In the spirit of positive thinking, we try to stick to things that will help you. This is one…
Bodyweight Training
One of the most common questions we get is for a book or program recommendation that doesn’t require a gym or equipment. While strictly bodyweight isn’t always ideal, long term, it IS a great place to start, has a low barrier to entry, and can quickly get you headed in the right direction when it comes to exercise!
15 Minutes to Fit by Zuzka Light
We’ve followed Zuzka (AKA Zuzana) Light since her BodyRocker days, and we’ve always appreciated that she kept things simple, motivated people of all fitness levels, and actually had good exercise form.
Her new book, 15 Minutes to Fit, is an easy read with plenty of solid, simple tips on food and exercise that doesn’t get all crazy with extreme diets and workouts!
Anyone can follow these exercises at home, in just a few minutes per day and see results. The pictures and exercise descriptions are clear, and they day by day plan is easy to understand and flexible to follow. Zuzka’s tasty looking recipes are a good bonus, too!
“Zuzka presents simple, bodyweight training that you can do
anywhere, plus some good looking recipes as a bonus!”
This book is a great program for people who don’t want to join a gym and want to see results without buying equipment. Truly, you can do these workouts with zero equipment!
What could be improved?
The program doesn’t have exercises for upper body pulling, so be sure to work in some dumbbell rows, suspension trainer (trx or jungle gym) rows, pullups, chinups, or inverted rows on a low bar to balance things out. Once a week should be fine to start, but don’t neglect that back! 😉
Start with 15 Minutes to Fit
If you can’t periodically get to a park or gym to do pullups, chinups, or inverted rows (see exercises, below), add one of the following:
Dumbbell Set (no, those pink ones aren’t heavy enough)
TRX Suspension Trainer
Jungle Gym Suspension Trainer
Pulling Exercise Videos
Take a look at these and find a way to add some pulling to your 15 Minutes to Fit routine!