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Top 5 Bodyweight Exercises for Interval Training

By Greg Brookes

When many people think about Interval Training they think about running but there are other options.

Using bodyweight exercises is another way to elevate your heart rate and if done correctly you can get many other benefits too like:

Full Body Muscle Development and Activation
Injury Prevention through Core and Joint Stability
Limited Overuse Injury through Better Load Distribution
Improved Balance and Coordination
Optimal Mobility and Flexibility of Joints

In order to get the correct response from these intervals it is important to use Bodyweight Compound exercises, that means exercises that use as many joints and muscles as possible.

You will find all these exercises demanding so the idea is to work hard for a short period and then rest for a short time before repeating the exercise.

To get a better understanding of interval training and the philosophy behind this type of exercise please read my article ‘Complete Guide to Interval Training for Quicker Results‘

Top 5 Bodyweight Exercises for Interval Training

# 1 – Fast Mountain Climbers

A fast paced exercise that uses most muscles in the body. I particularly like this exercise because it works your core stability hard as you try to maintain alignment in the push up position. You will need good shoulder stability and the ability to hold a good push up position in order to get the most from this exercise. From a push up position you keep the core tight as you alternatively drive the knees up and between the arms.

Be aware that this exercise heavily utilises the hip flexors, the muscles that bring the knees to the chest. It is common for many people to have over-active hip flexors due to faulty core activation so you will want to work on stretching out your hip flexors with deep lunges and back bends to counteract this over time.

Greg’s Tip: Get yourself some Sliders for this exercise or try it on a wooden floor wearing some old socks. Using sliders will eliminate the need for impact during each repetition so its a better option for beginners.

Tutorial on How to perform the Fast Mountain Climber Exercise:

3 Bodyweight Workouts:

Fast Mountain Climbers x 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds and repeat 4-8 times

Fast Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
Front Plank x 30 seconds
Repeat 3-8 times

Fast Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
Squats x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds and repeat 3-8 times

# 2 – High Knees

This is a standing exercise that will have your heart rate shoot up very quickly indeed. Like all these exercises it works most muscles in the body but this particular exercise works into the Core Rotational muscles as well as the legs.

The exercise is very simple just run on the spot lifting the knees as high as possible. Your optimum goal is to get the knees above waist height.

Be very careful with this exercises because it uses a lot of high impact through the calf muscles. Please ensure that the ankles and calf muscles are warmed up first and that you have no calf or Achilles issues. This exercise would not be recommend for beginners or those who carry too much excess weight as the impact would be too high. Fast Mountain Climbers with Sliders would be more appropriate for a beginner.

Greg’s Tip: place your hands at waist height and work hard to slap your hands with your knee for each repetition.

Tutorial on How to Perform the High Knees Exercise:

3 Bodyweight Workouts:

High Knees x 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds and repeat 3-8 times

High Knees x 100 reps
Rest 60 seconds and Repeat 3-8 times

Push Ups x 10, 9, 8 etc
High Knees x 30 seconds
Countdown, 10 Push Ups then High Knees, 9 Push Ups High Knees etc

# 3 – Squats or Jump Squats

Nothing is more practical than working on the Squat exercise and if done correctly and at a good pace they are very cardiovascular too. Squats use most muscles of the body but in particular the legs and buttocks.

For the beginner regular squats will raise the heart rate rapidly but for the more advanced you may need to up the tempo or add in a jump. Jump squats are definitely not for the beginner so if you are new to squats work on your regular squats first.

If you are not getting as much from your squats as you think you should you are probably not squatting low enough and/or driving your hips to full extension at the top of the movement.

Greg’s Tip: Get down deeper. For beginners squat down to a chair, stool or bench that puts your thighs at least to parallel with the floor.

Tutorial on How to Perform the Jump Squat Exercise:

3 Bodyweight Workouts:

Squat or Jump Squats – 20 seconds
Hold in bottom squat position – 10 seconds
Repeat 5-8 times

Squat or Jump Squat – 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10 reps
Fast Mountain Climbers – 20 seconds
Countdown, Squat 20, Fast Mountain Climbers, Squat 18, Fast Mountain Climbers etc.

