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Increase Strength and Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercises can be a great way to increase strength and build muscle. Many people do not realize the strength level that can be achieved and the muscle that can be built with only bodyweight exercises. One of the most famous of individuals that have built an incredible physique through bodyweight exercises is Hershel Walker. In an interview done with Academy of Achievement in 1991 Herschel said the following:
“I didn’t grow up – my parents didn’t have a lot of money. My high school didn’t have a lot of money to afford a lot of the expensive weights. You know all this stuff. They used that as an excuse. I started doing push-ups and sit-ups during commercials as I was watching TV. And started doing about, sometimes 2,000 push-ups, 3,000 sit-ups, 1500 pull-ups, 1000 dips, or different things like that. I started creating different hand positions for all that, then I learned that could work you out. ”
All you have to do is to look at Herschel’s physique even today to realize that there is great merit to bodyweight exercise. It requires hard work but it can provide great gains in strength and muscle.
Bodyweight exercises such as pull ups and push ups and sit ups allow you to follow the principle of progression. You can build muscle when you progressively overload your muscle. Increase the number of push ups you do every day. Increase the number of pull ups that you do every day. Eric Cressey just made a post recently that stated if you did one set pull ups to failure every day for one month that you would double the number of push ups that you could do in one set.
It is based on the idea of progression. If you want to increase strength and build muscle then embark on a program of progressive bodyweight exercises. You will be amazed by the results. Maybe one day you will build up to 1000 push ups like Herschel Walker.
