Your body is the best portable workout gymnasium there is when you know how to use your bodyweight effectively. For centuries, man has used bodyweight and resistance training techniques to get amazing and fast results!

I am going to go over ten of the best bodyweight exercises that I know of. You will be amazed at how you transform your physique as quickly as the next thirty days! Are you up to the challenge? The following is a great starting point with ten excellent bodyweight exercises.

1. The Pull Up. This exercise works mainly upper body muscle groups, mainly the lats but also other muscles of the shoulders and abdominals and supportive muscles. You want to find a pull up bar, or a structure that is strong and stable to support your body weight and you are able to grip the bar with palms facing away from you, approximately shoulder distance apart. Fully straighten the arms out and pull yourself up! Try not to swing your body as you pull up and lower yourself down. Focus on concentrated controlled movement. Keep the wrists from bending and bend the elbows. Try to do at least 6-8 repetitions.

2. Prison Squats. Stand straight up and with your feet pointed straight ahead and slightly outwards, and approximately shoulder width apart. You can hold your hands directly straight out in front of you palms facing down, or, you can place your hands behind your neck and hold your elbows back keeping your back straight, or option three, place them on your hips. It is up to you. Keeping your back straight, bend down to the floor as low as you can go without lifting your heels off the floor. Once you are at the end of the range of movement downwards, return to the upright starting position maintaining as straight posture as possible throughout the movement. Start off with 8-15 repetitions depending on your ability and fitness.

3. Chest Pushups. Chest pushups are done with the elbows facing outwards from the body (as opposed to tricep focused pushups keeping the elbows close to the body.) Keep the hands a bit wider than shoulder width apart, and fingers pointed straight ahead, palms flat on the ground. Keep your back and legs straight and pushup supporting yourself on the base of your toes. The body should be kept straight. Try to do at least 8-30 repetitions depending on your level of strength and fitness.

4. Planks. Go down to the ground like you are going into the pushup position. Lift yourself upwards by placing your bodyweight onto your elbows, keeping your forearms pointing straight ahead of you and elbows at 90 degrees to your chest. Elevate yourself off the ground, onto the base of your toes, making sure to keep your back and legs as straight as possible, and contracting your abdominals to hold you in place. Initially I would suggest aiming for at least 20-30 seconds, as you progress and your strength improves, a minute and longer is a good target.

5. Chin-ups. Find a bar that is strong enough to support your bodyweight if a chin-up bar is not available. Grab the bar with palms facing you and thumbs around the bar. The hands can be placed approximately the inside width of the shoulders. Fully extend the arms and then pull yourself upwards until the chin goes up and above the bar. Try for 8-10 repetitions initially.

6. Jump Squats. Stand with the feet approximately shoulder width apart and toes pointing straight ahead. Squat down at the knees like your going to do a standing forward jump, keep the weight onto the backs of your heels. Keep your hands in front of you and clasp them together. This will help you isolate the movement of the exercise to the legs and keep you from cheating! Explode upwards using your calf muscles and your legs. Try to get as much vertical height out of the jump as you can. I prefer to do this exercise on the grass to decrease any impact on my knees and other joints. It's also a great exercise to do at the beach if you want to make it really hard! Return to the starting position and repeat. Start with 6-8 reps and progress to 20-30 as your strength and fitness improve.

7. Tricep Pushup. This is a similar pushup to the Chest Pushup in number three except that in this exercise you keep the elbows in close to the body and the hands go close together forming a triangle shape by placing the index fingers and thumbs touching or close to each other. Keep the hands directly below your face staring straight at them. Start with 8-10 reps and progress to at least 30. This will make your triceps burn!

8. "Pistols" One Legged Squats. This is one of my favourites! If I could only do one exercise this would be the one! If this is your first time, start off with a chair or something that is approximately the height of a chair. Imagine sitting on a chair with one leg fully extended straight outwards. Try standing from the seated position with the leg extended and with no assistance using your arms. Keep your weight towards the heel of your foot. Try to keep your lower leg straight as you come up, and try to keep your knee from going forward past the front of your foot. The next step, try it without a chair. Once you can do it without a chair, try to go lower. You can use a lower height chair, step or box to help you as you progress. Keep your arms straight out in front of you and try to go down as low as you can and back up with any assistance. It's very important to start off simple and focus on technique. Keep your back straight, and your legs, knees and feet straight. Don't try and grind out a bunch of reps with poor technique and injure yourself in the process! You will be amazed at how fast the gains will be if you focus on great technique and slow methodical movement.

9. Burpees. This a great whole body exercise. Start in the upright standing position. Bend at the knees and lower yourself down to the ground. In one fluid motion, place your palms on the ground in the push up position and throw your feet back and perform a push up. Bring the knees forward into the chest area and jump up in the air from a squatting position. Hold the arms straight up in the air. Try to execute the vertical leap to the fullest extent., similar to the jump squat. If your just staring off try and do 8-10 reps and then progress to 25-30 as your fitness improves. These can be killers!

10. Alternating Lunge Squat. Start in the standing position. Place one leg slight in front of you and the other slightly behind. Keep the feet pointed straight ahead. Lower yourself down into a half squat position and then explode upwards and switch foot positions. So if your left foot is behind you, when you explode upwards you alternate the left foot forward and the right foot posterior behind you. This is done all in one movement. So it is like a lunge and a jump squat combined. You don't need to go all the way down. 90 degrees is far enough. Again focus on technique and proper movement. Try and keep your back straight.

If you don't have a lot of time just try and do each exercise for one minute each. If you don't have a chin up bar for pull ups and chins, do the other eight exercises! If you want more repeat it three times. This is a basic introduction to ten great bodyweight exercises for strength and conditioning. There are others and more advanced programs to build as your fitness and strength improve.

As with any fitness program be sure to consult with your medical professional to make sure this program is appropriate for your specific health objectives.

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