Big Arms, Broad Chest, One Exercise, No Gym Required!

Physical exercise, the pillar of my sobriety. Whether it's hitting the gym, enjoying nature on a trail hike or paddling out to the line-up for a surf session, I keep my body healthy and active to maintain my recovery from an alcohol addiction that nearly killed me. Then Covid-19 made its presence known and shut-down gyms, one my favourite safe havens. The silver lining out of this was finding my love again for the humble push up, a staple of calisthenics exercises that can be done in a small space.

Super easy to do and surprisingly effective, push ups are great for building defined arms, shoulders and chest and according to the latest research have been found to be just as good as the coveted bench press exercise. With fitness fans largely unable to afford the high cost of decking out their garage with a full set of home weights, squat racks and other strength building amenities, more and more home-gym goers are turning to bodyweight exercises such as push ups and it’s many variations, to continue training their muscles. The science claims you can actually replace the bench press with push ups, but with an added twist! An investigation distributed in the Sports Medicine International Open compared the muscle enactment of the primary muscle groups making up the shoulders, chest, and arms when performing bench press and push up moves. Low and behold they found that push ups, while utilizing weighted vests to replicate the heavy load of a bench press, showed no distinctions in muscle enactment between the two activities. In other words, they activated the exact same muscle groups!

This is incredible news for individuals attempting to build or maintain their muscle mass in the upper torso area while the gyms stay shut. Bench press and push ups enact similar muscle gatherings, including the triceps, deltoids and pectoralis muscles. With the addition of a weighted vest, fitness enthusiasts have the option to lift various weights, coordinating the muscle enactment recorded during a bench press! There is also the added safety benefit in that you can perform weighted push ups without fear of dropping a barbell on your head.

Weighted vests can enhance every movement in your typical bodyweight workouts. It can add tough resistance to your squats, pull ups, push ups and complete body activities such as burpees (my favourite fyi). Challenging your typical bodyweight routine imposes extra pressure you put your muscles under similar to that of gym machines and heavy barbells, preparing your muscles harder than you would actually make do with bodyweight reps alone. Speaking of alone, there is no need for a spotter either, so NO excuses when it comes to waiting on your workout partner to be available!

(RUNmax 12lb-140lb Weighted Vest, Buy it for $61 on Amazon! https://amzn.to/32130Ty

A comfortable, breathable, well-balanced weighted vest that will add great resistance to all your bodyweight workouts.)

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it has been found that simply wearing a weighted vest eight hours a day and going about your daily activities while doing NO extra workouts can reduce your body mass index (BMI) and lower one's chance of obesity. Stuck working at home because the office is shut? Wear a weighted vest for an 8-hour workday and improve your body without increasing your activity schedule. Bench press be damned! Get yourself a weighted vest and drop and give me twenty! Maybe this one trick may convince you to cancel those hefty monthly gym fees for good, even when everything opens up again....

I purchased the RUNmax weighted vest myself and only have good reviews for it. Check it out today and get a full home-gym in one simple piece of equipment. No excuses, go after it, you're worth it! https://amzn.to/3jIdU6I

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