The Triple Challenge — no Equipment? No Problem

Many exercise enthusiasts over the weekend competed in the Bermuda Triple Challenge, a three-day series over three obstacle courses in St George’s, on the south shore beaches and at Royal Dockyard.

It was a hugely successful event organized by Reid Robinson and Jason Correia, all in support of local charities. 

It also helped many people realise that you don’t need a gym to workout!

All the courses were held outdoors and many of the obstacles relied on just lifting your own body weight, although this is challenging in itself at the best of times! 

Many of my Boot Campers at Elbow Beach would agree.

I know all about the benefits of body weight training, as I’ve just been travelling around Asia for three months, while keeping to my exercises routine without a dumbbell or resistance machine in sight! 

Most of the time, I would workout in my hotel room with no equipment whatsoever and still get a good sweat on.

The secret is to choose an exercise from each Primal Pattern. 

These are movement patterns that were essential during our evolutionary primal era and consist of squats, lunges, bends, pushes, pulls, twists and running/walking.

To design your own effective workout circuit without any equipment and little space, just pick an exercise from each of these patterns.

• Squat: Bodyweight Squat, Ski Squat Against Wall, Single Leg Squat.

• Bend: Single Leg Bend and Reach, Qi-Gong Toe Touch, Lying Superman, Floor Bridge.

• Lunge: Multi-Directional Lunge, Bulgarian Split Squat, Static Lunge.

• Push: Push Up, Reptilian Crawl Pattern, Plank.

• Pull: Prone Cobra, Wall Angels, Pull Ups.

• Twist: Horse Stance, Side Plank, Lower Body Russian Twist.

• Gait: Cross Crawl, Jogging on Spot, Inch Sprints.

Choose at least one exercise from each Primal Pattern and perform these exercises back-to-back, without any rest, in a circuit format. 

Rest for up to two minutes when you have completed all the exercises once. Aim to repeat each circuit three to four times.

For a demonstration of a functional bodyweight workout with no equipment and no space, then check out my YouTube video: 

 Colin has designed the only online coaching program for the Bermuda Half Marathon. Colin blogs at www.CoconutFitness.com. Subscribe to “50 Ways to be Fit and Fabulous” for absolutely free.

Colin Ayliffe is a certified personal trainer and holistic lifestyle coach with over 10 years’ experience in training clients. He graduated from the University of Surrey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Science and is also a CHEK practitioner, golf biomechanic and is accredited by the
National Academy of Sports Medicine.