Squat or Jump Squat x 20 reps
High Knees x 20 reps
Repeat 5 times as quickly as possible

# 4 – Squat Thrusts

Similar to the Fast Mountain Climber more even more demanding and placing more emphasis on the leg muscles. Squat thrusts are a huge core exercise too!

Beginners should reduce the impact of the Squat thrust by limiting the length of the jump or my using Sliders or socks on a wooden floor.

Try to keep your weight over the hands as much as possible as this takes the emphasis away from the legs slightly. Ensure that you extend the legs fully during each repetition.

Greg’s Tip: Use a line on the floor or use some tape to create one. Next ensure you jump your feet over the line each time. As you improve place the line closer and closer to the hands.

How to Perform the Squat Thrust Exercise:

3 Bodyweight Workouts

Squat Thrusts – 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds and Repeat 3-8 times

Squat Thrusts – 30 seconds
Pull Ups x 1,2,3,4
Ladder, Squat Thrusts then 1 Pull Up, Squat Thrust, 2 Pull Ups, See how high you can go

Squat Thrusts – 50 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Repeat 40 reps, Rest, 30 reps, Rest, 20 reps, Rest 10 reps

# 5 – Burpees

The classic burpee just had to be included in this list. For the beginner just performing 5-10 good Burpees can be very cardiovascular. Like the exercises above the Burpee uses most muscles in the body. You can modify the exercise to eliminate the jumping aspect if you are new to the exercise and you can increase the demand by adding in a jump at the top of the exercise. Good core stability is essential for this exercise especially during the jumping back of the feet.

Greg’s Tip: Make you you don’t just fall to the floor, perform a good squat and then place the hands down. The downward phase is an important part of the exercise.

How to Perform the Burpee Exercise:

3 Burpee Workouts

Burpee x 10 reps
Rest 60 seconds and Repeat 3-8 times

Burpee with 2 Push Ups x 10 reps
High Knees x 50 reps
Repeat 3-8 times

Burpee x 30 seconds
High Knees x 30 second
Rest 30 seconds
Squats or Jump Squats x 30 seconds
Fast Mountain Climber x 30 seconds
Rest 90 seconds and Repeat Full Circuit 2-3 times

Conclusions

Bodyweight Intervals when done correctly are highly effective and can be performed almost anywhere. Start off with only 1 or 2 circuits and add an extra circuit each week. Only perform this style of high intensity interval training 2 times per week because your body will need time to repair and recover between workouts.

Most of all enjoy these intervals and progress at your own speed safely.

Have you tried any of these interval training exercises? Let me know more below:

What Babies Can Teach Us About How We Should Exercise

By Greg Brookes

Have you ever noticed the postural similarities between a baby and the elderly?

Understanding the development of the human body will help you realise why certain exercises are great for your posture and why others are destroying it.

Later I’ll be showing you what exercises you should focus on but for now lets look at what human development teaches us.

It Starts with Pronation

When a child is born, and even prior to birth, they adopt the fetal position. In anatomical terms this is referred to as being in pronation.

During Pronation the arms and legs are turned inwards and the body is in flexion or bent forwards.

It is also interesting to note that this position is adopted as a defensive position during times of danger, it’s comfortable and protects the vital organs. Shock most people and they will instinctively move into pronation.

Moving into Supination

As time passes the body starts to open out like a flower in spring. The spine begins to straighten and the limbs, through the development of muscle, start to turn outwards. The body moves from Pronation into Supination.

Finally we get to a position, all being well, where the body is fully upright. The spine develops its natural “S Curve” and the strength of our back muscles and Buttocks keeps us upright and open.

Maintaining an upright and Supinated position signals to the world that we are strong, confident and mean business!

Ends Back in Pronation

As we age gravity starts to take its toll. Muscles start to weaken and the body, slowly at first, and quickly towards the end brings us back down towards the fetal position.

Just like a wilting flower the body starts flexing forwards and the limbs begin to travel inwards.

Elderly people in their final years struggle to straighten their limbs and spend most of their time looking at the ground 🙁

How to Prolong Your Healthy Posture

The way you exercise will have a huge impact on how your body looks and reacts.

If you want to maintain your upright posture and stay in Supination rather than moving back into Pronation then you need to take action.

Exercising to improve your posture is not as difficult as you may think. All you need to do is promote more Supination within the body.

