Home Grown Muscle

Don't ignore the most basic body weight workouts that are time-tested to build muscle and strength while burning calories.

Remember to consult your doctor before starting any diet and exercise plan.

It's no surprise that some days are so busy that getting to the gym for a rigorous workout just isn't possible. But just because you're not in a state-of-the-art facility surrounded by free weights and machines doesn't mean you can't get a high-intensity, calorie-burning workout done.

If you ever find yourself in a time crunch that limits your ability to get to the gym but you're still craving a hard workout, all you need is 15-20 minutes, an open area such as your living room or basement floor and a variety of body weight workouts that don't require any equipment.

In fact, so many gym goers rely solely on equipment for their workouts that they ignore the most basic of workouts that are time-tested to build muscle and strength while burning calories – body weight workouts.

These movements done with very little rest time between sets can provide an extremely intense calorie burning workout while simultaneously building muscle and functional strength.

Choose a variety of exercises from the list below and perform them with little-to-no rest time in between for a seriously challenging body weight workout.

Wide-Grip Pushups	Bridges	Jumping Jacks
Burpees	Lunges	Knee Raises
Running on the Spot	Situps	Diamond Pushups
Hill Climbers	Squat Jumps	One-Legged Calf Raises

Body Weight Workouts – Sample Weekly Program

Each day's body weight workout should be done in consecutive rotation at 100% intensity with no more than 10 seconds rest in between sets.

Time yourself to see how long it takes to complete the full body weight workout and try to beat your time the next day you follow this program.

	Exercise	Sets & Reps
Day 1	Wide-Grip Pushups Burpees Diamond Pushups Situps	4 sets x 25 reps 4 sets x 15 reps 4 sets x 20 reps 4 sets x 25 reps
Day 2	Running on the Spot Hill Climbers Lunges Squat Jumps	4 sets x 25 reps 4 sets x 15 reps 4 sets x 20 reps 4 sets x 25 reps
Day 3	Jumping Jacks Knee Raises One-Legged Calf Raises Bridges	4 sets x 25 reps 4 sets x 15 reps 4 sets x 20 reps 4 sets x 25 reps

 > Sample Weekly Training Program