5 bodyweight exercises for strength and mobility
Dragon Flag Twists
forearm triceps extensions
This exercise works pretty much the same muscle groups as standard push ups do, except your forearms and mainly triceps will take most of the beating. It certainly is one of the best triceps exercises you can do with zero equipment.
Go into a plank position and your hands in front of your chest one behind the other, so that the fingers of your right hand point to the left side and vice versa. Throughout the entire movement maintain a straight line between your ankles, hips and shoulders. Bend your arms in the elbows flaring them out, ideally until your elbows touch the floor. Then push up into the starting position.
Hollow body (very important!)
This is one of the most basic, yet crucial exercises in Calisthenics. It used when doing regular push ups, pull ups, handstands, leg raises, ab wheel rollouts, the planche… It’ll strengthen your core, help you perform the above mentioned exercises with good form and protect your lower back. You are tilting your pelvis to straighten your lower back and engaging your abdominals.
Start with the position on photo 1. Head off the floor, knees and elbows almost touching, lower back touching the floor.
Slowly extend your arms and legs away from each other. Your lower back must remain in contact with the floor, so that you cannot place you hand underneath it (photo 2).
Extend your hands as far as possible, as shown on photo 3. Your abdominals are stopping your back from arching. If your spine does arch, take a small step back and hold it there.
Hold for 15, 30, 60s.