Here are the 3 key areas you need to address:

# 1 – Extension

Rather than spending all of your time on Flexion based exercises like Crunches that take you further into the fetal position.

Work on exercises that promote extension like: Back extensions, Cobras, and Sky Divers.

Here’s an example of the Back Extension exercise (note how it counteracts forward flexion)

# 2 – External Rotation

Have you ever seen someone running and flicking their feet outwards at the back?

Take a look next time you are in your local park and you’ll be surprised! When the knees come in and the feet flick out at the back that is usually due to weak external rotation of the hips. In other words, their buttocks are too weak to keep their legs in a straight line. The legs are being pulled into a pronated position.

Question: What is the biggest problem with feet today, and hence why the orthotic industry is booming? Answer: Pronation of the feet! Strengthen your External Rotation Muscles or Buttocks and the Pronation of the feet will more times than not disappear.

Work harder on exercises like: Bridges and Single Leg Deadlifts

Here’s a Tutorial video of a the Single Leg Deadlift:

# 3 – Supination

Most kinds of pushing exercises will put you into Pronation, or in other words fold everything inwards. Most kinds of pulling exercises will put you into Supination, or open everything outwards.

So hours spent on Push Ups and Bench Press Exercises will only help to promote bad posture, and turn the body inwards.

It’s ironic that most people work on their chest muscles to increase the appearance of their chest when they are actually only turning their posture in on itself and hiding their prized possessions. If you really want to reveal a good chest then work on exercises that lift the chest and open the body out like a beautiful flower.

Work harder on Pulling based exercises like: Rows, Deadlifts or Cable Pulls.

Here’s a video of an Single Leg Dumbbell Row:

Conclusions

We all only have a finite amount of time on this earth. We start off in a Pronated position and end in a Pronated position but how long you remain strong and upright is up to you.

You can either work hard to destroy your posture or you can work hard to improve it. With any luck you will work hard to maintain a beautiful flowing posture well into your twilight years.

21 Quick Actions That Will Radically Improve Your Health

By Greg Brookes

#1: Drink a Pint of Water as Soon as you Wake Up

We all know the importance of water, right?

We evolved from water. Our body is made up of approximately 70% water. We are basically a walking, talking, big mass of mostly water.

First thing in the morning your body is dehydrated from 7+ hours of no water. Drinking a pint of water before you do anything else will give your body the top up it needs to start the day.

In Dr. Batmanghelidj famous book “The Body’s Many Cries For Water“ he explains, in great detail, the importance of drinking water. He believes that often we are not hungry but thirsty as the body confuses signals for water.

Drinking 2 litres of water per day is a good starting point for most adults. Performance, concentration and sickness are all symptoms of dehydration. Your intestines will also squeeze and extract water from your feces if you are really dehydrated and nobody wants their body made up of that type of water, do they?

#2: Start a Workout Habit of 7 Minutes a Day

It doesn’t take long to form a new habit, usually in less than 30 days.

Don’t try to do too much too soon. Start by just developing an exercise habit rather than killing yourself at the gym.

Using my Daily 7 Minute Workouts is a great start:

1. Choose one movement pattern for each day of the week (Monday – Friday)

2. Movement Patterns include: Squatting, Pulling, Lunging, Pushing, Bending

3. Try to perform as many of that movement pattern as you can in 7 minutes

My advice would be to run through your 7 minute workout nice and early before breakfast. Early workouts work in tune with your hormonal system and leave you not thinking about exercise for the rest of the day.

Start your 7 minute exercise habit today and before long it will feel as natural as brushing your teeth!

#3: Ditch the Table Salt and Start Eating Real Sea Salt

The majority of people are still overloading themselves with processed salt.

Salt isn’t actually the problem, it’s the type of salt that matters. Did you know that human blood has the same salt content as sea salt?

Table salt is highly processed, often using chemicals, that leave it clean, white and absent of all those precious trace minerals. Most table salt resembles something you would find in a science lab rather than in nature.

There are lots of great unprocessed sea salt brands out there. Look for sea salt that is slightly grey in colour. My favourite is a French sea salt is called “Gros Sel de Guerande”.

Buy a good brand of sea salt and it will last you for months.

