Olympic Athlete Body Weight Exercises

Olympic athletes are known for their powerful and athletic physiques. While the exercises that create sculpted arms, backs, legs and abs will vary for each sport, bodyweight exercises are used by many top athletes as part of their training programs. You can build your own Olympic body by borrowing some of the body weight exercises used by these world-class athletes.

Sprinters
Olympic sprinters have tremendously developed legs and abs as a result of the anaerobic body weight training they do on the track. Sprinting primarily utilizes fast-twitch muscles in the quads, hamstrings, glutes and abs. To maximize your training time, use a body weight training circuit. Complete three to five rounds of a 200-meter sprint, followed by 10 walking lunges, a 200-meter sprint, 10 bodyweight squats and a final 200-meter sprint. Rest two minutes between each round.

Gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts are recognized by their well-developed upper bodies. Gymnastic routines require a tremendous amount of strength from the shoulders, chest, back and abs. All of these muscles are put to the test when using the rings. A basic, yet
challenging, bodyweight exercise is the ring dip. Adjust the rings so the bottom of each ring is at armpit height. Grasp each ring in a palms-down grip and extend your arms, pushing your body upward. Concentrate on keeping your arms at your side and contract your chest muscles to help keep your arms in. Once your arms are fully extended, slowly bend your arms as you lower your body to the starting position. Complete three sets of as many dips as you can using good form.

Boxers
Olympic boxers rely on the strength and speed of their chest, shoulders and back to deliver scoring punches on their opponents. A bodyweight exercise combination is the isometric punch followed by the medicine ball punch. This is a static-dynamic training mode that begins with a brief isometric hold, followed by an explosive movement. Start in a boxing stance and apply pressure with your rearward hand against a wall. Wear a training glove to protect the hand. Apply pressure at about 80 percent of your maximum effort in two positions: beginning of the punch and mid-range of the punch. Hold each position for three-to-five seconds. Immediately after the second punch, simulate a punch by explosively throwing a small medicine ball of 5 pounds or less. Continue for six to eight reps.

Downhill Skiers
Downhill skiers need to have strong legs to function as shock absorbers and to provide directional control to navigate steep mountain courses at speeds up to 90 mph. A body weight exercise that simulates those conditions are plyometric jump squats. Jump squats are an explosive movement that start by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and arms in front as if you were holding ski poles. Keep your spine straight as you lower your hips until you are in the bottom position of a squat. This is nearly identical to the tuck position used by downhill skiers. Once you are in the bottom position, explode upward, extending your ankles, knees and hips. Jump as high as you can. Once your feet return to the ground, immediately drop into the squat and repeat the jump. Complete as many jump squats as you can in 60 seconds.