bodyweight Exercises

Yoga Squat

The Yoga Squat has to be one of my favourite squatting based movements. It works the whole body but in particular helps to loosen the hamstrings and improve mobility of the hips which most people suffer with due to excessive sitting.

This special squat also opens up the spinal vertebrae which pumps fresh blood and nutrients into the disks that helps to enliven and repair them.

Here’s a Video of How to Perform the Yoga Squat:

(Don’t listen to the final numbers that I say you should perform)

Push Ups

You can think of the Push Up as a strong core exercise. It develops the core and abs as well as improving pushing strength of the chest and arms. If you struggle to perform a single full push up then take a look at my push up tutorial article here.

Here’s a Video of How to Perform the Push Up:

(Don’t listen to the final numbers that I say you should perform)

Forward Lunge

The lunge exercise is extremely powerful and another one of those important movement patterns. It works most muscles in the body but in particular the buttocks and thighs. You may find this exercise a little bit wobbly at first, if so feel free to have a chair, table or wall close by to grab hold of if you need to steady yourself.

Here’s a Video of How to Perform the Forward Lunge:

(Don’t listen to the final numbers that I say you should perform)

Bird Dog

With the Bird Dog we are targeting the back of the body along with the buttocks and lots of the core and abdominal muscles. Form like all the other exercises is very important here. Take your time and focus on your body position through the exercise.

Here’s a Video of How to Perform the Bird Dog:

(Don’t listen to the final numbers that I say you should perform)

Back Extension

The Back Extension is a very simple exercise that again targets the back of the body but will also help to counteract all that sitting we do. If you want to improve your posture and eliminate any back pain you occasionally get then this is the answer. If you find that raising your feet and arms together is too difficult then just focus on raising your arms.

Here’s a Video of How to Perform the Back Extension:

(Don’t listen to the final numbers that I say you should perform)

Stretching After Your Workout?

You may be wondering about stretching after your workout. I personally don’t recommend it. Your nervous system is usually too fired up after exercise for stretching to be of any benefit.  You are much better to stretch in the evening before bed if you are looking at making correctional gains in your soft tissue.

If however you just feel like a stretch after your workout because it feel good then I have no problem with that.

Looking for a 12 Week Bodyweight Program?

Try my 12 Week Essential Bodyweight Program here