#4: Set Up an Organic Food Delivery

Eating seasonal food is important. The more local seasonal food your eat the less time it has spent in transit and the more nutrients the food will have. Fresh fruit and vegetables lose nutritional value from the moment they are picked.

To ensure you get the most seasonal and local food I recommend you sign up with a Local Organic Food delivery service like Riverford (the one I use) or Abel and Cole.

Organic Delivery is great because:

1. You get fresh fruit and vegetables delivered to your door weekly

2. You get to try some weird and wonderful foods that maybe you have never tried before

3. Organic food is not drenched in nasty pesticides and other chemicals

4. It actually works out cheaper than buying from the supermarket

5. It saves you time and effort of shopping each week

Set up an Organic food delivery today and you will be amazed at some of the great food you will be eating!

#5: Start to Breathe Deeply Through Your Belly Again!

Stress causes shallow breathing through the upper chest and neck. The more shallow you breathe, the more of a stress response you get.

Have you ever watched a baby breathe? They breathe deeply through their bellies right? As we get older and stress starts to creep into our lives we start to take that breathing from the belly and shift up and into the chest and neck.

Shallow breathing causes headaches, upper back and neck tension! As well as keeping you highly charged and your hormonal system on overdrive.

Learn to slow down your breathing and take your breath to your belly. Deep breathing through the diaphragm stimulates the “Parasympathetic Nervous System” and causes the body to relax.

1. Try taking 10 deep breaths counting to 5 on the IN breath and 5 on the OUT breathe

2. Push your belly OUT as you breathe IN and pull the belly IN as you breathe OUT

3. 2 thirds of your breath should come from your belly and 1 third from your chest

Take some time each day and learn to breathe deeply. It’s a wonderful stress reliever!

#6: Re-Assess Your Medication and Make Some Changes

The sale of Drugs, whether over the counter or via prescription is a multi-million pound industry. Many people are far to easily convinced to take drugs based on TV ads or Doctors recommendations.

The truth is, ALL drugs are poison to the body. It takes a lot of energy for the body to process drugs and most drugs have side effects.

If your are suffering from a sickness or disease then start to question what may be out of balance in your life. Are you stressed out, eating dead foods, dehydrated, lacking in quality sleep?

If you have been taking medication for a long time then book an appointment with your doctor to reassess your situation. Don’t just reach for the drugs every time you have a headache, backache, constipation etc. Start to question the source of the problem rather than addressing the symptoms every time.

#7: Eat More Living Food

If you want to bring life into your body then you need to eat live foods. Dead foods only equal a dead body!

So think about what foods you are eating. Do you eat fresh and seasonal foods (see action #4) or are you eating packaged and processed foods?

The fresher the food the better. Try steaming or eating some of your foods raw to get the maximum nutrition from them. Boiling vegetables only leaches all the vitamins and minerals out into the water. So if you do boil vegetables make sure you use the water to make soups and sauces.

#8: Get to Bed by 10:30pm, it’s When, Not How Much Sleep that Counts

The human being operates on what is called a circadian cycle.

We evolved from nature and have always been influenced by the fall and rise of the sun. In the mornings the hormone Cortisol is stimulated, this prepares the body for action. In the evenings Cortisol levels should be reduced and Anabolic hormones are released to stimulate tissue regrowth and repair during sleep.

If you go to bed too late then you miss out a large portion of the the Growth and Repair cycle which usually runs from around 10-2am. From 2am to 6am most repair is mental rather than physical.

We are creatures of the earth and need to work with our hormones rather than against them.

It’s not necessarily how much sleep you get that matters but more when you sleep that counts!

#9: Take Your Shoes off and Start Earthing

How often to you touch your bare feet on the grass or earth?

Earthing is based on the principle that we have lost our connection with the earth. If you think about it, do you ever walk around in bare feet anymore? Our ancestors used to have constant connection with the earth and this is something that has been lost today.

There is lots of research coming out now that shows positive reasons why we should all get out there and dance on the grass or paddle in streams.

Just connecting your body to the earth will give you lots of natural energy.

So get out there today for 5 minutes and get connected back with nature.

#10: Avoid Wheat for the Day, You Won’t Regret It

Wheat is a major problem and probably the most influential food action your could take today.

