Military Bodyweight Workout
Bodyweight exercises provide a great military workout for beginners. They are great for building muscle strength and can be practised at home without the need for any equipment. Depending on your fitness level, you can vary the bodyweight exercises you choose to do and how many times you choose to repeat them. Some of the key bodyweight exercises you would expect to see in a military workout for beginners are:
Squats
We couldn’t discuss military workouts for beginners without mentioning squats. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, tighten your core and squat down as if you were going to sit on a chair, keeping your chest up and shoulders back. Repeat as many times as you are able to.
Push-Ups
The key to a good push-up is starting in a great plank position. Remember that a push-up is a full-body exercise so avoid putting all the strain on your chest. When performed correctly, a push-up engages both the upper body and core strength make it an efficient full-body workout.
Reverse Lunge
Lunges are the perfect military fitness exercise for improving lower body strength and endurance. Start by standing tall with feet hip-width apart, engage your core, step forward with one foot until your leg is at a 90-degree angle, making sure your rear knee is parallel to the floor. Lift your front leg to return to the start and repeat the exercise alternating the front lunging leg.
Burpees
A burpee is essentially a push-up followed by a jump squat and is absolutely great for building both strength and cardiovascular fitness. Start in a squat position, place your hands on the floor just inside your feet and jump your feet back softly until you’re in a plank position. Jump your feet back towards your hands and jump upwards in the air landing back straight into squat so you can repeat the exercise.
Sit-ups
Doing as little as 5-10 minutes of sit-ups a day will improve your core strength very quickly. There are different types of sit-up that you can alternate between according to individual preference and fitness level. In all cases remember to use your core and not your arms to raise your head up- This is important for preventing injury and working the muscles in your core.
Running
What’s great about running is how versatile you can be with it and this is why it is such a good military workout for beginners. You can choose how far you want to run, the pace you want to run at and the type of route you want to run. If you’re running on uneven outdoor terrain, make sure you’re wearing footwear with the right support in order to prevent injury.
If you’re new to running or slightly less experienced, start by using the running-walking method; run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute and so on. This will allow you to build stamina without injuring yourself in the process. A quick 20 minute walk/ run a few times a week is easy to fit into a busy schedule but still has real benefits. As your fitness levels increase you could combine short sprints into your run to boost your cardiovascular fitness.
Rucking
Another fantastic military workout for beginners is rucking. Sometimes referred to as ‘tabbing’ or ‘yomping’, rucking involves walking, jogging or running with a weighted rucksack on your back. As with running, you can adapt your rucking to suit your personal fitness goals. As your fitness levels improve you can increase the amount of weight you choose to carry, increase the distance or choose to run more challenging routes. However you go about your rucking you’ll be getting an excellent workout- carrying extra weight whilst walking or jogging burns more than double the amount of calories than regular walking/ running and drastically improves cardiovascular endurance.
