People often ignore or forget about the power of using your own bodyweight when they're working out or writing their workout regime. The gym has always been seen as the place you need to go to if you want to build muscle and to really get in shape. Well I'm here to tell you that this isn't the case. You can very easily build a great physique performing bodyweight exercises at home using your own body as the resistance. If you want to do this properly you are going to want to use the best bodyweight exercises to do the job.

When writing your own workout plan, or if your trainer is writing one for you, you want to use compound exercises. These exercises allow you to lift more weight for that muscle group because you have other muscles assisting the main muscle group. This will cause more muscle stimulation and therefore will cause greater gains in strength and size during the recovery period.

But what are compound exercises I hear you ask!

Compound exercises are ones that utilise more than one joint during the exercises movement. Here is an example of what's NOT a compound exercise, the bicep curl. When performing this move correctly the only joint that is moving should be the elbow joint. As you're lifting the weight up and down only your elbow joint should be moving. A good example of a compound exercise is the bench press. When performing this exercise the joints being used are your elbow joint and shoulder joint. Compound exercises will give you the best workout possible.

Another reason to perform bodyweight exercises is the workout your core receives. Most of the bodyweight exercises requires you to keep your body straight and rigid, just like performing the plank exercise. Moves like the press up and Australian pull up requires you to keep your body straight so the emphasis of the work is being placed on the muscle group the exercise is targeting. This will give you fantastic abdominals and really improve your core strength.

A strong core is important so you can do your daily activities with is. Did you know that a lot of people with lower back pain could have avoided their aches and pains if they had a stronger core?

Finally, the reason why bodyweight exercises are the best in my opinion are the fact that they can be performed anywhere because you don't need any equipment. If you're on holiday or away from the gym, you can give yourself a tough workout so long as you have enough room to perform a press up and can jump in the air and perform a burpee. Because you are using your own bodyweight as the resistance it is fantastic form of exercise to perform on holiday. I always give myself a tough routine when I'm on holiday. Who doesn't want to look great on the beach!?

So if you're looking at revving up your workout or looking for a nice change you should consider adding some bodyweight exercises into your routine. You can write your own routine or ask your personal trainer to add some into your existing one, using only the best exercises of course. You can even make a "bodyweight workout training plan" I'm sure you won't regret it when you're staring down at the puddle of sweat on the floor.