It’s not actually the wheat that is the problem but the wheat’s protein Gluten that is the real nasty. The sticky protein Gluten is a big irritant to most peoples gut.

Being Gluten intolerant doesn’t just mean having gut problems like wind and a bloated stomach. Gluten can also cause an auto immune response from Leaky Gut Syndrome resulting in: Arthritis, Headaches, Back Pains, Depression and more.

Gluten is everywhere so be careful. Common foods include: Breads, Pasta, Sauces, fillers in Sausages, and Cereals.

You can take a food sensitivity test to find out if you are Gluten sensitive or you can avoid Gluten for 30 days and see just how amazing you feel without it.

#11: Free Your Mind With 5 Minutes of Meditation

Stress is the number one killer. Meditation offers you a chance to take your mind away from the daily grind and be with yourself for a few minutes.

There are many ways to mediate, here are 2 of my favourite methods:

1. Sit quietly and breathe deeply through your belly. Concentrate on your breath as you breathe through your nose. Count each breath and see how high you can count.

2. Again sit or lie quietly and breathe through your belly. Concentrate your vision on an object about 10 feet in front of you. Keep your eyes relaxed and focus on that object ONLY.

If you do start to think about your worries and problems don’t give up just accept them and refocus on your meditation.

Start with 5 minutes and work up to 30 minutes per day.

#12: Avoid Drinking Caffeine in the Afternoon

Coffee and Tea both contain caffeine which adds extra stress to your body and mind.

The stress that caffeine causes effects your nervous system. With every cup of caffeine your adrenal glands release hormones that fire up your system and prepare it for action. As the system gets fired up glucose is released into the body to give it energy. This energy response all dates back to our survival days when we needed energy to fight or run from wild animals. We don’t usually need this energy anymore so it gets stored in the liver or in the fat cells for later.

The roller coaster that the blood sugar levels are put on due to caffeine intake and subsequent cortisol and insulin responses is very damaging to the body. Adrenal fatigue is all too common these days, as is Insulin Resistance and Diabetes.

Caffeine really does get on your nerves so take a break from it as much as you can, especially in the afternoons when you should be winding down.

#13: Choose BIG BANG Exercises and Save Time

If your goals are to improve your fitness and lose fat then you shouldn’t waste your time with small exercises.

Small exercises only target small muscle groups, like the biceps or triceps. To get a quicker response from your workout you need to focus on big exercises that hit large muscle groups.

Here’s my list of top 5 Big bang exercises:

1. The Lunge – a basic movement that not only works most muscles of the body but improves your balance and movement skills

2. The Row – pulling your hands towards you is excellent for recruiting most of the muscles in your back. Perform this exercise standing up and you will use the legs and core muscles too!

3. The Squat – uses most muscles in the body but in particular the buttocks and thighs

4. The Push Up – avoid the bench press and stick to the push up. The push Up targets the chest, triceps and core muscles and you can do them anywhere.

5. The Deadlift – again uses most of your 600 muscles but heavily works the back of the body so great for posture

Put these exercises together in a circuit in the same order as above and you have a quick and highly effective workout.

#14: Take a Walk in Nature

There is nothing more natural and uplifting than taking a walk in nature. If your mind is busy, you are feeling the pressures of the day, or you simply need a break from the office. Taking a quick stroll through a park, fields or woods, is great for the soul.

Walking in nature can offer you some active meditation. A time to let yourself go and reassess your situation. Remember we all come from nature so get out there and reconnect.

#15: Plan Out Your Meals for the Week

OK, don’t turn your nose up at this suggestion. A little planning can go a long way.

There is nothing worse than opening the cupboards and finding them bare. Empty cupboards usually means eating and drinking things that you know you shouldn’t.

Take 5 minutes and write down a list of meals for the week. Once you have your meals jotted down, split each meal up into ingredients required. You then have your shopping list for the week.

This is a simple technique that only has to be done once a week, but the time and aggravation it saves is well worth it. Also, once you have written down a few weekly lists you can combine them to save even more time.

#16: Follow the Rainbow Diet

It’s a fact that different coloured vegetables contain different nutrients.

Next time you are out grocery shopping try and choose as many variations of colours as you can find. The brighter and more colourful your shopping basket the better.

