How to build strength without lifting weights

Lifting weights isn't the only way to build strength and muscle. Experts, including the University of Cincinnati's Christopher Kotarsky, say body-weight exercises can go a long way and are a great way to get started for someone who doesn't feel like going to the gym.

As recently heard on NPR's All Things Considered, body-weight exercises can be an entry point into strength training.

"When I got into exercise, I started exercising at home because I didn't feel comfortable working out in a gym," said Kotarsky, PhD, an exercise scientist and assistant professor-educator in the Department of Rehabilitation, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences in the College of Allied Health Sciences.

Some years back, Kotarsky designed a small study to figure out how a classic body-weight exercise, the push-up, compared to lifting weights. Everyone in the study worked out three times a week. One group used a bench press, gradually increasing the weight as they got stronger. The other group only did push-ups. But instead of adding more and more over time, Kotarsky had them upgrade to harder versions.

"Maybe they did push-ups on their knees, and then, from their knees, they did full push-ups," said Kotarsky. "From their push-ups, maybe they brought their hands closer together, changing the leverage, making it more challenging, recruiting different muscles."

At the end of the study, he had both groups test their strength on the bench press.

"What we found is there was no difference in strength improvement between the push-up group and the bench press group," said Kotarsky.

The study was only a month long, but it underscores that body-weight exercise can be very effective. 

Listen to the full segment.

Featured image at top: A woman exercises by doing a push-up on the floor. Photo/iStock/Mladen Zivkovic.