I remember a while back in a psychiatric ward that one of the things I did for stress management was to use bodyweight exercises with whatever was available. These items included the floor, chairs, table and anything else I thought would be useful. Push ups, chair dips, wall crawls, military pressing chairs (at least until I got caught), windmills, anything that I could think of/remember that would help me produce tension for the muscles. The military pressing of chairs freaked out the staff, something about patients lifting furniture even though on the video monitor clearly showed that the movements were intentional, controlled, and repetitious. All I was doing was putting their advice to practical use and they panicked. The experience made me wonder if I was supposed to just listen to them and try to remember the advice, techniques, and exercises after I was released or was I allowed to put them into use during an extended stay. By the way, for those of you who have never spent time in a psych unit as a patient, there is a whole world of stress that occurs. Not only is there the stress of the onset of the crisis, but there is the stress of being locked up and surrounded by others just as bad off as yourself. The bodyweight exercises were extremely helpful in keeping the stress levels down to a level that did not require extra medication to keep you in a zombie like state of consciousness.

For those interested in body weight exercises, I am not revealing anything new. The whole point of exercise is to induce tension on the muscles, thereby making them work. Be warned though, there is no such thing as a workout that will address every aspect of strength. There are different types of strength: max strength, explosive strength, and strength endurance. Each type requires a different approach. Using the push-up as an example, for max strength, the handstand push-up or a very slow and exaggerated push-up would be used. Explosive strength would use the clapping type push-up, whereas the regular push-up works for strength endurance. Imagination and a little common sense go a long way towards designing your workout routine. Tips to remember, for max strength, the exercises should be slow and difficult. Leverage is the key to increasing or decreasing the difficulty of exercises. Explosive strength is typical of a plyometric routine. One word of caution for that one, learn about plyometrics before starting them. Strength endurance is just your regular type calisthenic exercises.

As I made mention in the beginning of the article, psych wards do not come equipped with gyms, so I made do with what was available to me. The chairs, besides being used for very slow military presses, were also used for slow and long chair dips. Yes, the focus of my routine was max strength. That just happens to be my preference. For an endurance type workout, I normally ride twenty miles over hilly terrain (twelve hills in all) with the hills coming one after the other. If it sounds a bit insane, just remember where the beginning of the article was set. I am not a certified trainer, I just use what works best for me at the particular time.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Annn Deviney.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Working out doesn't always require gym membership?
We want to hear your view. Write now!