#17: Dream about What You Really Want

Do you know what you really want out of life? Have you ever taken the time to think about it?

Setting goals and taking control of your life is important for your overall happiness. There is something very intrinsically rewarding about achieving a goal. Generally the harder and longer a goal takes to achieve the more rewarding it will be.

The subconscious mind has a clever way of finding solutions for you but you have to set it a goal first. Dream big and don’t worry about how you will get there, just let your subconscious take care of it.

Here’s my proven goal setting technique:

1. Close your eyes and dream about what you want your life to be like in 5 years. How will it look and feel?

2. Now ask yourself what skills you need to achieve your dream? List them down.

3. Next work backwards and plan out your pathway to your dream. Where will you need to be in 3 years, 2 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 month, 1 month, 1 week?

4. Write out your road-map and stick it on the wall. Tick off each week as you progress towards your 5 year dream.

This technique is highly effective. Don’t sweat over the small stuff, it will sort itself out. As I said before trust your subconscious to find a way. Take control of your life and you could be living your dream in only 5 years!

#18: Spend More Time Standing

For some people the idea of standing more often terrifies them but the truth is sitting down is not very good for our backs.

When we sit down huge amounts of pressure is transferred to the lower back, far more than when standing. It always amuses me when people say their back hurts and so they need to sit down. If you have a bad back you are better to either lie down or stand up.

I’m sure you know that we live in a sitting world. We sit going to work, at work, going home from work, and finally at home in the evening.

Try to spend more time on your feet. One simply technique to prevent prolonged sitting at work is to set a stopwatch on your computer. Every 50 minutes take the time to get up, move around, drink some water and look at something other than the computer screen. You will be amazed at how much more productive you will become by using this simple method.

#19: Turn the Lights Down and Chill Out in the Evening

Dig out those candles, dim the lights, and play some soft music. In the evening it’s time to relax and work with your hormones not against them.

I mentioned earlier how we are influenced hormonally by the sun and how these hormone levels change throughout the day. Well, in the evening we should be winding down and preparing to sleep. Bright lights and stimulating TV will activate the cortisol hormone. High cortisol levels should naturally occur in the morning when its time to wake up and get going, and not in the evenings.

So in the evenings try to avoid all stimulants, relax and wind down the right way.

#20: Limit Your Fruit Intake to 1 Piece Per Day

What? I know what you are thinking. Reduce fruit, I thought that was good for me?

Fruit is good for you but only in small doses. Fruit contains high amounts of sugar. I know it’s the natural sugar Fructose but it’s still sugar.

Sugar is the largest cause of obesity today. No its not fat, its sugar. Sugar consumption has drastically risen over the last 50 years and fat consumption has drastically dropped, but we are all in worse shape than ever. We have more gyms, medical practitioners and health carers than ever before but we still can’t stop the obesity epidemic. Stop sugar and it all goes away!

Here’s my quick guide to Fruit and Sugar:

1. Avoid all Sugars including syrups and artificial sweeteners (they are even worse than sugar).

2. All ingredients that end in “ose” are a sugar. For example: Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Maltose etc.

3. Limit fruit to one piece a day. Only eat seasonal fruit. Fruit is not a meal.

Fruit has changed a lot over the years. Our ancestors would have eaten fruit that was much smaller and more sour. They would have only eaten it when it was in season and usually to fatten up for the winter.

Be very very careful with fruit and sugar!

#21: Do Something Different

Remember the feeling you last had when you did something different? We are creatures of habit and although most habits keep us safe they don’t always challenge us.

Have some fun by changing a habit and doing something you haven’t done before. It can be as simple as taking a different route to work or waking up in the middle of the night and looking at the stars. The challenge is to experience something new.

Spend 5 minutes looking through Google for something new. Try a new sport, join a new club, start a new business, try a new hobby, reconnect with an old friend, go to the theatre, book a weekend break.

Life is short. It’s amazing what happens when you try something new. With new experiences come more new experiences. Without change you get the same results so get out there and explore.

How many of these Quick Actions will you take today?

18 Valslide Exercises from Beginner to Advanced

By Greg Brookes

Valslides, created by Valery Waters, are an excellent addition to any fitness toolbox.

They are great for reducing impact during certain exercises or for intensifying Core and Abs exercises.

