There are two factors that are commonly accepted as being the major cause of change in body fat – diet and exercise.

While diet is covered in many places on this website, not so much has been written about exercise.

When you are considering your exercise options to lose fat, the first image to spring in to your mind is either of an overweight person wearing an 1980s style headband jogging down the street (sweating profusely), or the ominous image of that torture chamber of mechanical gadgets known as “the gym”.

Neither of these mental images will make you want to exercise.

But there are other options.

“Bodyweight fitness” is one of these options, and is exactly what it says it is – developing your fitness by using exercise routines that incorporate the use of your body weight.

Bodyweight exercises do not require you to join a gym, use expensive equipment, get dressed in gym-appropriate clothes – or for that matter, even leave the house. I know that for many people, part of the problem with going to the gym is a self-image issue. You have the motivation, the dedication, the will to go and work out every single day – but you don’t want people staring at you while you do it.

You can start off simply, with exercises such as push ups and lunges, and work up to pull ups and handstands. Once you get the hang of it and the weight starts coming off, you might even enjoy going to the local park and doing your routine in front of an audience – the confidence a little fat loss and the control of your own body brings can be an enormous boost for your ego.

This is the biggest benefit of bodyweight fitness – you don’t have to go to the gym, instead, you carry your own personal gym around with you. You don’t have to make time to travel back and forth to the gym…you’re already there.

Often the biggest barrier to starting an exercise routine is the psychological barrier where you think you “can’t do it” or “don’t look the part”, rather than any physical barrier, or the excuse of “not being able to find the time”.

Here’s an example of what you could achieve with dedication:

A good place to find out more about bodyweight fitness is on the Reddit subreddit Bodyweightfitness. Check out the sidebar for an introduction on how to get started.

Remember it is always a good idea to get advice from a medical professional before starting any exercise routine.