You don’t have weights but you want to build muscle. Does this mean that you get to skip your workout just because you don’t have any equipment? No!

There’s absolutely on reason why you should skip a workout in the event you don’t have weights. This is not a valid reason! Personal training Toronto experts want you to get off of that couch and into your gym clothes, ready to train with a number of body weight exercises that are guaranteed to be just as, or even more, challenging than weights.

The great thing about body weight exercises is that not only do you not need any equipment, you also get a great workout that can be customized according to your level of fitness. Lower intensity by doing less reps at a leisurely pace, or increase intensity by really concentrating on each, doing more reps, and picking up the pace.

1. Push ups. A perfect push up is an exercise that targets the chest, arms and mid section. This really is one of the most efficient and strength boosting exercises you can do, as long as you do it right. Switch up to keep it interesting by narrowing the space between your hands. Remember to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.

2. Burpees. A cardiovascular and muscle-toning exercise. As you jump up, go as high as you can to work the leg muscles.

3. Lunges. Deeper lunges are more challenging here. You can perform stationary or travelling lunges – whatever you prefer.

4. Plank. Keep your back as parallel to the ground as possible. You don’t want your butt to be sticking up or your back to curve.

5. Jump squats. Another great exercise that will burn that butt flab and make your thighs quiver after you’ve finished.

Perform one set of each without resting, then take a little rest before starting the circuit again for the second and third time. By the third and final time, you should be barely able to complete all the reps, because your body will be that tired.  Don’t believe us? It’s okay, we’re used to people not thinking this is hard – until they try it themselves! Aim for 8 reps for beginners (with a 30second hold for the plank) and kick it up to 15 (with a 2 minute hold for the plank) if you want the challenge.

The fantastic thing about this circuit is that you don’t need any equipment at all, plus you’ll still be building muscle and improving strength. Exercises courtesy of Personal training Toronto

Are you a martial artist that wants to improve your game? Personal Trainer Toronto offers a unique fitness program specially designed for you:

Martial arts classes tend to focus on developing form, but rarely does training ever address the actual physical strength of the students. You learn to punch, kick, and all that other good stuff, but ability tends to plateau at a certain point without additional exercises. A student’s ability can never improve if they do the same punching and kicking drills over and over again. A martial artist’s regimen must be supplemented with practical strength training exercises, something Bruce Lee knew all too well. Adding this fundamental part of training not only improves strength, it also enhances explosive power (if the exercises are performed correctly).

Our background in martial arts allows us the ability to custom design a fitness regimen that targets all the necessary muscles that are involved in delivering the strongest and most lethal movements in your martial arts style. From punching and kicking to grappling and throwing, Fighting Fit addresses weaknesses to transform them into strengths so can become the lean, mean, fighting machine you want to be.

Sign up for Fighting Fit, and you’ll endure a rigorous program at our Markham facility that’s 3 times a week on an 18 week cycle. You’ll be using special equipment, under the guidance of one of our personal trainers with a martial arts background, to improve strength, true explosive power, and flexibility – all essential traits contributing toward a good martial artist. You’ll be performing some exercises that appear in any fitness program, like the squats that Bruce Lee did, as well as some that are tailored to help you achieve your ultimate goal.

Tired of getting beaten up and losing the fight? Call us to sign up for your Martial Arts Strength Training program. It’s only $59 per session – and if you want to train with a sparring partner, they’re free.

Cycling, martial arts, climbing – just about any sport that involves jumping, running and/or kicking requires the assistance of those muscles that are located in the back of the thighs. Known collectively as hamstrings, these muscles are comprised of the Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus.

A number of weightlifting exercises target these muscles, including Romanian Deadlifts and leg curls. However, if you don’t have weights or a machine around and only have a stability ball, try this exercise out. It’s effective and guaranteed to strengthen your hamstrings if you maintain proper form throughout. Keep your back straight with your shoulders and palms touching the floor to provide support. To obtain the full benefits of this exercise, remember to extend the legs completely. Great for any strength training program!

In this video, Kin shows us how to perform a back extension the right way using a stability ball. This exercise is excellent to strengthen the lower back as well as the abdominal area. If you’re trying this at home, remember to drop completely over the ball and lift as high as you can off for the full range of motion. That way, you won’t be cheating yourself of the full benefits of this exercise.

We all know how to do a pushup, but do you know how to do it properly? A pushup isn’t just going on your hands and toes then bending and straightening your arms – you’ve got to have proper form and execution.

If you do a pushup right, it can be one of the most effective strength building exercises for your upper body and core. We dare you to try completing one set of 12 without quivering from effort!

Here’s a great video on how to perform the perfect dip to work out your arms and chest (if you lean forward a bit). Kin also gives some tips on how to increase the intensity of the exercise, so that it remains challenging.

Our very own Kin Sze talks about chin ups – but not those lame ones you see some people doing. These chin ups are to build explosive strength. Explosive strength training is essential for sports and martial arts, where you need spurts of serious power to overwhelm an opponent.

This video shows you how to do a proper chin up, and the areas of the body that it works.

Myths passed down through “gym talk” abound in weight lifting circles. Many weight lifting enthusiasts base their routines on these myths without realizing that they are slowing their muscle development as a result. Avoid following weight training advice people give you without verifying whether it is accurate or not. By doing so, you’ll ensure that you achieve optimal muscle development as a return for your training efforts.

Usually, muscle development myths start because a weight lifter finds a technique that he thinks is effective and tells a friend, who then tells another friend, and before long, the myth has spread like wild fire. For great results in natural muscle development, you must ensure that every technique or piece of advice you follow is backed by science, not personal opinion. The following are some muscle development myths that are not only false but could keep you from achieving optimal results from your workouts.

The “Spot Reducing” Myth

Many people mistakenly believe that they can melt fat off a certain area of their body by working those specific muscles. This technique is wholly ineffective because fat loss is systemic in nature. Spot training will only develop the muscles under your fat and fat loss in any area of your body can only be achieved after the overall loss of body fat takes place. Body fat is lost in a pattern. Typically your mid-section is the first place to get fat and the last place to lose fat. Forget “spot reducing” and instead focus on completing intensive cardiovascular workouts paired with weight training, which will lead to optimal muscle development and overall fat loss in time.

The Low-Weight, High-Volume Training Myth

There is no evidence to support the proposition that low-weight, high-volume training creates muscle definition yet many weight lifters swear by it. Low-weight, high-volume training causes the engorgement of skeletal muscles with blood and therefore gives your muscles temporary definition but the effects fade within a few hours of your workout. Heavy-weight training combined with the reduction of body fat is what leads to muscle development and increased definition. There is no special routine you can follow to increase muscle definition. Low-weight, high-volume training does not build strength considerably either although it could be helpful in building endurance.

What works better is to keep the muscle you’re working on tense for a longer period of time. So, rather than concentrating on the number of reps you do, concentrate on the length of time the muscle is engaged. While everyone is unique in their response to weight training, the length of time the muscle should be engaged to achieve hypertrophy is generally anywhere from at least 40 seconds and as high as 70 seconds.

The Protein Myth

Protein assists in muscle development but not without the sufficient consumption of non-protein calories. According to the Merck Manual, your body cannot efficiently use protein for muscle development and maintenance unless sufficient non-protein calories from dietary sources are available. In order to achieve muscle development, you cannot increase your protein intake without also paying attention to the amount of fat and carbohydrates you consume.

These muscle development myths do not have any basis in science. Avoid falling into the trap of believing these and other weight lifting myths so you can get greater results from your muscle development training. Check up on any muscle development advice you hear floating around at the gym before following it so you can weight lift with wisdom.