There are 2 types of Valslides that you can use, one is for use on Carpets and the other for shiny flooring like Wood, Stone or Vinyl.

Here are a list of my favourite Valslide exercises to get you started:

Beginners

# 1 – Fast Mountain Climbers

A nice introduction to using the Valslide. You will have one Valslide under each foot while in the Push Up position.

Next keeping your arms straight and core nice and tight you alternate sliding your knees to your chest.

Start off slow to get a feel for the movement and then work on picking up speed.

This exercise is not only demanding for your Core muscles but is also a great cardiovascular exercise.

Perfect for beginners because it takes the high impact out of the movement.

Try 30 seconds for a good pulse raiser!

# 2 – Reverse Lunge

Performing a Reverse Lunge with a slider under the moving foot adds a different dimension to the regular reverse lunge.

As you bring the foot back through to the starting position you will notice that you will have to deal with the friction that the Valslide produces.

Be careful that during this movement you do not just slide backwards and forwards without dropping the back knee.

Remember you are still performing a lunge and not just a rear hip flexor stretch.

Work on one side first and then switch to the other side.

# 3 – Hamstring Curl

This exercise is great for working into the hamstrings.

Start by lying on your back with both heels on the Valslides.

Next raise your hips and keep them up as you pull both heels in to your buttocks and then push them back out again.

When you first start this exercise you may want to just pull in one leg at a time.

Ensure that you straighten the legs at the end of the movement to fully lengthen the hamstrings.

# 4 – Slow Mountain Climbers

Valslide Slow Mountain Climbers Exercise

A beautiful Core exercise that works on stabilisation.

The exercise looks very similar to the Fast Mountain Climber except the knee is brought to the outside of the elbow.

The movement should be performed at a very slow pace allowing the Core muscle to engage correctly.

The slower you move the more difficult the exercise. Attempt to keep your hips as still as possible throughout the movement.

# 5 – Side Lunge

One of the more difficult beginner exercises that requires good flexibility through the hips.

Starting from a standing position place one Valslide under your one foot.

Next slide that foot directly out to the side and push your hips backwards.

Keep your chest held high and back flat. Keep pushing your hips backwards and leg out to the side until your thigh is parallel with the floor.

Pause and then return to the starting position. The deeper you drop into the lunge the more you engage your buttocks.

# 6 – Forward Lunge

Very similar to the Reverse Lunge but moving forwards. You will find this lunge variation more difficult that the Reverse Lunge.

Using a Valslide for the Forward Lunge teaches you to load the back leg in a different way because overloading the Valslide would throw you off balance.

The friction produced from the Forward part of the lunge is also something that you would not usually have to deal with when performing a regular Forward Lunge.

# 7 – Clock Lunge

A great exercise to finish of the beginners section.

The Clock Lunge works your Lunge pattern through all the different movements listed above.

Start by performing the Forward Lunge with the right leg, then the Side Lunge with the right leg, and finally the Reverse Lunge with the right leg.

Next switch legs and perform the Reverse Lunge with the left leg, followed by the Side Lunge with the left leg and finally the Forward Lunge with the left leg.

Next switch legs and repeat.

You will notice that you are Lunging around a clock in a clockwise direction: 12, 3, 6, 9 and 12 O’clock.

Advanced

# 8 – Squat Thrust

Another good cardiovascular exercise that works the Core hard too.

Set yourself up as if you are about to perform the Fast Mountain Climbers.

Next with both feet on the Valslides pull your toes into your chest and then back out again.

Keep your Core tight and ensure you complete the full movement to straighten your legs at the end.

A great exercise if impact is a problem for you.

Try 30 seconds without stopping to really get your heart beat racing.

# 9 – Double Lunge

One of my favourite Valslide exercises for testing the legs.

You will have your foot on one Valslide and then imagine that the other foot is stuck to the floor.

Next slide backwards into a Reverse Lunge and then Forwards into a Forward Lunge.

Keep the pace fairly brisk and ensure that your knee gets as close to the floor as possible for every repetition.

One repetition counts as forwards and backwards.

Try 10 on each side for a nice leg workout.

# 10 – Alligator Walk

This tasty exercise works both your Core muscles and your shoulders too.

