Build strong muscles without using dumbbells

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Strong Women ambassador and fitness trainer Alice-Rose Miller demonstrates three bodyweight exercises for when you don’t have access to weights. 

We may rave about lifting heavy weights (and for good reason), but we mustn’t ignore another effective means of resistance training that each and every one of us can use to get stronger: ourselves. Strong Women trainer Alice-Rose Miller from our Strong Women Collective says, “Bodyweight exercises build strength and stability as our bodies can provide resistance in all sorts of ways. The most obvious bodyweight exercise is press-ups, since your arms are lifting the entire weight of your body off the ground. But we also want to enable our body to move fluidly and with proper alignment – mastering bodyweight exercises is a brilliant way to do this.”

So, if your aim is to get stronger but you don’t have access to heavy weights, or simply fancy mixing up your strength training sessions, give this full-body workout a go. No dumbbells, no problem. 

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AIR SQUAT

  1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly turned out.
  2. Keep your chest up and weight through the middle of the foot. 
  3. Bend your knees to lower down into a squatting position (as low as you can go)
  4. Hold your arms out front of you. 
  5. Squeeze your legs and glutes to lift up half way, then lower down towards the ground again. 
  6. Press through the heels to lift your body back up to standing position. 

Do 10 reps

PIKE HEADSTAND PRESS-UP

  1. Come into a downward dog position, with your hands and toes on the floor and hips pushing up towards the sky.
  2. Lean your shoulders slightly forward as you bend the elbows to bring the top of your head to the floor.
  3. Press back up to downward dog to raise your head off the ground.

Do 10 reps 

LATERAL LUNGE

  1. Stand at one edge of your mat with your feet together. 
  2. Step your right leg out to the side and bend the right knee to lower your body towards the floor.
  3. Keep your chest up throughout the entire movement.
  4. Drive through your right heel to push your right leg back to the starting position. 

Do 10 reps each side

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