5 KILLER BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES FOR STRENGTH

1. Single Leg Squat

Single leg movements are a fantastic way to create a new and challenging stimulus to your training, balance out differences in strength between legs, and improve your balance and flexibility.
Start by standing with one foot forward, and the other foot back. Bend both knees in a modified squat position. The thigh of your front leg and the shin of your rear leg should be parallel to the floor. The knee of your rear leg should be almost touching the floor. If your right leg is in front, then raise your left hand in a 90-degree "L" shape in front of you, as though you had just delivered an uppercut to someone's jaw. Put your right arm behind you, also bent at a 90-degree angle, with the upper arm parallel to the floor. When ready, jump up with an explosive motion, making sure to get both feet off the ground. Switch in mid-air so that your front leg goes to the rear, and the rear leg comes to the front. Switch your arms accordingly.

Before performing a single leg squat, make sure you have a decent level of mobility and can already properly squat with both legs proficiently. A safe way to build your range of motion is to place a target, such as a box or a bench, behind you that you can squat down on and touch (without sitting down).


The points to remember with the single leg squat are to keep your weight on your heels, keep your back straight, look forward, engage your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, etc), and lower down in a controlled manner.

2. Jumping Lunges

Start by standing with one foot forward, and the other foot back. Bend both knees in a modified squat position. The thigh of your front leg and the shin of your rear leg should be parallel to the floor. The knee of your rear leg should be almost touching the floor. If your right leg is in front, then raise your left hand in a 90-degree "L" shape in front of you, as though you had just delivered an uppercut to someone's jaw. Put your right arm behind you, also bent at a 90-degree angle, with the upper arm parallel to the floor. When ready, jump up with an explosive motion, making sure to get both feet off the ground. Switch in mid-air so that your front leg goes to the rear, and the rear leg comes to the front. Switch your arms accordingly.

3. One-Arm Push-Up

The push-up is one of the most underutilized and underrated movements in the gym. I don’t understand why. Push-ups are AWESOME! They require no equipment, and there are endless variations – adding weight, adding objects, elevation, or thrusting off the ground and adding a clap.

The Holy Grail of push-ups is the one-arm push-up. It’s a beacon of strength, balance, and just outright manliness.

To perform this movement, start off in a push-up position but with both hands closer to the middle, and with your legs spread wider than usual. Place one hand behind your back and keep your body tight and stable. Just as with the single leg movement, lower down slowly and aim for a target, gradually increasing until you achieve full range of motion.

What is gym chalk made of?

Things weightlifting "chalk" are NOT made of:

Blackboard chalk is calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate. Great for a teacher writing lecture notes in front of a class, terrible for helping sweaty palms.
Talc is a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate. It's often used as a dry lubricant, exactly the opposite of what you would want to improve your grip.
Baby powder is talc mixed with corn starch. Since talc is a dry lubricant, it would actually make your grip worse than nothing at all.

When you are looking to buy chalk for gym, you should always be looking to buy 100% PURE magnesium carbonate (MgCO3)chalk. There is a wrong perception that every chalk is the same, people like to say "chalk is chalk", but that's not true, I've tried few different gym chalks, and found few good ones, but also few that are not that good quality. It also depends on your hands, how sweaty they are are when you use chalk etc., you should try and test few different chalks and see which one is best for you. Neba-sports chalk was best for me and I'm using only that one now.

you can buy it here: Gym Chalk blocks by Neba-Sports

Should I use Gym Chalk?

Losing a grip can be a problem in almost any sport. Using a chalk to prevent grip problems almost has no downsides but it can take your workout game to new level!

1. Eliminates sweaty hands – There you are, music is blasting, you’re getting in the zone, the focus is on and bam, your hands are sweaty and you’re spending minutes trying to get a firm grip on the bar. Finally you manage some half-hearted titan grip which ends up failing you mid-set.

2. Increase Grip Strength – Over time if you’re able to hold more weight and perform more sets with a tighter, stronger grip you will eventually build up stronger firmer hand grip. Just like you doing bench press to build the chest, over time you’ll see a much better improvement. Time to chalk it up.

3. Build More Muscle – This one might seem a bit silly but lets think about it. If you’re able to perform at your maximum without having to worry about your grip you will lift heavier weights and pack on more muscle. You’ll have a better mind muscle connection on every set. This in return will give faster results. Simple. Time To Chalk Up.

I was using a few different type of Gym chalks, and I find the one from Neba sports to be the best buy. You can find it at Amazon, Gym chalk Neba

Enjoy your workout!