Working out without equipment isn’t always a choice. Maybe you’re looking to get in shape, but gyms are too expensive or inaccessible, or perhaps you’re just not a fan of equipment to begin with. So what are the positives and negatives of an equipment-less workout?
Let’s find out!
Pro: It can be done wherever, whenever
An obvious benefit to working out without equipment is how universally accessible it is. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, or anything in-between. You have the power to go about working out without equipment whenever you want.
The biggest benefit of this aspect of the equipment-less workout is that you can slot mini-workouts throughout the day. When you go to a gym, you’re doing it all over an hour or two, but you can take ten minutes and get some exercise throughout your workday when you go this route.
Con: Reward vs. Invested Time is unbalanced
A major con of working out without equipment is that it often takes longer to see meaningful results. This can be a dangerous demotivator.
You can’t allow excuses to put you off of exercising. It’s easy to look at yourself after a few weeks or a month and say that this style of working out isn’t beneficial, but you’re allowing yourself to miss out on the bigger picture. While it will take longer, you will get the benefits long-term. You just need patience as much as you need determination.
Pro: You can more effectively develop stability and full-body tension
When working to build strength, the ability to generate full-body tension through your body is essential. Through exercises like L-sits, frog stands, press-up, and ring dips, you’re forcing your body to work efficiently as a unit to hold form and maintain stability.
These benefits will be felt even more when transferring them to exercises such as a weighted squat. A weighted squat is where you need your body to work together as a singular unit to lift the load, which you’ve laid the groundwork for. Furthermore, you’ll find that shoulder stability will significantly improve in the process.
Con: Difficult to Determine Progress
Working out without equipment is playing the long game. Week to week, you’ll change it up, add more, change styles, change exercises. Still, you will find you aren’t able to make meaningful determinations as to whether these changes are adequate or not for a considerable amount of time.
Keep track of your progress, and make amendments, but don’t let slow evidence of results detur you.
Pro: It’s safer on your joints
Without a doubt, working out without equipment is far safer when it comes to your joints. This is mainly due to the fact that you’re letting your body move through its natural range of motions.
With equipment, you’re focusing on specific planes of motion and strains the joints over time.
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