If have worked out for a while, you know that at times it is difficult to make it to a gym. There are other times while traveling that getting a good workout is difficult. One solution to this problem is a body weight routine. While it might not sound like much, doing exercise with just your own body weight can actually do a pretty good job in terms of cardio and muscle building.

What goes into this type of workout?

It involves simple exercises that you can do on your own. These would include things like pushups, jumping jacks, squats, step-ups, lunges, ab exercises, and more. There are literally hundreds that can be done.

What are the advantages of a body weight workout?

The best part of the body weight workout is simplicity. Even if you are stuck in a hotel room, you can get a full workout when you need to. Another advantage is that you can move from one exercise to the next very quickly. This gives a cardio effect to the routine since you are constantly moving. When you complete the circuit of exercises, rest for a bit then keep going to keep your heart rate up.

What are some criticisms of body weight workouts?

Eventually as you become much stronger, something like a push up will no longer be difficult. This will require high repetitions to get much effect. Some people are aiming for low repetition workouts for maximum muscle gains. However, for most people doing some of the high repetition circuits will be very challenging to those not in peak physical shape. If that is too easy, there are routines that do as much as 500 total repetitions making it rather difficult.

A body weight routine is a simple, available routine you can do just about anywhere. It is great for the beginner and for those who are already in good shape.