Body Weight Exercises

You don't need a fancy gym or equipment to get a good work out. Here are a few of my favorite full-body exercises that require nothing more than your own bodyweight:

• Bear Crawl: Starting on the hands and knees, rise up onto the toes, tighten the core, and slowly reach forward with the right arm and right knee, followed by the left side.

• Mountain Climber: Starting on your hands and knees, bring the left foot forward directly under the chest while straightening the right leg. Keeping the hands on the ground and core tight, jump and switch legs. The left leg should now be extended behind the body with the right knee forward.

• Burpees: One of the most effective full-body exercises around, this one starts out in a low squat position with hands on the floor. Next, kick the feet back to a push-up position, complete one push-up, then immediately return the feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as possible before squatting and moving back into the push-up portion of the show. Do 8 to 10 reps 

• Inchworm: Stand up tall with the legs straight, and let those fingertips hit the floor. Keeping the legs straight (but not locked!), slowly lower the torso toward the floor, and then walk the hands forward. Once in a push-up position, start taking tiny steps so the feet meet the hands.   Do 8 to 10 reps

•  Frog Squat Jump: Begin in a wide stance, feet a bit wider than shoulder-width apart, with toes turned slightly out. Keeping the chest up, drop into a deep squat position, hands reaching to the floor. Now explode upwards into a jump (yes, this is the frog-looking part!). Land softly and quickly repeat with an emphasis on the height of each jump.

• Side Plank Star:  Every major body movement originates from the body's core.  To get a stronger core, start in a side plank position with the planted elbow directly beneath the shoulder and both legs stacked. Now, keeping the core muscles tight, raise the top leg as high as possible to form a star position. Return the leg back down and repeat on the same side. Do 8 to 10 reps on each side

Try to go through the routine once and build up to three times through