Self-Resistance Exercises are a great addition to your Natural Exercise Repertoire!

Self-resistance exercises are a great complement to bodyweight conditioning. They offer further training where bodyweight exercises leave off. For example, holding a wrestler’s bridge is a good whole-body strengthener, including the neck. However, it is incomplete as a neck exerciser. To add further neck development, push on your forehead with your hands as hard as you are able to while nodding your head completely back and forth (working your front neck muscles). Then, interlock your hands behind your head and push in that direction while nodding your head back and forth (working your back neck muscles). Then, put your right palm on your right temple and push as hard as you are able while you nod your head completely from side to side (working the right side neck muscles). Repeat on left side. Then, put your right palm on your right temple again, and put your left palm on the bump of your skull above and behind your left ear. Apply force with both hands while you slowly look fully left, then fully right (as if saying “no”) several times. Repeat for the opposite movement. This is my favorite neck developing exercise, and shows how useful self-resistance exercising can be. To see this live, visit my Neck Exercises page.

For good arm development, use one arm to perform bicep curls while the other clamps and resists at the hand or wrist. The neat thing about this exercise is that it's like doing biceps curls with one arm while doing triceps extensions with the other. Always do an equal number of repetitions for both arms.

Perform the movement slowly and with as much powerful force as you can muster. This is a great exercise you can do anywhere, anytime.

When you finish, clamp your fingers into a fist and back out into the spread “five” position several times to eliminate stiffness.

These kind of exercises double in fun and productivity when you train with a partner, because your partner can resist you in a far greater range of movements than you could affect by yourself. This makes it a good couple workout activity or social exercise. For example, you could do situps while having your partner stand behind you with her hands on your shoulders, pushing down to add resistance as you crunch.

You could have her push down on your shoulders while you do squats, or add resistance to pretty much any type of movement. Just be creative!

Jump to Bodyweight Calisthenics Page Back to Natural Exercises Page Take Me Back to the Home Page!