I like the shoulder stabilisation that is required to perform this exercise correctly.

Start in a Push Up position with your feet on the Valslides.

Next with your Core engaged and back nice and flat start dragging yourself forwards on your hands.

Only move your hands as you continue to walk forwards dragging your legs behind you.

Find some room and move forwards for 10 and backwards for 10. If your hips start to sag towards the floor then stop the exercise.

# 11 – Hand Slide Outs

Very powerful Core exercise that can be modified depending on strength.

Start in a Push Up position with your hands on the Valslides.

Next taking it in turns slide your one hand out forwards as far as possible.

Next return the hand slowly and repeat on the other side.

The crucial part about this exercise is keeping the Core engaged and the back flat.

Only slide your hand as far forwards as you can manage with good form.

# 12 – Reverse Lunge with Overhead Reach

Valslide Reverse Lunge with Overhead Reach

A nice full body movement that lengthens the back and mobilises the rear hip flexors too.

Perform the regular Reverse Lunge as mentioned in the beginners section.

As the back knee drops down into the lunge reach up with both hands and look up at the same time.

Next bring both arms down as you drive from the front leg back into the standing position again.

# 13 – Plank Slide Outs

A demanding Core exercise that requires a good deal of foundational core strength to begin with.

Start in a regular Plank position with your feet on the Valslides.

Next keep your Core engaged and hips up as you slide your feet backwards.

Slide your feet back as far as your Core muscles can handle before sliding back to the starting position again.

If you are new to this exercise work on only sliding backwards and forwards a few inches before really going for it.

# 14 – Push Up to Squat Thrust

A nice Valslide combination exercise that starts with a regular Push Up and then adds in a Squat Thrust.

Begin the exercise in the Push Up position with the feet on the Valslides.

Perform a single Push Up and then when back at the top of the movement pull the knees in and out for a Squat Thrust.

Keep the pace steady and don’t sacrifice your form for speed.

Keep that core tight and your hips up.

# 15 – Cross Body Mountain Climbers

A similar Core exercise to the Slow Mountain Climbers but this time a little more focused on the Obliques.

From the Push Up position with the feet on the Valslides take the knee underneath the body and as close to the opposite elbow as possible.

Return the leg to the start position and repeat on the other side.

Keep the movement slow and controlled.

# 16 – Pikes

A nice core exercise that demands good core stabilisation as well as hamstring flexibility.

Start in a Push Up position with both feet on the Valslides.

Next keeping your legs straight pull your legs in towards you and push your buttocks up into the air.

Try to get your feet as close to your hands as possible without bending your legs.

Next slowly slide your feet back into the Push Up position.

# 17 – Side Plank Reach Through

This Core exercise works the side of the body as well as your Upper Thoracic mobility.

Start in a Side Plank position with your top hand on a Valslide.

Next sliding the Valslide along the floor take the hand underneath the body as far as possible.

Rotate the body as much as possible as you reach through.

Next pull the arm back through and start again. Move slowly throughout the exercise and keep your hips nice and high.

# 18 – Push Up Slide Outs

This exercise takes the regular Push Up to the next level and really challenges the one side of the Chest and Triceps.

Start as with a regular Push Up but with both hands on the Valslides.

Next as your descend down into your Push Up slide one arm out to the side as far as possible.

As you push up from the bottom of the push up return the arm back to its original position.

You can either work on one side for a certain number of repetitions or switch sides after every rep.

Loaded Exercises

The above selection of exercises require no equipment other than the Valslides.

You can, when you are comfortable with the Valslides, start to add loaded movements like Reverse Lunges while holding Dumbbells or a Kettlebell.

Take your Valslides with you wherever you go, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Have you tried using Valslides yet?

500 Bodyweight Challenge Infographic

By Greg Brookes

You don’t need fancy equipment or much space in order to keep in shape.

The following infographic outlines my most popular Bodyweight Workout Challenge.

The full challenge requires 50 repetitions of each exercise. For beginners I would advise that you start with 10, 15 or 20 reps of each and build up to the full amount over time.

This workout is very demanding so I would recommend that you take a days rest between each workout.

Good luck and enjoy!

500 Bodyweight Workout Challenge Infographic

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For more challenges just like this one see the GB Workout Challenge Series