Why Your Workout Without Weights Stopped Working

There is a problem that must be overcome when performing a workout without weights if you want the fitness, fat loss and physique building results to continue. Once you know what it is, and more importantly how to overcome it, there is no end to the performance, health and appearance benefits you can get from just bodyweight calisthenics. But if you don't take measures to fix this problem, your advancements will come to a screeching halt sooner or later.

Don't get me wrong, you can get an excellent workout without weights. You do NOT need weighted resistance or a room full of expensive equipment to improve fitness, burn off belly fat or build a strong, athletic body. As a matter of fact, bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent place to start your fitness journey, and should remain a part of your overall workout program... even if you do use weights.

However, there is one problem with bodyweight workouts that people don't talk about. You see, when you are performing a workout without weights, your own bodyweight is the resistance. And everyone knows that to improve you need to make your workouts a little bit more challenging over time. So the big question is... how are you going to make a workout without weights more challenging when the weight of the resistance remains the same, or even gets lighter due to fat loss?

The obvious answer is to increase repetitions. Do more reps of an exercise than you did previously. And yes, this is one form of progression. Unfortunately, using this as your only form of progression has its problems. After all, you can't just keep increasing reps until you are doing hundreds of reps per bodyweight exercise without make the workout time excessively large or risking overuse injuries.

Fortunately, there are more creative ways to progress and make your next workout without weights more challenging than the one before. And frankly, I think that using your imagination creates better workouts in the long run. Let me give an example of what I mean...

When you use weights to workout, you can add weight. Adding weight and adding repetitions are the cornerstone of most weighted workouts. But relying on these two methods alone is not enough to keep the workout progressing over the long haul. Eventually, the exerciser reaches a point where they can't add any more weight or reps. So, learning different progression strategies aids every exerciser, regardless of whether they do weighted exercise or use only bodyweight exercises.

Progression is the key to success. Most people exercise because they are not satisfied with their fitness level, their health or their appearance. And the only way to force your body to make the necessary CHANGES you seek is by making your workouts progressively more challenging. If you are not happy with where you are now, learning how to overcome this problem with bodyweight workouts could be the secret to success you've been missing.