Bodyweight Exercise: Putting Body Weight to Work

In Geezer's perfect world, there would be no Bodyweight exercise equipment heavier than 1.5 liters of wine (and no 1.5 liter of wine would sell for more than $15) and swimming pools would sprout new lanes every time someone showed up in a Speedo. In his next-to-perfect world, there would be no exercise equipment, and people would simply use their bodieis to hone their bodies. How would that work? Not so great. In this piece, the L.A. Times tell us exactly how not great, and looks at the potential of using our bodies for things like push-ups and pull-ups and other exercises that put one at odds with the force of gravity. The piece comes with a bodyweight exercise starter kit that includes instruction for two exercises:

Push-ups:Work your chest, shoulders, triceps and upper back.

• Hands approximately shoulder-width apart.
  
• Back, hips and legs in straight line.
  
• Lower yourself to three to five inches off ground.
  
• Don't brace feet against the wall (unless your can't do push-ups without this aid).
  
• If you can't do even one, start from your knees.
  
• Take two seconds pushing up, five seconds as you let yourself down. Hold the bottom position for two seconds.
  

Squats:Work your glutes, quads and hamstrings.

• Feet shoulder-width apart.
  
• Heels flat throughout exercise.
  
• For balance, lift arms out in front.
  
• Reach back with your rear, as if attempting to sit on a chair.
  
• Don't let your knees pass beyond the plane of your toes.
  
• Go down no farther than the point where thighs are parallel to floor. Or just go down as far as you can comfortably, and increase depth as you progress.