Weights/cash free training: hand clap press ups

I haven’t been to a gym for over a year and a half and I don’t miss weights or membership fees. To be truthful, I used to visit Koncept Gym and they are one of the most competitive in Cornwall so money was never an issue for me. Might be for you though, if you are signed up to a David Lloyd or similar. Instead I’ve been training and keeping fit for free, using no equipment other than a surfboard or running shoes. Last year we were blessed with loads of sun and waves and I was surfing or body surfing every day. This year, we’re caught in some hideous wet monsoon cycle and the surf has been shocking, so I’ve found other ways to stay healthy and sane.

The video above shows a hand clap press up, followed by a regular press up. Regular press ups are good, hand clap press ups are better because the explosive movement required to push yourself up off the ground contracts more muscle fibres in a shorter space of time – more impact, less time. It’s pretty much my motto for training and I don’t believe in doing anything for longer than 35 minutes. In this vid I’m doing ten clap press ups and ten regular ones and off camera I did two more sets of the same with a 30 second rest in between, so that’s a 2.30 minute chest workout with no spotter required, no leaving the house, no excuses really.

If you’ve got handy weights-free exercises you are into, please let me and others know about it in the comments below