Strength Training Exercises Without Exercise Equipment

Strength training exercises are a vital part of a fitness program and play a key role in weight loss by burning calories throughout the day. Chris Wolff, a certified personal trainer with INTEGRIS PACER Fitness Center, provides some examples and proper techniques of basic strength training exercises that don't require any equipment and can be done almost anywhere.

Hi. My name is Chris Wolff, and I'm one of the certified personal trainers at INTEGRIS PACER Fitness Center. Today I want to talk about strength training, why that's important, and show you a couple of exercises that you can do at home or add to your current fitness training routine.

Strength training is important not only to build muscle, but it's going to help burn calories throughout the day and keep your strength up. Especially as we get older, we need to maintain good strength. A couple of exercises you can do at home or in the office that you don't need equipment for, I'm going to demonstrate.

The first exercise I'd like to show you is a push-up. You can do a push-up on the ground or on a mat. Ensuring your hands are underneath your shoulders, you're going to raise your hips up, tightening the core by sucking the belly button up to the spine. Slowly bring your body down till your arms are about 90 degrees and elbows slightly pointed back. Push yourself up all the way, and repeat. Make sure you're always breathing. You can inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up. The push-up is a great exercise not only for your core, but also for your chest, shoulders, and triceps.

I'd like to show you a lower body exercise. It's very simple. It's a body weight squat. This is going to hit the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps all in one motion. Standing with your feet about shoulder width apart, your toes can be pointed out slightly. You're going to sit back on your heels, ensuring your body is up, pushing up through your heels. Again, you're coming down like you're sitting in a chair, back up. You only have to squat to about 90 degrees. You don't really have to go further than that.

Again, always consult a physician before beginning any exercise routines.